The hand brake should go on back wheel so you don't flip the bike and land on your head! The bike has 70% of it's stopping force to the front of the bike so to counter that difference you always install the primary braking force to the back in order to solve that problem!
these weeks i m restoring an old bike lady, for my wife. In the serch to find old tires measures, i found this chanel and i´m hooked on these videos. Many of the works shown here are not new to me, i speak of the simples services. Others had no idea how to do and i have to thank Mr. RJ the patience and willingness to teach us. Congratulations on the channel.
hi, im am a bike builder from aberdeen, scotland. I'm very impressed with your video, i have referred a lot of my friend to it i regards to building their own fixes, thanks for a great in depth tutorial.
I'm just getting back into bicycling after 30 years....things have changed so much... You are such a good teacher explaining everything so clear.. I really enjoy learning from you... another 2 years I want to retire and start riding as far as my body and soul will let me....thank you so much!!
A trick I learned on rim brakes,is to push the brakes so that the pads are against the rim and pull a the brake leaver approximate 1/3 pull then tighten the pinch bolt tight. This should put it right were you need it. Great video RJ.
The info in this video about calculating and adjusting chain line is fascinating and the way you explain it is very well done. Your videos are the absolute best and I’ve been watching them for years.
*Looked at a lot of options for getting my **Latest.Bike** . Great find in SAVA. Super light, nice components, really good value as it comes with many options only found in much higher priced bikes.*
I didn't know I needed this video today, but turns out I did. I was just stuck with the chain line in my single speed conversion and was thinking I might need to buy a cassette wheel, a new chainring and spacers. Glad to hear that I can work with what I have now. A million thanks! I won't get into truing the wheel now though, I'll go to a repairman.
RJ, loved this video tutorial. Your attention to details is evident, and that goes for your camera angles as much as it does the work you performed! I'm a lifelong biking enthusiast and recently purchased a Park maintenance stand and that handy handlebar brace to take things to the next level. I just became your latest subscriber and look forward to following along with your exploits.
You surprised me when you put a lockring on an ordinary hub. Then surprised me again when you properly redished the wheel. Good work. I still think it's safer to use a cheap track wheel rather than converting a standard one. You did mention it's not as safe but still... The cost of a single speed hub or wheel is well worth it. It is better to measure the distance from the far side of the seat tube then measure the tube itself. Subtract half the diameter of the tube to get the proper measurement. Lots easier and more accurate than trying measure in the middle by guessing where the middle is.
FIXIE bicycle really suck and too bad you have never known about geared bikes like 3,5,6,7,8,10,12 onward that whip your foolish ass because you don't know geared bicycles at all do you?
@@TheSirjohn2012 It's okay to enjoy more than one kind of bike. Hopefully you've let go of some of that weird, pointless anger over the past 10 months.
@@TheSirjohn2012 no thanks i had a geared bike that bored me so i gave it to my dad. I enjoy the challenge of riding fixed...plus i love how low maintenance and simple it is
This is super detailed which is perfect for me. I'm trying to fix up an old rusty bike for the first time and don't know the basics which this video has plenty of. Thanks a tonne.
I have a friend who does this all the time on road bikes. He buys vintage bikes going back up to 70 years or so for next to nothing when he can find them. He had done 11 of them so far as a hobby. Then he rides them, one at a time of course, almost daily for up to 21 miles. He goes all the way. He buys all new parts on Amazon, including new wheels. He replaces just about everything but the frame. He strips the paint and repaints. All new cables and wraps,. And he is able to find new decals. The bikes look shiny new when he gets done. He also adds extensive new lighting and personal protection features which he also buys from Amazon.. You have to do that these days. And he never leaves the bikes unattended even if all locked up. They will get stolen anyway. even just the seat. Bike thieves carry massive bolt cutters. He says one target is just the wheels.
Was interested by the title, greatly turned off by the length of the video. When I saw it was over an hour I thought it would be incredibly boring. Gave it a go and wound up watching the entire thing. Surprisingly interesting watch! The detail was quite nice to see, very cool stuff. Thanks :D
Gabriel Tiri, I measured about 16.99mm or rounded to 17mm. I needed to moved the cog over 6mm to be in line with the chainring. 17mm minus 6mm is 11mm. So I added a 6mm spacer on one side and replaced the 17mm spacer with an 11mm spacer.
Very interesting video - couldn't help noticing the range of quality of the tools! Very nice cable cutters, but using a screwdriver as a punch!! Made me smile.
