Not really new to Sydney, but an old bike enthusiast.
My hard tail MTB was stolen over Christmas, so thought I could start something new.
Had a look at some fixed bikes at Deus Exmachina, but haven’t been riding one jet.
Anyway, would love to get my own hands dirty, and ideally build my own.
In Munich, Germany where I am from you could use commute facilities to fix, build etc. bikes. Could anyone give me some ideas where to start in Sydney, either to find a club, gang, or guys who offer advice, tools, parts etc.
Many thanks,
Sorry can’t really find the article you are referring to.
My major problem to be honest is that I lack all essential tools.
Therefore I try to get to know the fixed bike community in Sydney, if there is one.
Anyway you managed to build your own for a 100 bucks, yeah?
And nah, i bought my bike for $100 already converted. But there’s plenty of frames and parts floating around here, plus people might be able to help you out.
Here’s the thing. You only need a couple of specialised tools to convert an old road bike:
Freewheel remover
Crank puller, should you wish to stick some new cranks on
Maybe a bottom bracket tool
Chain breaker
The other stuff (various allen keys, wrenches, etc) are easy to find. You probably wouldn’t even need to buy all of the above tools: when it comes time to yank off the old freewheel cluster from whatever crusty roadbike you want to convert, you can just take it down to the local bike shop and ask them nicely. They’ll probably take it off for you for nothing. The only thing I’d recommend getting is a chain breaker since you’ll reuse it when you want to clean or replace your chain.
Folks on this forum can help you through the process, it’s relatively straightforward.
Powerlinks.
Even the 1 1/8" chain on my fixie has one (although i need a pair of pliers to get the surclips off).
Powerlinks are the best addition to bikes since the circular wheel
If the pins on your chain can be pushed back in, it might be worth engraving how many turns it takes to push the pin out just far enough so you can pull the chain apart. It also helps when you’re pushing the pin back in.