Where do I start?

A few weeks ago... i got over taken by a fixed gear road bike...and today it happened again. So now I am interested in trying a fixed gear road bike.

First I though I go to the shop and get a lanster (or something similar). But the shop keeper told me to build my own, he said it would be cheaper and i will learn more about the bike.. and recommended this website.

So where do I start? Buy a cheap road bike off ebay and strip it down? Buy frame of ebay and build up from bottom?

please help

thanks

where do you live, how far do you ride, what kind of rider are you, whats your budget

where do you live, how far do you ride, what kind of rider are you, whats your budget

+1

Also - what kind of bike do you currently have? Could convert that one, too.

lives in golders green... work at hammersmith hospital and charing cross hospital... do about 15 -20 miles a day...

as to what kind of rider... (commuter??) ... want to try a fixed gear...

I have a specialised Allez...but want to keep that one as it is... as I have spend a bit on upgrading it in the pass 2 years.. and as i am going to be new at fixed gear bikes... want the allez to be a longer distance riding bike (which i sometimes do...)

as to budget... i really have no idea.... can pick up a langster for 200 pounds so...under 200 pounds? (or as cheap as possible??:P)

A few weeks ago... i got over taken by a fixed gear road bike...and today it happened again. So now I am interested in trying a fixed gear road bike.

A fixed gear bike running the same ratio as a road bike will be no faster.

.... can pick up a langster for 200 pounds so...under 200 pounds? (or as cheap as possible??:P)

That's pretty good, I would go for it.

Langsters are very good bikes to start with.

They weren't necessarily going faster, they might just have a higher average speed. I go faster on a geared bike, but I stop less frequently riding fixed. It's the stops that slow you down, that and the slowing and starting again.

i agree - 200 pounds is a v good price for a langster.

I am not the fastest cyclist around.... average about 19 miles/hr... but this girl yesterday just speed pass me....

so you don't think I should build one?? I though it would be a fun diy project...

no. i think you should get the langster for 200.

look it up? there is 2 langster (my size)... one going at 200 and the other one 250....

i cant really help you there. i dont know what makes the other one worth an extra 50.

If it's any help I bought a Langster about 4 weeks ago. I've been riding a road bike for 20+ years and decided that on my commute (about 28 miles round trip) I was getting lazy and needed something to focus my mind on riding. Started on single speed. Now riding it fixed. Really enjoying it. The bike is light and on my limited budget I couldn't justify anything more expensive as an 'experiment'. If I still enjoy riding the Langster in a years time, I'll be looking at upgrading to something like a Condor Pista. Yes you can build your own up - but it may not be that great. See a lot of crap frames on ebay that are being sold to build-up.

what they said. get the langster for 200.

if you build up a bike from scratch, it will take a lot of time and effort and you'll probably end up spending a lot more than 200 squid.

for your first fixed gear, a pre-built bike is a good idea, to see if you like it before you spend the time and money on a project bike.

and it probably wasn't the bike that sped past you, it was the rider (although fixed gear/singlespeed bikes can save a bit of weight over a road bike or hybrid).

but yeah, get stuck into it.

19mph in London? That must mean I average about 80mph on my commute..

A fixed gear bike running the same ratio as a road bike will be no faster.

All other things being equal.. weight, aerodynamics, etc.

£200 for a Langster seems reasonable.

You can build a fixie second-hand for cheaper if you take your time and are disciplined about it. I ended up throwing money at new parts off Ebay in impatience, ended up spending about £400 in total. Learnt more about bikes than I would ever have done from a book doing it, though, so it was worth it in that respect. If you're relatively price insensitive, I'd go the DIY option and have fun learning. There's also a very nice feeling you get when you look at the bike in the morning and remember 'I made that!'

Riding fixed will improve your pedalling technique and cadence, so the chances are you'll end up going faster on your road bike too if you ride fixed for a while. What happened to me at any rate (was partly the idea...)

Langster it is then....

is 19mph really that slow?? i have never compared with anyone....I guess it is only an average my cat eye computer tells me...

It's what, 30kmh? That's relatively nippy on the commute. I crank up to 35 occasionally but rarely have enough clear road to get there. Girl on the fix must have been in fairly good shape.

hey H2O...
were you the guy i talk to at the shop today?? He told me exactly the same thing....

"Riding fixed will improve your pedalling technique and cadence, so the chances are you'll end up going faster on your road bike too if you ride fixed for a while. What happened to me at any rate"

I guess it would be fun... to build my own....I have all the tools anyway...

hate making hard decisions...

19mph is pretty good going in London traffic.

hippy only goes fast downhill while chasing donuts and beer delivery lorries.

only saw her for a bit... and yes she was in good shape....

hey H2O...
were you the guy i talk to at the shop today?? He told me exactly the same thing....

"Riding fixed will improve your pedalling technique and cadence, so the chances are you'll end up going faster on your road bike too if you ride fixed for a while. What happened to me at any rate"

I guess it would be fun... to build my own....I have all the tools anyway...

hate making hard decisions...

Not unless the shop does a line in financial journalism on the side, no!

Go with your gut. If you can afford the project and you think it'll be fun, do it, don't sweat the pennies so much. If you'd rather just get the thing and get out riding, buy the Langster.

traffic is not that bad at 7:30 in the morning... and i get to speed down finchely road (downhill all the way) before going through Hyde park...(so much better than the tube...)..only have to slow down when i get to high street Kensington...