I just discovered this channel and watched this one hour long fixie build video. I enjoyed every second of it, the learning effect is massive. Will check out all the other bike videos. What I really liked is that it's made with an old bike. A lot of bike videos use very modern bikes and I can't relate or use the videos with these systems 100%, because of the old bikes I inherited.
Nice video. I have a hundred little nitpicks about mechanical advantage, leverage, and gearing, but I'll keep,these comments to myself and just say bravo. Wish I had seen this three or four years ago.
Even with a track hub the cog can break off (especially with cheaper aluminum hub) or the chain may fall off e.g. because of some stick getting betwen the chain and the chainwheel. Having a handbrake is always a must.
these are pretty much the basic tools a cyclist needs :) I bought myself a pretty cheap tool set for about 60 euros back in the days. got the job done pretty well
I recently came into a old road bike frame from a neighbor who was going to throw the bike away. Honestly the bike was a lower end bike from the 70's and had 1020 high tensil steel, so not exactly a colectors bike, but for some reason i wanted to save it and give it a new life so i did a single speed conversion. I definitely put more money into it than the bike was worth, but i also learned alot working on the bike and it was a a fun experience. Financial not the best decision since it needed new wheels and i decided to change the cockpit to flat bar also but i enjoyed the process. thanks for you videos
Good idea on cutting the nut at 18:17. Personally I am going to take an old worn chainring, cut the ring off at the contact points and use the contact points as spacers. Second complete bike rebuild, looking forward to it.
Onyxaxe, I never measured it. But I am guessing yours will be okay. My big chain ring came close to the frame. But that is a 53t ring. It's too big actually, but was all I had at the time. I am replacing it with a 46t ring (which just came today actually), and that will have plenty of room.
I'm buying a new track wheel set. Just typical truing of the rims it had made the spokes pop into the innertubes lol. I'll take my time with it, but if I have any more basic questions I'll pop in again. Thank you for taking the time to make your vid and answer viewers questions :).
I for one found this video absolutely fascinating. What an excellent job you did on this conversion. I enjoyed watching this transformation.I also liked and understood everything you said and how you explained it.Great job RJ.
Without more than a few gears you are never going to win any races against us gear heads and even the 3 speed bicycles can beat you silly out of your mind...!
Hi RJ, I just finished transfering my bike from 6 gear to a fixie, - success! Followed your video and got the job done all is left is to true the the rear wheel which is a little bit out of true. I don't have a truing stand or other related equipment but I will try to do it on a bike on some good day. Truing the wheels and adjusting v brakes are the hardest things for me cos those alignments don't come easy enough. You are the best bike guy here on RUclips by far!
@@boy_scout_cookie1913 would RJ make a video about it if it would not be safe? it is just that you need to tighten the lockring and cog really good to prevent them from undoing
Andrei Calin RJ is a great home mechanic, don’t get me wrong but there’s no way an actual mechanic would agree with this. I highly doubt the cog wouldn’t slip if you were to ride fakie. There’s a reason why track hubs have the reverse threading.
So RJ. I picked up a late 1970's Royce Union 10 speed ($15). It has a nice tall frame for me (55cm?). It's a lightweight steel lug frame with 27" wheels. I like the feel of this thing and I have been looking for a nice vintage candidate. I plan on stripping it and painting it. The only original parts I want to keep will be the SR cranks and the original head badge that says Made in Japan. I already double checked everything in the rear to make sure the width and lengths work. I had a store bought Retrospec but I really wanted the feel of the vintage frame. I've done many bike projects in the past but this is my first fixie. Believe me, If I can rebuild a Cannondale Jeckyll with a lefty fork and Coda liquid disk brakes, I can do a fixie! I'm ready for simple!
Geez, how in the hell did you spot that!! lol, however they are only mice, not rats! We have mice in the loft of our cottage every autumn till spring! Just getting out of the cold. Can't really stop them coming in, in an old building. They don't really do any damage up there and don't spread any diseases. They are just field mice from the fields opposite. Part of country life!!
I took an old road bike (my fathers first bike) and made a fixed gear/single speed city bike from it. It is an old bike, but it has special meaning to me. Thanks for the inspiration RJ.
I got given a rusty wreck of a folding bike that is 30 years old, i repainted it some new colours, and the wheel rims too, and i made a short video of it on here, if anyone wants to see it ?? in my uploads or simply type in......A rusty retro restoration
Haha. I love these kinds of builds. Working on an '86 League Trek right now. I used your hacksaw method to get the stem out shame I couldn't save the nitto stem though. I was able to save the BB and headset but need new bearings for the BB. Getting a 120mm fixed gear hub rear wheel though. I never felt safe with these suicide hubs. Never had one unspool on me but it always gave me a bit of the pucker when I applied back pressure. Chopping and flipping the bars. But hopefully I'll get it all back together soon. Great to see I'm not the only one breaking out the blowtorch and scavenging parts to make these builds happen.
