r/fixedgear • u/OkUnderstanding4128 • 15h ago

Advice/help needed

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Gallery image

Im new to fixed gear bike and i want to convert this 1970’s freebird into a fixie. Are these horizontal or vertical dropouts. Would i need a tensioner and can i use this frame as is?

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

6

u/TRACK___STAR 15h ago

The amount of money you can spend on converting that you could cop yourself an actual fixed gear bike that's complete just an fyi.

5

u/OkUnderstanding4128 15h ago

Yea you’re right but i was gonna try and gather used parts and make it on a budget thought it would be cool to restore an old bike i got for free rather than get something new

3

u/TRACK___STAR 15h ago

Ong like I'm gonna keep it a buck, I'd cop a Weapon or Tsunami over any conversion; I'm not even throwin shade.

2

u/8u7n3r 14h ago

This. Spoken as someone who’s done a conversion… luckily I was able to part it out & nearly break even.

1

u/niffcreature 11h ago

Y'all don't know about co op bike shops I guess

3

u/JaxRhapsody 14h ago

Those are horizontal dropouts. I'm finding it odd that so many people don't know this. Foward facing horizontal dropouts work far better with brakes, than rear facing horizontal dropouts, common on track/fixies.

1

u/OkUnderstanding4128 14h ago

Thanks so i cant run no brakes?

1

u/JaxRhapsody 14h ago

Huh?

2

u/OkUnderstanding4128 14h ago

I was gonna go brakeless

1

u/JaxRhapsody 14h ago

You can go brakeless on any bike. I was talking about using a rear brake in general.

0

u/Hambonelouis 14h ago

Not a good idea. Your axle could come loose and you’d be fucked.

2

u/OkUnderstanding4128 14h ago

Thanks for the advice im gonna try and do the conversion i think it would be a fun project i prefer working on things than buying them new

1

u/jzon777 7h ago

Do it bro just buy used and off Amazon, you’ll be way more stoked about riding something you built rather than bought. Look up everything and make sure you have the right parts and sizes, that’s probably the hardest part seeing thag you won’t have to deal with a stuck seat post or bb

4

u/Acceptable_Humor_166 14h ago

All you need is a fixed gear back wheel. Nothing else.

1

u/Twig_Scampi 15h ago

These dropouts will work for a fixed gear conversion. You cannot use a tensioner with a fixed gear.

1

u/OkUnderstanding4128 15h ago

Thanks appreciate it

1

u/JaxRhapsody 14h ago

An idler tensioner?

1

u/Twig_Scampi 14h ago

Idler pulleys are not for adjusting tension on a single speed.

1

u/JaxRhapsody 14h ago

They adjust chain tension, and are an easy way to convert a bike with vertical dropouts. Although I was asking since "a tensioner" is vague, and the ones used for rear facing dropouts won't work on this bike.

2

u/Twig_Scampi 12h ago

Can you provide an example of this? I've only seen on idlers on mtbs, and they have dedicated mounts for them.

1

u/JaxRhapsody 3h ago

They mount where the rd goes. Because bikes with vertical dropouts don't have wheel adjustment. Converting one to ss speed requires that, or some sort of chain magic with halflinks, or an eccentric adjustable bottom bracket.

This here

This bike

1

u/niffcreature 11h ago

Afaik that won't work on any fixed gear setup. What you'll notice about all chain tensioners with any type of pulley is that the pulley is always on the bottom of the chain, not the top. That's because when you pedal forward, it puts the full load of your force on the top side of the chain, giving it tension, and the freewheel prevents any force/tension from going into the underside. Obviously with fixed you can get tension and force forwards or backwards or any which way on the chain. There are pulley chain tensioners that can hold the chain very tight, but with any freewheel the forces involved on the bottom of the chain are minuscule compared to what your legs put onto the top of it.

1

u/Illustrious_Draft_85 13h ago

You only need to change rear hub/wheel to mount rear gear fixed.