Fixed Gear Bike Parts

It pays to have quite a good knowledge of fixed gear bike parts, so that you know what you are looking for.

You should be carrying a few spares of single speed bike parts and custom bike parts.  You will be using these for a conversion for a road bike if you are building a fixed gear bike yourself.  You will also need to carry a few fixed gear bike parts as spares.

If you are an adventurer then your fixie could take quite a pounding and so carrying a few fixed gear parts is essential.

One of the skills you should be learning as a lover of fixed gear bikes is knowing where to hunt down spares on the cheap, cannibalize them and then use them as spares for yourself. 

Old road bike parts and fixed gear track bike parts are ideal for this.  You should always be on the look out for a dead cheap example.  They can be used to source decent fixed gear bike frames.  It is not unheard of for a fixie nut to have several frames hanging around, being saved for the next project.

Where fixed gear bike handle bars are concerned you should have no problem finding these.

They can be bought pretty cheap or sourced second hand from numerous stockists of fixed gear bike parts.  It really depends on the styles you prefer.  You can go for a standard and traditional set of drop bars or the slight variation on that in the splayed Randonneur which are a bit more comfortable over long distances.  Alternatives are the bull horn styles or moustache even.  Finally the modern butterfly bars are an option and very fashionable at the moment.

One of the areas you may want to look at more closely is fixed gear bike wheels.

This is a subject which has no straight answer.  Yes you can buy these on the cheap or used, but beware.  Check very thoroughly for any signs of corrosion inside the profile especially and also crash damage.  You may want to check just how straight these are first.  These fixed gear bike parts can be salvaged and then re-spoked and redished by a professional to ensure a good re-build.

The other option for fixed gear wheels is to buy new.

There are many brands with Mavic and Velocity being the most respected.  What fixie wheel you buy to add to your fixed gear bike parts stash may depend on what you are going to be doing with your bike.  A wheel for the off road battering of a fixed gear mountain bike will be totally different to touring or road fixed gear bikes.

Whatever way you decide to go, new or used, always check you are buying the right fixed gear bike parts at the right prices.  If buying or collecting used parts, check there integrity and clean them up properly to check on damage and corrosion.

Taking simple precautions and thinking through your purchase carefully will eliminate costly mistakes and often painful ones if they fail.