Exactly! And i also would NOT recommand to use a freewheel hub for a FixedGear Bike if you plan to ride without brakes, what is stupid anyway. You just CANT tighten the lockring that much, that i will be locked forever. And also locktite wont help forever.
it tightens when you pedal forwards yes, but when you backpedal the force is in the opposite direction so that makes it want to unscrew. you never backpedal on a freewheel hub so it's never an issue, but using those same threads on a fixie causes that problem. i've seen people put a couple tack welds around the cog to hold it in place more firmly than locktite alone
I have that same world Traveler in original yellow and chrome with fenders and all original equipment. Going to make it mechanically sound and ride around town like a boss ; )
I built one from an old 700 frame with cottered cranks and was able to use most everything. It only cost $60 and half of that was new tires and tubes. I was able to cut the geared portion of the larger ring leaving the rest to bolt to the small ring. I tried using the lock ring on the cog plus red threadlocker but it worked it's way loose. Luckily it was on a trainer. I ended up welding the cog to the rear hub since both are steel. Now it's not going anywhere. Only downside is that I can't replace broken spokes on that side of the hub if one breaks. Everything is nice and solid now and it rides great. Good advice on the chainline and redishing. I checked my spokes at the nipples after doing so and all looked good.
Wow what a job! Great detailed video. I have an old Schwinn 10 speed I had considered doing this to. I think I’ll just use it (as is) as yard art now lol. Thanks again for another great video!
Bad advice ! You should never use a fixie cog on a standard wheel. Very dangerous The cog will unscrew while your riding. You must use a track style hub that's made for fixed gears. Also We need to preserve old Schwinns. That Schwinn is worth about 2 to 3 hundred $ if in good condition but after you chopped it up you'll be lucky to get 75 bucks for it.
+multimillionmile The chain stay cable stop broke off, and the frame wasn't worth getting that repaired. So I re purposed the bike. Besides lots of people like fixies. It's not like this bike was a vintage Colnago Master or something.
People had been asking me for quite a while for a video on how to make a fixie. I was actually going to leave this bike as a 10 speed until the cable stop broke off. Then it just sat there in my garage, dead. Then I brought it back to life.
This is the best video I've seen on a conversion like this, I came for one little part and watched the whole thing. I learned a lot and it helps because I'm doing the same thing right now. Thanks, you're the man.
Ya know, you just answered pretty much every question I ever had about bicycle mechanical parts and installation! Thank you very much! Just subscribed.
Thank you very much for the effort and patience for explaining yourself though out the video and comments. My Uncle left me an old ten speed that shockingly fits me being 6'4" and I think I will do this to ride at a velodrome. Very well done.
I builded my fixied bike with a 6 speed Old rusty road bike,also I did bullhorn hand bar....painted and new wheels ...I did the same technique with the crank, but in my case everything line up perfect.#! Thanks for this video!
Thanks for the complete tutorial. Fixed Gear montage like this too much dangerous, because you can the cog during pedal Moving forward. I use tour tutorial for made a single speed with a bmx freewheel. I a French Guy which love bike ! 🚴💨
I recently picked up a Schwinn Suburban similar. Lots of rust. I plan on putting it back together after I clean everything up as well as possible. New cables, chain, and tires for sure. I'm not sure maybe rims. Anyhow great tip on how to remove kickstand.
I learned a lot about bicycle techs, thank for you. But hey? Centering the rear wheel is the most complicated thing to do even with special tools. Thats a fact. It takes pretty knowlelge and practise to straghten a wheel. And of course patience.
Love these how-to guides RJ, I only wish I'd had them to refer to back when I made all those beginner mistakes with making singlespeeds back in the early 00's. Seems like old steel framed bikes are a lot more expensive than they used to be. I was picking up late '80s Peugeot carbolite and mangalloy frames for as little as £15. Now they're going for a lot more. NB bikebuilders: steel frames make for easier working-with than aluminium or anything else.
Nice video, covering many important jobs! At first I thought I would not like seeing a vintage bike converted into a 'fixie' but you did not do anything that cannot be reversed, (with a lot of effort) so no problem. Back in the day I ran my bike fixed / single speed over the winter and then once race season started in spring and the roads were better I put the gears back on. Worth doing when the roads are covered in dirt and grit over winter, and when it was believed that training on a fixed single speed was good for you. My 70s Carlton is still fixed, and I have all the other original parts in a box Only difference is that I always kept both brakes on - I know the rear is not necessary in some countries, and TT riders only kept the front, but I would rather have them both when trying to stop with old brakes / wheel rims. Also, it means you do not need to back pedal to brake - there is a reason that your hub set up is called suicide style, so best avoided.....
