For the folks (like me) that who ride them and the the folks that don't think they're very good I present my daily commuter...

http://members.shaw.ca/feynn/biking/69Peugeot1.jpg

It's a 1962 Peugeot with a ghetto fixed gear conversion that was a 10 speed that was destined for the crusher ... I recently changed the chainring and and rear cog to a 52 and an 18 from the 42 and the 14 it was running (shown in the picture) as I had worn out the 14 tooth freewheel cog and the ACS chain I was running after 4000 km (2500 miles) of every day riding.

The new drive uses a 52 tooth chainring and an 18 tooth ss/fixed gear cog I salvaged from an old coaster hub which dropped the gearing from 81 gear inches to 77 gear inches... the bike spins up a little faster and climbs a little better which was a good trade off for losing a little potential off the top end. The new chain is a KMC and I expect it to outlast the ACS by a good margin.

Removing the old cog and lockring took considerable effort (and a bit of fire) as I didn't skimp on the locktite when I built it up and never had any problem with the cog or lockring slipping..

I recall that old coaches would insist that riders pit 1000 mile son a fixed gear before they rode gearies and after more than 2500 miles of fixed riding I can't find too many reasons to ride a gearie anymore unless I'm touring or hitting the trails.

Here's to riding another 4000 km on what is one my favourite bikes of all time and a request to see any other ghetto bikes and hear their stories... .

HERE HERE!!!
Porn bikes are very titillating and all...
but ghetto bikes get your butt to work and back.
Thank you sir.
Unfortunately I do not even have a ghetto fixie to post.
I have a fugly ss commuter.
Now I'm just rambling...
65er, love the Peugeot.

Thanks Cody... where's the pics of the fugly SS commuter ?

I'll have to update my bike's pic to show the new and improved ghetto drive.

I wouldn't call it ghetto, but it is my back up bike when I want a flip/flop hub over the green machine. BTW I love your brake lever placement; it leaves no doubt you ride in the drops. This was my first real bike, everything has been replaced but the frame, seatpost and stem. Still its been my riding buddy for 20 years. The Peugeot now has a new wheel set (flip/flop) for when I ride Eureka Canyon and the 15 mile downhill. But it is a back up bike. My commuter is even less ghetto, fixie with Campy star hubs and Miche/Salsa parts. Still the Peugeot waits in the wings as the 2nd string QB. Ready to take the helm when needed.

Brad

I like those satanic cranks.

I like those satanic cranks. Yes, the French have always been that way; didn't you see the DaVinci Code?

Brad

I snapped a pic of Bridgette when I got home... I removed the full fenders as they were causing a little toe overlap problem when I trackstand and just found the little 1/4 fenders at the shop. The best way to get them home was to install them but they will have to be re-painted since I thik the turquoise really clashes.

They do keep with the bike's theme as every part on her was recycled / salvaged except the new chain which I actually paid a whopping $9.00 for.

She's looking less commuter-ish now soince I also swapped and dropped the stem.

I was told that the Ideale saddle is actually a vintage track saddle...the short nose allowed riders to move the seat farther forward and get around the regulation that would not allow the nose of the saddle to pass the centre of the bb.

That 52 tooth ring makes the bike look like a badass ride (and she is) but that is really offset by the 18 tooth cog in the rear.

http://members.shaw.ca/feynn/biking/bridgette1.jpg

It is certainly is ghetto, so:
101219

I like those satanic cranks.

My px10 had a stronglight star pattern crank. I love that look.

It is certainly is ghetto, so:
101219

Fred Flinstone brakes on the rear wheel?

I love the brake cable! Too many people try to "hide" it--- but there is no getting around a bike with a brake. It adds quite a flourish.

I find that I also like seeing brake cables and I like the curving lines they add to the bike.

Here's another one of my ghetto bikes...

http://members.shaw.ca/feynn/biking/Carlton40a.jpg

http://members.shaw.ca/feynn/biking/Carlton40b.jpg

It's a 1973 Raleigh Carlton Gran Sports (full Reynold's 531 frame and forks) that I picked up for $10.00 at a thrift store... after the fixed gear conversion it weighed in at a few grams under 20 pounds and could still be much lighter if I swapped a few more of the vintage parts.

