hi all. so i'm trying to build up a new single speed bike and i would like your expertise and help because i'm sure the collective mind has a lot more to offer than what i can dig up. i posted on /bicycling on reddit but didn't receive much in terms of help.
i would like to build a fixed gear bike that weighs no more than 6.5kg (6kg was the original target but i was told that'd be quite hard), while keeping it under 1,000usd, ideally around 750usd. my requirements are these: the frameset must support a front brake without the need to drill, while a rear brake is not required. i am 6'2" (186cm) and 80kg so i need a size 58 frame. the bike will mainly be used on flat-ish terrain that is well paved that goes on for many many kilometers, and on an indoor trainer during the winter with a training tyre. the complete build must NOT exceed 6.5kg. my daily ride is a canyon endurace cf 7.0. i would ideally like to be faster on the new ride, but i know i'm not going to be able to push a really strong gear because i'm not nearly that strong or that in shape and i would like to ride somewhat comfortably. i'd like a recommendation for what gearing i should realistically use if i'd like to be able to maintain a constant 25-30km/h on mostly flat-ish terrain (+/- 10degree sloping).
i've been looking at dolan tc1 and planet x pro carbon frames but their full builds go well over 6kg, in the 7-8kg area, so i may have to get a frameset and piece out the rest.
please give me your recommendations! cheers!
ps: yes, i know track bikes aren't really designed to be lightweight. i won't really be using it as a track bike nor a city fixie, so it won't need to survive serious thrashings. i want something extremely light that goes well over long rides on good surfaces.
help building up a single speed bike
Moderator: robbosmans
I don't know the exact weight of my Specialized Langster, must be 6,5- 7 kgs , but the weight doesn't matter much neither on flat terrain or track.
Can be 6,5 with lighter components (cockpit and seat/seatpost). Stock wheels are a little bit heavy. Finish is great, much better compared to my CAAD9.
I think the best is to buy a frame/fork + good wheels first , and the rest with the parts you already have or can find at a good value.
I use it on the track but first I rode 10 kms on the road (with street clothes and shoes) just to try, I was quite surprised how fast I could go (around 35 km/h) with no hard effort and 48x15.
I liked the ride but with no brake I didn't dare to go on a descent and ride longer.
Stock gearing is 48x17 and a good start, it's personnal preference anyway.
On the wooden track I see guys riding pretty fast (2 laps 52-56 km/h, max above 60) with only 46x14, and others slower with a bigger gear. I have now 50x15.
Some guys have alu frames (Look, Spe, Giant, Felt, Cannondale, ... ) and it doesn't seem to matter much, all of them are good. Cannon CAAD 10 Track is pretty nice and lighter but expensive.
Others have carbon (Look, Fuji, Planet X, ... ) , apparently Fuji is the best value.
Can be 6,5 with lighter components (cockpit and seat/seatpost). Stock wheels are a little bit heavy. Finish is great, much better compared to my CAAD9.
I think the best is to buy a frame/fork + good wheels first , and the rest with the parts you already have or can find at a good value.
I use it on the track but first I rode 10 kms on the road (with street clothes and shoes) just to try, I was quite surprised how fast I could go (around 35 km/h) with no hard effort and 48x15.
I liked the ride but with no brake I didn't dare to go on a descent and ride longer.
Stock gearing is 48x17 and a good start, it's personnal preference anyway.
On the wooden track I see guys riding pretty fast (2 laps 52-56 km/h, max above 60) with only 46x14, and others slower with a bigger gear. I have now 50x15.
Some guys have alu frames (Look, Spe, Giant, Felt, Cannondale, ... ) and it doesn't seem to matter much, all of them are good. Cannon CAAD 10 Track is pretty nice and lighter but expensive.
Others have carbon (Look, Fuji, Planet X, ... ) , apparently Fuji is the best value.
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atlasspeaks wrote:Please give me your recommendations! cheers
On your budget and weight considerations, I'd look at a used lighter weight TT frame with horizontal dropouts.
Gearing on the flat at only 25-30 km/hr doesn't need to be a big gear. My fixed gear commuter is running quite a small gear 42*16 which is perfect for those speeds
Track frames are by nature heavy beasts. My BT Stealth as pictured is a weighty +8kg.