I don't really like fixies but I'm just watching the video to see more of your working on bikes. Picked up a vintage cycle. After watching this, I feel like moving my shifter levers from the down tube to the head tube or top tube. It's a bit difficult to reach the down tube to shift at times. And I need to replace the shifter cables anyway so it'd be a good time to move it if I decide to
Oh that would be great! I would go for it if I had some or could get them for cheap. But they would set me back more than the bike itself did (early 80s novara strada for $50, really solid price point for my market)
I think I love bicycles and cycling, I got excited when I saw that the video was 1hr long , also I bet that’s Peugeot ! I see these damn things everywhere I swear
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For more bike repair videos hit the subscribe button 🛑 and click the notification bell ► bit.ly/SubRJTheBikeGuy
The hand brake should go on back wheel so you don't flip the bike and land on your head! The bike has 70% of it's stopping force to the front of the bike so to counter that difference you always install the primary braking force to the back in order to solve that problem!
Quick question: if I want to take my bike apart (old bike). What equipment do I need?
@@edwarddavies4745 Tools. They will vary for different bikes.
@@fatjeezus1953 not on a fixie you’re incorrect
@@fatjeezus1953 222222222
Sad reality there are only a handful of channels on RUclips that provide such extensive coverage on builds, thanks again for going that extra mile 👍
these weeks i m restoring an old bike lady, for my wife. In the serch to find old tires measures, i found this chanel and i´m hooked on these videos. Many of the works shown here are not new to me, i speak of the simples services. Others had no idea how to do and i have to thank Mr. RJ the patience and willingness to teach us. Congratulations on the channel.
hi, im am a bike builder from aberdeen, scotland. I'm very impressed with your video, i have referred a lot of my friend to it i regards to building their own fixes, thanks for a great in depth tutorial.
john christie Thanks!
I'm just getting back into bicycling after 30 years....things have changed so much... You are such a good teacher explaining everything so clear.. I really enjoy learning from you... another 2 years I want to retire and start riding as far as my body and soul will let me....thank you so much!!
A trick I learned on rim brakes,is to push the brakes so that the pads are against the rim and pull a the brake leaver approximate 1/3 pull then tighten the pinch bolt tight. This should put it right were you need it. Great video RJ.
The info in this video about calculating and adjusting chain line is fascinating and the way you explain it is very well done. Your videos are the absolute best and I’ve been watching them for years.
*Looked at a lot of options for getting my **Latest.Bike** . Great find in SAVA. Super light, nice components, really good value as it comes with many options only found in much higher priced bikes.*
I didn't know I needed this video today, but turns out I did. I was just stuck with the chain line in my single speed conversion and was thinking I might need to buy a cassette wheel, a new chainring and spacers. Glad to hear that I can work with what I have now. A million thanks! I won't get into truing the wheel now though, I'll go to a repairman.
RJ, loved this video tutorial. Your attention to details is evident, and that goes for your camera angles as much as it does the work you performed! I'm a lifelong biking enthusiast and recently purchased a Park maintenance stand and that handy handlebar brace to take things to the next level. I just became your latest subscriber and look forward to following along with your exploits.
This is one of the best bike building tutorials I've seen.
Hey, if you like that, check out my first RUclips video!
ruclips.net/video/2MM3-FB4VEI/видео.html
You surprised me when you put a lockring on an ordinary hub. Then surprised me again when you properly redished the wheel. Good work. I still think it's safer to use a cheap track wheel rather than converting a standard one. You did mention it's not as safe but still... The cost of a single speed hub or wheel is well worth it.
It is better to measure the distance from the far side of the seat tube then measure the tube itself. Subtract half the diameter of the tube to get the proper measurement. Lots easier and more accurate than trying measure in the middle by guessing where the middle is.
1 hour felt like 15 min when watching this video. I wanna build a fixie now. Great job!
FIXIE bicycle really suck and too bad you have never known about geared bikes like 3,5,6,7,8,10,12 onward that whip your foolish ass because you don't know geared bicycles at all do you?
@@TheSirjohn2012 It's okay to enjoy more than one kind of bike. Hopefully you've let go of some of that weird, pointless anger over the past 10 months.
