Burbio's Fixie Picture Trail
 

I got a fixie a few months ago, and I've slowly been changing and modifying it to make it my own. Below is what I've done so far. Comments and critique are encouraged!

The day I bought it, it was pretty bland. Of course, I was still excited enough to take a bunch of crappy cell phone pics :p
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After about 2 weeks, I was unhappy with the pedestrian gear ratio of 42-16 that the bike came with, so I swapped out the rear cog with a 13-tooth cog and changed the chainring to a 52-tooth ring. I also flipped the stem upside down to give a more aggressive riding position. It's not visible here but you can see it in later photos.
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The 52-tooth chainring barely fit on the frame...
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A few days ago I upgraded to an HED Deep carbon wheel in the front. It was slightly smaller than the wheels that came with it (it's 650c rather than 700c), so I had to remove the front brake. I installed some toe clips so I could skid stop. As you can see, I also did the ol' "Flop 'n Chop" on the handlebars, where I flipped them upside down and sawed off the curved part. You can also see the flipped handlebar stem.
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You might have noticed in the newer photos, I'm using the old 42-tooth chainring. I swapped it back, but kept the 13-tooth cog, after 2 crashes resulting from lack of control from such a large gear ratio of 52-13. I've found 42-13 to be a very good gear ratio.

More to come as I get more money! My ultimate goal is a white Aerospoke in the front, a white-rimmed Deep V wheel in the back by Weinmann or Velocity, white chain, white grip tape, and I'm going to switch back to drop-handlebars eventually, also. The final modification for this bike will be a re-paint, removing all the decals and painting it radioactive green.

nice bike! i know almost nothing about fixed gear bicycles but they do look pretty dope.

Sounds like fun modding. What's the benefit of the carbon fiber front rim?

it's a lot lighter than the wheel that came with it, and it's much more aerodynamic which makes riding a lot easier (as I'm sure you know). eventually i'll get an aero rear wheel but I need to save up for it!

sooooooooooooooooo jackass

jackass is good now? :rotfl:

thanks pal!

you dont even kno

Here's a quick teaser:
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wtf. why would you do that?

it's a good looking bike. i respect the bikes. but i honestly can't stand the fixed-gear fad. let's all have 4-inch-wide handlebars with bmx grips, hand crocheted top tube pads, brightly colored deep-v rims, and spoke cards that aren't even for races. i'm just venting, nothing personal.

Just you wait, sir... It's all part of the ultimate plan to go mainly green n white. The wheel looks better than before. You can still tell it's carbon, but it's not like "Hey! Look at me! I'm made of carbon! Anybody want to steal me?"

And I respect those who can't stand fixies, altho I don't understand why you would dislike something just because it's different or unnecessary.

like i said, i respect the bikes, it's the fad i dislike. in my old apartment building, a group of about 20-25 people with "fixies" would ride in circles around our plaza doing skids and wheelies. then the next morning, there's nothing but black swirls all over the place. it made it look shitty.

how the hell were you riding without toe clips before? and why would you give up a front brake for a smaller "trendy" wheel?

i was riding without toe clips before because i had a 700c wheel that allowed for a front brake, so there was really no need for the toe clips. I didn't choose to "give up" my front brake for the smaller wheel, I just a really good deal on the wheel, and because it's too small to run the front brake, I had to switch to toe clips to stop.

I'm too lazy to ride a bike or do any real exercise, but I like this bike

Updates in this picture:
- New drop handlebars
- New stem
- Painted HED wheel

The wheel painted really well, but it messed up a little when I put down the clear coat. The best way I can describe it is the paint wrinkled. I'm gonna go thru and sand out the wrinkles eventually, but I haven't yet.

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