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atlasspeaks
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2016 3:35 am
hey guys, thanks for the input. so far i'm looking at:
frame: dolan pre cursa or tc1 (approx 2kg and 293/514usd)
wheels: wabi sub 15 (1475g, 275usd) or farsport carbon wheels (1370g, 568usd)
tyres: continental gatorskin (440g, 62usd)
crank and bb: sram s300 (830g, 135usd)
pedals: speedplay zero (210g total, 151usd)
bars: nitto rb-021 (240g, 52usd)
stem: Deda Elementi Superleggero (99g, 94usd) OR Ritchey Adjustable Stem (219g, 45usd, i know it's heavy but i REALLY like it's flexibility. i may have to make a concession here...)
seatpost: included with frame(s) and their weight totals
brake: front shimano R561 (160g, 40usd)
brake lever: trp rl951 (38g, 32usd)
headset: ird techno glide (110g, 55usd)
saddle: fizik aliante delta manganese (271g, already own)
so lowest total weight so far is 5.76kg. add a sprocket, inner tubes, spacers, chain and i estimate it'll end up being close to 6.2-6.5kg. the total cost for the lighest build will be 1482usd, which is way over what i wanted to spend. i can shave money off by going with the wabi wheels over the carbon ones, but i could use some help with part suggestions that save money in other areas while maintaining or lowering weight.
the people over on the fixie subreddit have been incredibly unhelpful, but then again they don't seem to care about weight as much as you lot. if there's any other suggestions for part replacements on this list that would save weight and money, i'd love to hear them!
frame: dolan pre cursa or tc1 (approx 2kg and 293/514usd)
wheels: wabi sub 15 (1475g, 275usd) or farsport carbon wheels (1370g, 568usd)
tyres: continental gatorskin (440g, 62usd)
crank and bb: sram s300 (830g, 135usd)
pedals: speedplay zero (210g total, 151usd)
bars: nitto rb-021 (240g, 52usd)
stem: Deda Elementi Superleggero (99g, 94usd) OR Ritchey Adjustable Stem (219g, 45usd, i know it's heavy but i REALLY like it's flexibility. i may have to make a concession here...)
seatpost: included with frame(s) and their weight totals
brake: front shimano R561 (160g, 40usd)
brake lever: trp rl951 (38g, 32usd)
headset: ird techno glide (110g, 55usd)
saddle: fizik aliante delta manganese (271g, already own)
so lowest total weight so far is 5.76kg. add a sprocket, inner tubes, spacers, chain and i estimate it'll end up being close to 6.2-6.5kg. the total cost for the lighest build will be 1482usd, which is way over what i wanted to spend. i can shave money off by going with the wabi wheels over the carbon ones, but i could use some help with part suggestions that save money in other areas while maintaining or lowering weight.
the people over on the fixie subreddit have been incredibly unhelpful, but then again they don't seem to care about weight as much as you lot. if there's any other suggestions for part replacements on this list that would save weight and money, i'd love to hear them!
Kalloy Uno ultralight stems plus ti bolt kit gets a lot of positive comments for less than your options listed.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=116669
If you don't mind Keo type cleats, Exustar E-PR100PP pedals are 254g for the pair so heavier than the Speedplay pedals but 1/4 of the price online. Money saved could go towards other lighter parts?
Still suggest checking sites such as the slowtwitch sales forum for a TT frame with horizontal dropouts... Also other parts could be found lightly used or cheaper from the usual places.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=116669
If you don't mind Keo type cleats, Exustar E-PR100PP pedals are 254g for the pair so heavier than the Speedplay pedals but 1/4 of the price online. Money saved could go towards other lighter parts?
Still suggest checking sites such as the slowtwitch sales forum for a TT frame with horizontal dropouts... Also other parts could be found lightly used or cheaper from the usual places.
Just checked the handlebars. Beware the clamp isn't 31.8mm, so get the correct stem.
Look around for a Trek T1 frameset (the red Made in USA ones). They are pretty light for what you can get them for.
Mine is at 6.8 kgs with a pigfat 2100 g Deep V wheelset and UltraSport tires. However, I got good deals on secondhand or closeout Sram Omnium cranks, semi-light bars and stem, and seat stuff, so you can't be totally reckless with heavy components.