@@TheSirjohn2012 no thanks i had a geared bike that bored me so i gave it to my dad. I enjoy the challenge of riding fixed...plus i love how low maintenance and simple it is
RJ's tutorials are such a major resource -- thank you dude, I finally have a fixie!
Excellent tutorial, enjoyed watching it.
This video will help a lot of people looking to build a fixie without breaking the bank.
Thanks R.J.
You have the best How to videos for newbies. It's like those "Fill-in blanks" for dummies.
Honestly not sure why I'm watching this as I ride a legitimate track bike, but it's a very well made informative video. Chapeau!
This is super detailed which is perfect for me. I'm trying to fix up an old rusty bike for the first time and don't know the basics which this video has plenty of. Thanks a tonne.
This is the first 1 hour long video I've ever had patience to watch. Very well done. Thanks!!!
I have a friend who does this all the time on road bikes. He buys vintage bikes going back up to 70 years or so for next to nothing when he can find them. He had done 11 of them so far as a hobby. Then he rides them, one at a time of course, almost daily for up to 21 miles. He goes all the way. He buys all new parts on Amazon, including new wheels. He replaces just about everything but the frame. He strips the paint and repaints. All new cables and wraps,. And he is able to find new decals. The bikes look shiny new when he gets done. He also adds extensive new lighting and personal protection features which he also buys from Amazon.. You have to do that these days. And he never leaves the bikes unattended even if all locked up. They will get stolen anyway. even just the seat. Bike thieves carry massive bolt cutters. He says one target is just the wheels.
Was interested by the title, greatly turned off by the length of the video. When I saw it was over an hour I thought it would be incredibly boring. Gave it a go and wound up watching the entire thing. Surprisingly interesting watch! The detail was quite nice to see, very cool stuff. Thanks :D
RJ, your the Bob Ross of bike builds. Excellent information. Thanks.
Gabriel Tiri, I measured about 16.99mm or rounded to 17mm. I needed to moved the cog over 6mm to be in line with the chainring. 17mm minus 6mm is 11mm. So I added a 6mm spacer on one side and replaced the 17mm spacer with an 11mm spacer.
Very interesting video - couldn't help noticing the range of quality of the tools! Very nice cable cutters, but using a screwdriver as a punch!! Made me smile.
Converting a good bike to 100 years old technology, what a brilliant idea!!!
I don't have any interest in having a fixie myself, but really enjoyed the video regardless, great job.
The Aharanha you watched an hour video for nothing
It's a free course on mechanics. Many of us enjoy this channel even if we will not put into practice many of the lessons taught.
@@Krizzee for nothing? Thats bullsh*t, just a bike mechanic converting a rb to a fixie,
I just discovered this channel and watched this one hour long fixie build video. I enjoyed every second of it, the learning effect is massive. Will check out all the other bike videos. What I really liked is that it's made with an old bike. A lot of bike videos use very modern bikes and I can't relate or use the videos with these systems 100%, because of the old bikes I inherited.
I watched this, to get ideas, and you inspired me :) Best hour of my life spent on youtube! Top job, thank you!
Nice video. I have a hundred little nitpicks about mechanical advantage, leverage, and gearing, but I'll keep,these comments to myself and just say bravo. Wish I had seen this three or four years ago.
Even with a track hub the cog can break off (especially with cheaper aluminum hub) or the chain may fall off e.g. because of some stick getting betwen the chain and the chainwheel. Having a handbrake is always a must.
By far the best bike diy guy on RUclips! Thank you sir.👍
this guy has a tool for
everything
not having to buy all the tools made this build alot less expensive
these are pretty much the basic tools a cyclist needs :) I bought myself a pretty cheap tool set for about 60 euros back in the days. got the job done pretty well
I remember building my first fixie over 20 years ago. RUclips is such a great tool. :)
I can't wait to see the finished project! Paint and all! : )
The good part about this video is RJ narrates all his videos some videos people put they don't narrate and explain what they are doing so thanks RJ
I recently came into a old road bike frame from a neighbor who was going to throw the bike away. Honestly the bike was a lower end bike from the 70's and had 1020 high tensil steel, so not exactly a colectors bike, but for some reason i wanted to save it and give it a new life so i did a single speed conversion. I definitely put more money into it than the bike was worth, but i also learned alot working on the bike and it was a a fun experience. Financial not the best decision since it needed new wheels and i decided to change the cockpit to flat bar also but i enjoyed the process. thanks for you videos
Damn, even though I already have a fixed gear bike I might just have to go buy a retro road bike and make another one. Solid video dude
Hey I know you from the old talkradar forums back in the day, this is wild
Good idea on cutting the nut at 18:17. Personally I am going to take an old worn chainring, cut the ring off at the contact points and use the contact points as spacers. Second complete bike rebuild, looking forward to it.
