650b SS/fixed gear?

[JL]

Does anyone have insight about how fixed gear might work with a 650b road setup? I have ridden plenty of fixed gear miles but never with the smaller diameter / larger volume tires that I enjoy on 650b bikes. Anything special to consider?

Thanks
Jason
SF, CA

[Justin]

If it's a conversion watch your crank length. Riding fixed on Hetres on a nice flexy 531 frame is sublime. I wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone.

-J, PHL

[Pondero]

Jason,

I have a Kogswell P/R set up with Hetres and a fixed wheel.  I quite enjoyed it as my primary bike for a couple of years.  Most of my time is now spent on my Hilsen, so the Kogswell is for sale.

I had it set up with front rack and Berthoud handlebar bag, dyno hub and Edelux headlight.  I thought it was an excellent arrangement for the road.

Chris

[rcnute]

Sometimes a bike that's nice and flexy going down the road or up a hill becomes like a rubber band going downhill fixed especially with a bar bag.  I have a fixed P/R and like it a lot but wouldn't want anything flexier (it's not particularly flexy to begin with).

Ryan

[rcnute]

Someone's going to get a nice bike here.  My P/R is still one of my favorites.

Ryan

[John Clay]

I'm rather partial to this one:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21624415@N04/7720433970/in/set-72157629417200546

The frame was designed as a 650b fixed gear from the ground up and it is a joy to ride on and off road. While I kept it simple in order to focus on frame building essentials and having a quick project, I regret the lack of fenders, front rack and bag. At some point I'll rectify those problems. I also wish I'd used a road crown and blades so I could have fitted (with structural confidence) side pull brakes (simply for aesthetics). Since offroad use was part of the mission I used 96 conventional tubes; for road alone I'd have used lighter gauge wall. It was designed around Col de La Vie tires which are quite nice, if not the pinnacle, and an excellent value. With the CdLV alone as your tire choice you could do it for a tad less in 650a; I already had the tires and rims in 650b. The tires seem plenty fast and are comfortable on and off road though deep sand defeats them (and just about everything else short of wide knobbies).

John Clay
Tallahassee

[rce...@gmail.com]

On Mon, Jan 20, 2014 at 4:24 PM, JL <subf...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Does anyone have insight about how fixed gear might work with a 650b road setup?

Just fine. I had a Rawland Olaf in service for 5 years in many
different configurations from road cruiser to gravel grinder.
Thousands of miles on almost every imaginable road service--took a
lickin' kept on tickin'. See attached pic for one of its earliest
setup's.

Removed from service a few months ago as I'm scaling back my bicycle
collection. (frame & fork are for sale if you're interested)

--
Rod C, Fort Collins, CO

[Jon Doyle]

There was Bicycle Quarterly reader's ride feature not too long ago, a 650b fixed gear randonneuse. I think it belonged to a Swedish guy. I can't remember/dig out the issue, but maybe someone can. Could be worth reading.

Jon

Watertown, MA

[John Clay]

It was Autumn, 2012. The fender clearance for tire removal in a frame with track drops can be tricky but I wouldn't let that deter me from having a fendered, fixed gear bicycle if you enjoy fixed or single speed riding. Even if a tire repair required loosening the rear fender mounts I'd do it.

John Clay
Tallahassee

[Tim Gavin]

Fenders with quick-detach mounts make removal from track ends much easier.  The SKS mounts intended for the front fender can be used at the rear; they're available separately and are easy to pop in and out.  http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/fe83.htm

Tim

[ron...@ronlau.com]

To all,

I had a fixedgear 650b years ago, that was really nice riding in SF with
all the broken streets.

In terms of wheels, I went with Phil you can take two bolts out and the
wheel come down vertical. You can use White Industries ENO as well if your
frame is not a track frame.

Ron

[Matthew Gengler]

Pardon the interruption, did you have problems with the bottom bracket height?

m

[Arne Raddatz]

You can make 650b conversions with low bottom brackets work, if you choose shorter crank arms. I had my 170mm Stronglight 80 shorten to 150mm exactly for that purpose (i am 5'9). This way all my favorite elements of what i like in a bike could be combined: a vintage frame with ultra-lightweight tubing (Ishiwata 017), 42mm 650b + 40mm trail and: fixed gear.

I felt a strong resentment towards these kid-sized cranks as these were the only way to make it work with the low bb. Took as long as 5 minutes on the bike to change my mind. Shorter cranks are great and work very complementary to a fixed gear drive: spinning high rpm is easier and you can get much more aero on the bike because your knees don't hit your chest (useful for head-winds). You loose some leverage at the crank, but you compensate for that by choosing a lower gear. I am not the high-rpm spinner type, but spinning in the 100-110rpm range on 150mm feels very natural and relaxed. It's totally different to 170mm cranks where at 100rpm it felt like my nerves weren't firing at the correct rate resulting in an uneven spin. My current gearing is 46:20: yes - it's that low. 

Also: 20% my bike related pains are greatly diminished, 80% are just flat out gone, for example the knee pain that was bugging me after 3+ hours. Could it be the lower gearing? Yes, it's possible. But the shorter cranks made it possible to lower the gearing without loosing speed. Let me underline that: you won't loose any speed. The feel is very different at first, but after a few hours it feels just normal. And then you realize: High rpms on short cranks "feel" like lower rpms on long ones.

But forget what i' am saying: The world isn't ready for shorter cranks. 

Also: It's time for an influencer to pick up on short cranks. There's money to be made.

To bring this on topic again. standard road geometry 650b conversions work fine with a fixed gear drive by using shorter cranks.

[Greg Walton]

Arne, I'm curious who you had shorten the  Stronglight 80 crank arms?  Do you have photos you could share?

Greg

Seattle

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[Scott Stulken]

On a related note since this discussion got bumped:  my FG is rolling on Compass Naches Pass as of this season, and I've never loved it more.

- Scott

[Carla Waugh]

My 650B is setup as a SS and I love it! I’m using Compass Babyshoes. I am currently using a cog because I have used it with gears. I don’t see going back to gears any time soon. It’s a Scissortail Cycles frame. The Compass tires are a plus! I have ridden fixed in the past.