I have a second matching crankset (a Shimano 600) with a 52 tooth ring mounted up so I can take her to the velodrome, swap in the big ring, and really let loose... my regular gearing is a 40:14 which gives me 75 gear inches.

Cody...Your ss reminds me of my Kuwahara Cascade mb that is now a fixie but spent a good deal of time as an SS.

Thanks for the compliment on the blue brake housing.

Yup, sans rear brake. And that lever is so screwy I couldn't endo with the front brake if I tried. I have some cyclocross levers a comin. Then maybe I'll install fully functioning brakes. Or maybe not.

65er, your '73 Raleigh kills me. That is just the kind of deal I would swoop on. But I live in B.F.E. (population: 533), where bikes are practically an oddity. The only thing that I miss about living in large population is all the sweet deals to be had from others' ignorance and/or apathy.

I haven't owned a road bike for 15 years, and very few of the few people here have them. Somehow someway I will find one and maybe even "fix" it!

65er, you got snaps of that Kuwahara?

This is the rear wheel that recently came off of my ghetto fixie. I'm making it less ghetto (but still ghetto), much safer and SS.

They're old Mavic tubular rims with steel hubs (atala?) and the cog came from a taken apart cassette. I'm thinking about welding/bonding the cog to the hub so that when I want to use it fixie I can just change the rear wheel.

EDIT: why is there all this black space in my pics?

This is the rear wheel that recently came off of my ghetto fixie. I'm making it less ghetto (but still ghetto), much safer and SS.

They're old Mavic tubular rims with steel hubs (atala?) and the cog came from a taken apart cassette. I'm thinking about welding/bonding the cog to the hub so that when I want to use it fixie I can just change the rear wheel.

EDIT: why is there all this black space in my pics?

Your explaination doesn't make sense to me. Your hub looks like freewheel and the cog looks like it came of a crusier, ala coaster brake hub. But I have never seen notches like that on the threaded protion of the hub. Regarless, if the tabs on the cog engage the notches in the hub, why not just use a bottom bracket lockring and screw it on? Looks like it should work with the suicide hub problem.

What black space? :wink: I'm guessing the background (or canvass size) of your photo is larger than the photo; Usually they are the same, but if you had to manipulated the photo to reduce the pixels, you probably used the wrong tool. You can play with that on Photoshop and make it go away.

Brad

Your explaination doesn't make sense to me. Your hub looks like freewheel and the cog looks like it came of a crusier, ala coaster brake hub. But I have never seen notches like that on the threaded protion of the hub. Regarless, if the tabs on the cog engage the notches in the hub, why not just use a bottom bracket lockring and screw it on? Looks like it should work with the suicide hub problem.

The hub didn't have those notches, I made them so that the cog would fit (that's why it's ghetto). And I did have a BB lockring on it but I screwed around with it too much and now the threads are messed up.

If your asking why anybody would be stupid enough to make notches in a steel hub my answer is that I was building a bike as cheaply as possible, and it worked, for a month or two I was riding a very nice $17 fixie. I just built some new wheels and am changing a couple things around so on Tuesday you shall all see my improved SS. I have invested a whopping $59 so we'll see how it turns out.

The hub didn't have those notches, I made them so that the cog would fit (that's why it's ghetto). And I did have a BB lockring on it but I screwed around with it too much and now the threads are messed up.

If your asking why anybody would be stupid enough to make notches in a steel hub my answer is that I was building a bike as cheaply as possible, and it worked, for a month or two I was riding a very nice $17 fixie. I just built some new wheels and am changing a couple things around so on Tuesday you shall all see my improved SS. I have invested a whopping $59 so we'll see how it turns out.

Okay, now it makes sense. I more or less figured that's what happened, but you did such a nice job on the notches (@ least in the photos :rolleyes: ). So now I'll wait till tomorrow..

Brad

I snapped a new pic of the Kuwahara today...

The Cascade is probably one of the finest bikes Kuwahara ever built... the frame is handbuilt with Ishiwata quad butted tubes and the forks, bb, and headset are all Tange.

http://members.shaw.ca/feynn/biking/yardsale/kuwiefix.jpg

Isn't fixedgeargallery.com essentially the ghetto fixie appreciation website?