J.Michael Garner
Just saw washers mentioned. Doh. But that chainring ain't doing anything anyways...
Building a Fixie:The Movie
I just did this with an old no name bike from the 70s. Nice simple city rider.. very satisfying build
i like the full length project videos
Really the best channel to get informations for vintage bike repairs and build ups. Thank you very much from Germany!
Onyxaxe, I never measured it. But I am guessing yours will be okay. My big chain ring came close to the frame. But that is a 53t ring. It's too big actually, but was all I had at the time. I am replacing it with a 46t ring (which just came today actually), and that will have plenty of room.
Thanks. Ironically I want a 53T for more skid patches lol. Are there any complications to having a spindle that's too long other than Q-factor?.
Onyxaxe You may have to move the hub farther to get the chain line straight. And then redishing the wheel will be more drastic.
I'm buying a new track wheel set. Just typical truing of the rims it had made the spokes pop into the innertubes lol. I'll take my time with it, but if I have any more basic questions I'll pop in again. Thank you for taking the time to make your vid and answer viewers questions :).
You can always try grinding the tips of the spokes a little shorter as long as there are still enough threads on the main part of the spoke.
RJ The Bike Guy Hi, i thought chairing teeth were directional, how come you flipped them over?
I for one found this video absolutely fascinating. What an excellent job you did on this conversion. I enjoyed watching this transformation.I also liked and understood everything you said and how you explained it.Great job RJ.
I just scored a vintage bianchi frame I'm gonna make a fixie with it
Without more than a few gears you are never going to win any races against us gear heads and even the 3 speed bicycles can beat you silly out of your mind...!
Hi RJ, I just finished transfering my bike from 6 gear to a fixie, - success! Followed your video and got the job done all is left is to true the the rear wheel which is a little bit out of true. I don't have a truing stand or other related equipment but I will try to do it on a bike on some good day. Truing the wheels and adjusting v brakes are the hardest things for me cos those alignments don't come easy enough. You are the best bike guy here on RUclips by far!
So just buy a fixie wheelset to avoid all that truing and adjusting? Got it.
where is the fun?
le Art the end result is not even safe for normal use.
@@boy_scout_cookie1913 would RJ make a video about it if it would not be safe? it is just that you need to tighten the lockring and cog really good to prevent them from undoing
Andrei Calin RJ is a great home mechanic, don’t get me wrong but there’s no way an actual mechanic would agree with this. I highly doubt the cog wouldn’t slip if you were to ride fakie. There’s a reason why track hubs have the reverse threading.
@@boy_scout_cookie1913 I doubt anyone doing this cares about doing ''fakies''.
So RJ. I picked up a late 1970's Royce Union 10 speed ($15). It has a nice tall frame for me (55cm?). It's a lightweight steel lug frame with 27" wheels. I like the feel of this thing and I have been looking for a nice vintage candidate. I plan on stripping it and painting it. The only original parts I want to keep will be the SR cranks and the original head badge that says Made in Japan. I already double checked everything in the rear to make sure the width and lengths work. I had a store bought Retrospec but I really wanted the feel of the vintage frame. I've done many bike projects in the past but this is my first fixie. Believe me, If I can rebuild a Cannondale Jeckyll with a lefty fork and Coda liquid disk brakes, I can do a fixie! I'm ready for simple!
you have mice in your shop just by the drill press machine at 59:40m
+ofek ml It's my garage and yes I see signs of them in there. I watched at 59:40 and didn't see anything.
+RJ The Bike Guy , to the left of the drill press, on the shelf!
+ofek ml I saw it! I never noticed that.
Laser eyes!
Geez, how in the hell did you spot that!! lol, however they are only mice, not rats! We have mice in the loft of our cottage every autumn till spring! Just getting out of the cold. Can't really stop them coming in, in an old building. They don't really do any damage up there and don't spread any diseases. They are just field mice from the fields opposite. Part of country life!!
I enjoyed watching this. I new this wasn't just a simple task. Very well explained. Thanks !
If I learned anything from this video it's how to finally remove those damned Schwinn kickstands without any specialty tools--here here!
Watching your videos makes me want to wrench my bike and go for a ride. Thanks RJ.
Suicide hub haha. I had one unscrew on me once.. I still have the scar on my knee from the crash.
I took an old road bike (my fathers first bike) and made a fixed gear/single speed city bike from it. It is an old bike, but it has special meaning to me. Thanks for the inspiration RJ.