Mine is at 6.8 kgs with a pigfat 2100 g Deep V wheelset and UltraSport tires. However, I got good deals on secondhand or closeout Sram Omnium cranks, semi-light bars and stem, and seat stuff, so you can't be totally reckless with heavy components.
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atlasspeaks
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2016 3:35 am
hi everyone, thanks for the great help. here's what hours and hours of research has made:
frame: dolan pre-cursa (listed at 1.78kg with fork and seatpost for the 54 frame. based on other frame weight differences i've seen, i'm going to roughly assume for the 58 sized frame that it'd weigh around 150grams more, making the 58 frameset clock in at 1.93kg and 292 dollars.). the other option i've found is the state bicycle 2016 6061 black label frameset. with seatpost, frame and fork, also comes to around 2kg, although slightly higher priced at 319usd.
seatpost and fork: included in the frame weight and price
wheelset: wabi sub 15 (1475g, 275usd)
tyres: continental gatorskin x2 (440g, 62usd)
crank and bb: sram s300 (830g, 135usd)
pedals: speedplay zero (216g, 159usd)
cog: shimano dura ace 16T (64g, 28usd)
bars: origin8 bullhorns (320g, 37usd)
stem: kalloy uno seven super lite (100g, 37usd)
saddle: fizik aliante delta manganese (271g, i already own)
brake: cane creek 200tt (86g, 35usd)
chain: kmz chain (340g, 9usd)
seatpost collar: origin8 carbon (8g, 9usd)
headset: fsa orbit z (87g, 60usd)
innertubes: continentals x2 (200g, 16usd)
add in short length of cable for front brake, rim tape, headset spacer and lockring. i'd estimate no more than 200 grams for all of this, at around 50usd.
totals: 6467g, 912usd.
the speedplay pedals were a big luxury as i enjoy them, which raised the price above my original goal. they could easily be swapped out of the build for something much cheaper, such as the exustar e-pr100pp pedals that dalai suggested which weigh in at 254g and cost 18usd (making the totals change to 6,505g and 771usd, which is pretty much the price i originally wanted and comes right over my 6.5kg goal although barely). i could also save weight by getting a much lighter saddle, although that's additional cost. i'm also sure that in my limited research time i haven't discovered other options that could be better choices. i feel good at least at this point that i've proven that you can build a 6.5kg bike for around 750, and this is with my very very limited knowledge on parts.
if you have any great replacement suggestions for the kit i listed, i'd be much obliged!
frame: dolan pre-cursa (listed at 1.78kg with fork and seatpost for the 54 frame. based on other frame weight differences i've seen, i'm going to roughly assume for the 58 sized frame that it'd weigh around 150grams more, making the 58 frameset clock in at 1.93kg and 292 dollars.). the other option i've found is the state bicycle 2016 6061 black label frameset. with seatpost, frame and fork, also comes to around 2kg, although slightly higher priced at 319usd.
seatpost and fork: included in the frame weight and price
wheelset: wabi sub 15 (1475g, 275usd)
tyres: continental gatorskin x2 (440g, 62usd)
crank and bb: sram s300 (830g, 135usd)
pedals: speedplay zero (216g, 159usd)
cog: shimano dura ace 16T (64g, 28usd)
bars: origin8 bullhorns (320g, 37usd)
stem: kalloy uno seven super lite (100g, 37usd)
saddle: fizik aliante delta manganese (271g, i already own)
brake: cane creek 200tt (86g, 35usd)
chain: kmz chain (340g, 9usd)
seatpost collar: origin8 carbon (8g, 9usd)
headset: fsa orbit z (87g, 60usd)
innertubes: continentals x2 (200g, 16usd)
add in short length of cable for front brake, rim tape, headset spacer and lockring. i'd estimate no more than 200 grams for all of this, at around 50usd.
totals: 6467g, 912usd.
the speedplay pedals were a big luxury as i enjoy them, which raised the price above my original goal. they could easily be swapped out of the build for something much cheaper, such as the exustar e-pr100pp pedals that dalai suggested which weigh in at 254g and cost 18usd (making the totals change to 6,505g and 771usd, which is pretty much the price i originally wanted and comes right over my 6.5kg goal although barely). i could also save weight by getting a much lighter saddle, although that's additional cost. i'm also sure that in my limited research time i haven't discovered other options that could be better choices. i feel good at least at this point that i've proven that you can build a 6.5kg bike for around 750, and this is with my very very limited knowledge on parts.
if you have any great replacement suggestions for the kit i listed, i'd be much obliged!
