DIY FIXIE - fixed gear, trackbike frame..

This is my simple way of making the frame for my fixed gear trackbike frame..
made from an old road bike, cut up and welded back in the right geometry..

Step 1: Cut up

cut off drop outs, and the rear wheel tubes..

Comments

[dlu]

Did you heat treat the droput or do anything on it?

[jonasedvard]

the whole bike is left without any treatment for about a year. a natural protection occurs on the surface of the metal. oxidation/rust is a way to treat any metal. brass copper etc.
i gave the bike lin-oil and beewax to give the metal af final shine and color control.

[uziXwraith]

Couldnt you just bend the bottom tubes instead of hacking them off at the bottom bracket?, when i converted my roadbike, i didnt see much difference from say, a BIANCHI which is barely track geom. anyway .i dont really think you need to keep geometry if you arent racing, or some other professional application. i was a messenger for a year on my road conversion, never clicked cranks, never ran into any problems, i had more problems messengering on my fuji track... bottom bracket spat out my non drive crank in the middle of downtown chicago, had to bang it back on with my ulock, and tighten down the hex again. garbage.

[DSM211]

Chain tensioners do work. Why else would Raleigh's Rush Hour and other bike company's use them.

[mrdepo96]

 pretty complicated, you could just use a chain tensioner or something similar. BUT!
The work you did was amazing and now it looks like it was made for the track :)

[carpe_noctem]

chain tensioners don't work for fixed gear. See sheldon brown. com (org?) for more info. his wheels would have worked just fine, i have done 2 fixie conversions, one from an old 70's huffy tenspeed frame, another from a soviet-made road bike (штарт шоссе,i moved to russia). while steeper frame angles will create a more "track bike" feel and more responsiveness in traffic, i have had no problems in my 3 years of riding my conversions. The main prequisite is horizontal (or nearly) dropouts, (or fork ends) which allow you to get adequate chain tension. Also notable is that i have spent no more than 150 dollars on both. for all the kiddies at home, this is definitely do-able. dumpster dive or hit up craiglist for parts, but i got lucky with my rear wheel.

[Furball_Fidelis]

but then why do chain tensioners work on SS Dirt jump bikes?

Same concept isn't it? just a fixie has a less robust frame and bigger wheels

[jonasedvard]

agree! DUMPSTERdiving is tha thing to do! a lot of old parts can be used to give it that retro feeling, but dont use old chains, cables/wires, tires/tubes, etc.

[carpe_noctem]

I use old tires too, but performance probably suffers considerably. If it looks like you can use it, use it until it stops working. Chains are the main no-no here. A new chain makes a huge difference and is relatively inexpensive as well.

[BtheBike]

I learned to refurb a rusted prewar skip tooth chain . Since then I always refurb them unless they are "stretched" . The same goes for cables ,and tubes too . Maybe I'll post a chain refurb tutorial.

[jonasedvard]

chain tension is importent, but a tensioner isn't a strong enough.
my project concerns bicycle geometry! thank you 4 the shout

[BtheBike]

Really ambitious ! I love the look of raw steel frames. Great Tute

[filbone]

just wondering will all these frame modification, is the bike still safe to ride? would you recommend fillet brazing instead of welding if welding not available?

[happysadman54321]

what do u use to cut the steel and can you braze the dropouts on?

[jonasedvard]

normal hacksaw, dont need to braze, more easier to mig the whole thing, brazing is only for when you work with lugs!

[happysadman54321]

i ment cutting the dropouts
but is it possible to braze the droupouts?
cuz my dad already has a blowtorch and i just want to switch out the dropouts cuz mine are vertical

[jonasedvard]

cutting the dropouts with hacksaw, mig weld the dropouts!
don't braze the dropouts unless you're using dropouts that fit with your chainstay, these two things has to fit together if not the brazing cannot be done, brazing depends on two clean sufaces to work

[happysadman54321]

thanx
well i cant afford a welder so ill jst look for a different frame

[jambamkin]

Wow I thought this was gunna be "take off the cassette, add a fixed gear, et voila" this is much more impressive and shows how geometry is important to the use of a bike.

[road_fool]

HI, Great Instructable. Just a few questions. I have done a little frame conversion myself, a simple addition off rear entry track ends to a standard road frame. Love what you have done by properly adjusting the geometry here. You seem to be a very competent joiner, unlike myself, so i was just looking for some tips on what kind of weld you used, i myself used an oxy acetylene set and wondered if this was the best option. Also how did you go about tidying your welds, they all seems v. clean on the finished product and finally just wondered if you had any problems with stress tolerance on your welds, you made pretty major structural changes which I myself was a bit afraid to do, withquite alot of stress being placed on the rear triangle on a fixed set-up/ Anyway, huge applause, great job, nice to see some individual thinking during this fixed gear boom - ps. what city are you in?

[zzpza]

awesome work! :D i must try this myself one day....

[ll.13]

Well done! I was a little sceptical seeing the amount of bits that were being modified, but the end result looks good. How does it ride (and compared to before the hack job)?

[jonasedvard]

increased control steering - smaller bike lenght - only problem horisontal pedals collide with front wheel when standstill!

[monterto]

Pretty ambitious project, looks good

[jonasedvard]

thanx - thought so too in the beginning, but it ended up right.. next project is at alu-frame TIG welded, same procedure..

[Phil B]

Did you use a stick welder or a MIG welder?

[jonasedvard]

all is mig welding.. easy and clean, (the tubes are approx 1mm thick)

[jonasedvard]

guess u cant html link pics, but check wiki for explenations

[nagutron]

Ooh. Pretty. Do you have advice on how to figure out the best frame geometry for yourself?

[jonasedvard]

hey - thanx for the comment..

guess the answer to your question is, the height(size) of the frame must match your own height, find a size that makes you feel good when ridin the bike.
<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4d/Bicyclemeasurements.svg/736px-Bicyclemeasurements.svg.png">measure from the crank to the end of the seat tube, this number is your frame size, but again this only concern the diamant(roadbike) frame style.. mountain bikes og newr models are measured in at different way.. google: frame size/sheldon brown..

my DIY frame is based upon a approx 51 cm (21 inches) size.

the characteristic geometry on trackbikes is a lower rear wheel point, a more straight fork and a smaller angle on the headtube. there is various trackbike gemoetrys, but this is in my opinion the general characteristix..

the straight steering angle also offers a more easy, more controlled feeling when riding af trackbike..

guess i didn't tell u much about the geometry, but again if you wan't to completely blueprint your bike, things will end mashing up the creativity flow..

yo's and good luck