I got given a rusty wreck of a folding bike that is 30 years old, i repainted it some new colours, and the wheel rims too, and i made a short video of it on here, if anyone wants to see it ?? in my uploads or simply type in......A rusty retro restoration
Sure!
atlstar08 great :)
if its not a schwinn run-a-bout, throw it away.
Haha. I love these kinds of builds. Working on an '86 League Trek right now. I used your hacksaw method to get the stem out shame I couldn't save the nitto stem though. I was able to save the BB and headset but need new bearings for the BB. Getting a 120mm fixed gear hub rear wheel though. I never felt safe with these suicide hubs. Never had one unspool on me but it always gave me a bit of the pucker when I applied back pressure. Chopping and flipping the bars. But hopefully I'll get it all back together soon. Great to see I'm not the only one breaking out the blowtorch and scavenging parts to make these builds happen.
I thought the locknut on the hub was supposed to be reversed threads? So that way if the track cog wants to unscrew, the locknut wants to tighten.
Chris Z. On a track hub yes,that is correct. This is a freewheel hub.
Exactly! And i also would NOT recommand to use a freewheel hub for a FixedGear Bike if you plan to ride without brakes, what is stupid anyway. You just CANT tighten the lockring that much, that i will be locked forever. And also locktite wont help forever.
it tightens when you pedal forwards yes, but when you backpedal the force is in the opposite direction so that makes it want to unscrew. you never backpedal on a freewheel hub so it's never an issue, but using those same threads on a fixie causes that problem. i've seen people put a couple tack welds around the cog to hold it in place more firmly than locktite alone
I have that same world Traveler in original yellow and chrome with fenders and all original equipment. Going to make it mechanically sound and ride around town like a boss ; )
Now let's put a 300$ tag and wait for hipster to come.
or weld a a length of chain to the top tube and use it for a boat angkor
That vintage frame is probably worth more than that lmao
thats the plan
I built one from an old 700 frame with cottered cranks and was able to use most everything. It only cost $60 and half of that was new tires and tubes. I was able to cut the geared portion of the larger ring leaving the rest to bolt to the small ring.
I tried using the lock ring on the cog plus red threadlocker but it worked it's way loose. Luckily it was on a trainer. I ended up welding the cog to the rear hub since both are steel. Now it's not going anywhere. Only downside is that I can't replace broken spokes on that side of the hub if one breaks. Everything is nice and solid now and it rides great.
Good advice on the chainline and redishing. I checked my spokes at the nipples after doing so and all looked good.
Should have read 70s frame.
Why not just keep the kick stand?
I don't like kick stands. Extra useless weight.
Yup hate them too especially on mountain bikes
Removing the kickstand on a bike is like removing the parking brake on a car
Great Video. You can also check chainline by placing a straight edge on the chainring and see where the end of it winds up near the rear cog.
+MarzNet256 Not with accuracy.
Moses called, he wants his bike back.
Moses is in better shape than you and his calves are so strong their golden.
Wow what a job! Great detailed video. I have an old Schwinn 10 speed I had considered doing this to. I think I’ll just use it (as is) as yard art now lol. Thanks again for another great video!
if it ain't broke, don't fixie it!
This video is just what I needed as I get started in my first build. Thank you.
Bad advice ! You should never use a fixie cog on a standard wheel. Very dangerous The cog will unscrew while your riding.
You must use a track style hub that's made for fixed gears. Also We need to preserve old Schwinns. That Schwinn is worth about 2 to 3 hundred $ if in good condition but after you chopped it up you'll be lucky to get 75 bucks for it.
Geat video. I'm not interested in building a fixie but I learned a lot about general bike mechanics from this demonstration. Thank you.
A bike with gears is much nicer!!
I watched the entire video. Thanks for posting and sharing your wealth of knowledge. I’m inspired.
Why do you kill a vintage road bike by making it a fixie..
+multimillionmile The chain stay cable stop broke off, and the frame wasn't worth getting that repaired. So I re purposed the bike. Besides lots of people like fixies. It's not like this bike was a vintage Colnago Master or something.
Ah well I didn't mean to insult you I just think it's such a shame!
I love playing with bikes. Changing them, modifying them, whatever. It is fun getting them to be what you want.
People had been asking me for quite a while for a video on how to make a fixie. I was actually going to leave this bike as a 10 speed until the cable stop broke off. Then it just sat there in my garage, dead. Then I brought it back to life.
Agreed!
This is the best video I've seen on a conversion like this, I came for one little part and watched the whole thing. I learned a lot and it helps because I'm doing the same thing right now. Thanks, you're the man.
great vid. i followed it to the tee. got a sweet fixie. wiped out so bad on the first skid. bike is fine. ego is ruined.