Why track frameset, instead of road bike frameset?
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atlasspeaks
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2016 3:35 am
no real reason besides the dropouts. i already don't know enough about fixed gear builds to try and find dropouts on road bikes that would work.
do you know any good road bikes as light or lighter than the ones i listed, while at the same or lower price that would work in this build?
do you know any good road bikes as light or lighter than the ones i listed, while at the same or lower price that would work in this build?
Get drop bars. Lighter and more hand positions.
easy thing is to pick up a full track bike and add the brakes, I recently did this with a felt TK3, 2nd hand barely used 350GBP with a an extra front wheel ( spinergy rev x)
couple of things to catch ou out though, the felt handlebars slim down right next to the stem so you cant easily add a finger brake, not an issue for me as I added road levers, but would have liked the option to ad clipon tt bars...
track bikes ususally dont have bottle cage mounts, again no problem as I just drilled the frame and put rivinuts in... also no brake cable bosses, so its either tape, stick on bosses or zipties.
Oh and dont forget about the 120mm rear spacing!
couple of things to catch ou out though, the felt handlebars slim down right next to the stem so you cant easily add a finger brake, not an issue for me as I added road levers, but would have liked the option to ad clipon tt bars...
track bikes ususally dont have bottle cage mounts, again no problem as I just drilled the frame and put rivinuts in... also no brake cable bosses, so its either tape, stick on bosses or zipties.
Oh and dont forget about the 120mm rear spacing!
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jekyll man
- Posts: 1571
- Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2007 10:23 am
- Location: Pack filler
joec wrote:easy thing is to pick up a full track bike and add the brakes, I recently did this with a felt TK3, 2nd hand barely used 350GBP with a an extra front wheel ( spinergy rev x)
couple of things to catch ou out though, the felt handlebars slim down right next to the stem so you cant easily add a finger brake, not an issue for me as I added road levers, but would have liked the option to ad clipon tt bars...
track bikes ususally dont have bottle cage mounts, again no problem as I just drilled the frame and put rivinuts in... also no brake cable bosses, so its either tape, stick on bosses or zipties.
Oh and dont forget about the 120mm rear spacing!
Dolan pre cursa comes with bottle bosses and also a fork drilled for a brake.
I ride one on the road quite a lot, and i have to be honest, it rides really well, on 42*17
Its the rear hub and solid axle thats normally a porker unless you spend stupid money. I just use a halo rear wheel.
Official cafe stop tester
You should probably read this thread
https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/261952/
You're gonna struggle to have a frameset for under 2.3kg.
https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/261952/
You're gonna struggle to have a frameset for under 2.3kg.
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atlasspeaks
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2016 3:35 am
dalai, i ride drops on my canyon endurace cf. i want to mix it up with some bullhorns on my (future) single speed but may end up going drops on those as well. lol
joec, where i live second hand cycles are crazy expensive and almost no one buys track bikes here. i've looked for any decent second hand units and they are non-existent. i'd love to have that option though.
euan, i've read that thread already. that guy rides a 60 frame. mine will be a 58 and i think the pre cursa will probably end up tipping the scales at slightly over 2kg for the entire frameset. however, the frameset i am most likely to go with is the 2016 state bicycle 6061 black label, and that full size 58 frameset is under 2kg, as quote to me by one of their reps.
joec, where i live second hand cycles are crazy expensive and almost no one buys track bikes here. i've looked for any decent second hand units and they are non-existent. i'd love to have that option though.
euan, i've read that thread already. that guy rides a 60 frame. mine will be a 58 and i think the pre cursa will probably end up tipping the scales at slightly over 2kg for the entire frameset. however, the frameset i am most likely to go with is the 2016 state bicycle 6061 black label, and that full size 58 frameset is under 2kg, as quote to me by one of their reps.
