b_b's new bike built thread :D

[bad_brain]

it's pretty much done now....

first the "before" pic...a bike the former owner took no care of, neither technically nor look-wise:


and here's the bike now, turned into a (real) fixie by using all classic looking parts:


what I especially like is the keirin-style handlebar (keirin is the japanese version of track racing):


here the drivetrain, notice the special track bike chain...it's a halflink chain (which means the links are just half as long as in usual chains, which allows a more precise length adjustment) and it also has a special shape so you have to mount it with the indexed side down, which keeps it away from jumping of the chainring that easily (keep in mind that on a fixie you can't break anymore if the chain jumps off!):




a few things are left to do, still waiting for the front brake lever which I will use at the beginning as emergency brake. I still did a test ride today though, brake or no brake...
and wow, riding such a bike is very different...especially when you switched over from a fatbike with huge tires...
it's a lot of fun though, even if it's a bit scary yet, but it was quite clear that it'll take a bit of practice...which actually makes it even more fun.

[bad_brain]

oh...look...I built a 2nd fixie...

this one is made with a real track bike frame, which is a little tricky to ride in some situations...because of the very short geometry the pedals hit the front wheel when in the horizontal position and doing a sharp turn. luckily that can only happen at very low speeds and I'll surely get used to it soon....today I granted people some entertainment though when almost falling down twice...

[ayu]

Be careful

Sexy bike though : D

[scatter]

nice one plus its blue not pink

[bad_brain]

oh yes, I am definitely careful....it's just very unusual to ride, especially when you compare it with my fatbike... but that's what I really like: getting used to stuff especially when it's really challenging first....the first 2 or 3 fixie rides were on a parking lot, really scary and really wobbly, now I took already a ride to my usual bike shop which is about 7-8 km away.

and I learned that "pedal gets in the way of the wheel" thingy is nothing unusual for track bikes...it's called toe-overlap....

and scatter, I still ride the pink one too...as soon as I have fully rebuild it, I've used some parts of it for the new one...