First Bike Build
I’m finally done with my fixed gear conversion of a Nishiki International road bike. I’m not going to lie and tell you that this was close to even being a cheap ordeal. Here’s the list costs that was necessary for this complete build:
- 19 teeth cog and new bicycle chain = $48.71
- Bar tape & 3 inner tubes (1 for spare) = $19.78
- Nitto bullhorn handlebar = $54.89
- 2 Panaracer Strada Pro tires, front brake pad , and White Lightening chain lube = $80.18
- 2 rim tape = $8.64
- White Specialized Alias 143 seat & brake cable = $72.09
- Spray paint & electric tape (extra bar tape) = $5.80
- Cyclocomputer, front & rear lights, wedge bag, mini pump, and miscellaneous items = $149.32
- Donations for stand time @ Bike Oven = $65.00
Grand Total = $504.41
I guess I could have went real cheap and buy the plain black tires with no puncture protection or no red stripe sidewall or even gone with a bulky wired cyclocomputer or big no name front lights. This bike, in my opinion, deserved a better assortment of accessories. Hence the expensive bill.
I did gain 3 things from all this:
- Being comfortable with taking bikes apart and working on it.
- Owning a kick ass fixed gear bike to ride.
- Fixed gear riding is sooo different than regular free gear riding.
Converting the bike felt like when I first got into computers in college. I was obsessed and was laser focused on the task. I was thinking about the bike when I wasn’t around it. And when I was working on it, I felt at peace. The time working on it went by very quick. I think I’m going to actively volunteer at the Bike Oven to learn and work on bicycling. This is so fun that I’m actually considering selling my motorcycle so I can use that to buy a very nice road bike. Yes, I am that into it.
Here’s the before picture of the bike when I picked it up:
Here is the finished conversion with new white toe clips and all.