Ya know, you just answered pretty much every question I ever had about bicycle mechanical parts and installation! Thank you very much! Just subscribed.
From Canada / Montreal thank you for all the videos, you're the best
Possibly the best bike build video I’ve seen, thanks loads
Thank you very much for the effort and patience for explaining yourself though out the video and comments. My Uncle left me an old ten speed that shockingly fits me being 6'4" and I think I will do this to ride at a velodrome. Very well done.
GREAT JOB AND VERY WELL ILLUSTRATED AS USUAL. IT PARTICULARLY HELPED ME WITH WHEEL REDISHING AND SPACING. THANKS AGAIN, MARKO
Awesome video. Perfect camera angle on all shots. Very well explained too. Thanks!
Had no idea that so much math and work such as redishing the wheel b was involved. ...nice work.
2020 AND STILL ONE OF THE BEST VIDS OUT THERE ..... THANKS A LOT!!!
Just bought this same bike for $25! Very happy I found this video haha
I have a fixie they are fantastic.You have a lot of control and they are great riding on snow or broken ice .Smooth ice is still very dangerous.
I builded my fixied bike with a 6 speed Old rusty road bike,also I did bullhorn hand bar....painted and new wheels ...I did the same technique with the crank, but in my case everything line up perfect.#! Thanks for this video!
I know that you made this a while ago but it was utterly amazing to watch. Thank you
Thanks for the complete tutorial.
Fixed Gear montage like this too much dangerous, because you can the cog during pedal Moving forward.
I use tour tutorial for made a single speed with a bmx freewheel.
I a French Guy which love bike ! 🚴💨
One of the coolest guys on RUclips/Facebook for bikes!
Amazing video! I leaned a lot and I have so much more respect for bike mechanics now.
Fantastic video. You inspired me to tear into my thrift store bought vintage Raleigh. Thanks for this!
That was a good comprehensive tutorial .You did not miss a thing. Thanks.
I recently picked up a Schwinn Suburban similar. Lots of rust. I plan on putting it back together after I clean everything up as well as possible. New cables, chain, and tires for sure. I'm not sure maybe rims. Anyhow great tip on how to remove kickstand.
outstanding simple cog/chainring positioning explanation, you did very well with that drawing, my greetings also for your channel
Sir you are a brilliant engineer.
I learned a lot about bicycle techs, thank for you.
But hey?
Centering the rear wheel is the most complicated thing to do even with special tools. Thats a fact. It takes pretty knowlelge and practise to straghten a wheel. And of course patience.
Love these how-to guides RJ, I only wish I'd had them to refer to back when I made all those beginner mistakes with making singlespeeds back in the early 00's.
Seems like old steel framed bikes are a lot more expensive than they used to be.
I was picking up late '80s Peugeot carbolite and mangalloy frames for as little as £15. Now they're going for a lot more.
NB bikebuilders: steel frames make for easier working-with than aluminium or anything else.
Nice video, covering many important jobs!
At first I thought I would not like seeing a vintage bike converted into a 'fixie' but you did not do anything that cannot be reversed, (with a lot of effort) so no problem. Back in the day I ran my bike fixed / single speed over the winter and then once race season started in spring and the roads were better I put the gears back on. Worth doing when the roads are covered in dirt and grit over winter, and when it was believed that training on a fixed single speed was good for you. My 70s Carlton is still fixed, and I have all the other original parts in a box
Only difference is that I always kept both brakes on - I know the rear is not necessary in some countries, and TT riders only kept the front, but I would rather have them both when trying to stop with old brakes / wheel rims. Also, it means you do not need to back pedal to brake - there is a reason that your hub set up is called suicide style, so best avoided.....
I don't really like fixies but I'm just watching the video to see more of your working on bikes. Picked up a vintage cycle. After watching this, I feel like moving my shifter levers from the down tube to the head tube or top tube. It's a bit difficult to reach the down tube to shift at times. And I need to replace the shifter cables anyway so it'd be a good time to move it if I decide to
Or get brifters!
Oh that would be great! I would go for it if I had some or could get them for cheap. But they would set me back more than the bike itself did (early 80s novara strada for $50, really solid price point for my market)
Awesome video. One of the best bike building videos by far!
I think I love bicycles and cycling, I got excited when I saw that the video was 1hr long , also I bet that’s Peugeot ! I see these damn things everywhere I swear
omg that tool you used to cut the bars is awesome I was gonna bring my bars to the hardware store and have em cut lol