raffivegas

Hi there, long time lurker here, not new to forums or forum etiquette/culture. I've searched around regarding pedals hitting wheels and most people want to immediately think "toe overlap" which is not what this is. This is pedal to wheel overlap. Every thread I've found on pedal to wheel overlap, the reason for the overlap was because the fork was on backwards. So, I went and checked out my bike and tried the fork both ways and the result is identical. I think some context will be helpful.

I picked up this beaut on OfferUp yesterday. Kid told me it was rideable, because I wanted to make sure it was before I made the drive to pick it up. When I showed up, he and his mom emerged with the bike in hand from behind a dumpster, lol. It was weird, but they had walked to our public meeting spot. He was holding one of the crank arms in one hand saying all it needed was a bolt. Too bad the square peg hole in the crank arm is warped. The BB looks good tough, but I'll need a replacement crank. Both the tires are flat and one is missing a tube. Rideable...

In any case, and I kind of noticed this in the pics the kid had posted, I found the stance of the bike different than the current generation of Pure Fix Original fixies. The crank arm length is 170mm. Is this normal? Is the fork on the right way? Thoughts?

Also, and this may be a question for a wheel building forum, but is there a reason a single spoke on each wheel is red? I wanted to remove the spokes and take the wheel apart and sand or chemically remove the black spray paint they used on these originally red wheels. I looked at stock pictures of Pure Fix wheels and they have black spokes with a single red one. Is this used like that for assembly order or something significant? Pics attached. All subjective and objective thoughts welcome, thanks!

pics here (not technically URLs):
ibb dot co/qsNrd1Z
ibb dot co/WsfG2br
ibb dot co/WWtBnqN
ibb dot co/DGW258j
ibb dot co/q0ZhcxH
ibb dot co/vzHkkT4
ibb dot co/rt2qZdP

cb400bill

Appears to me that your top tube and down tube are bent just behind the steer tube.

cb400bill

FiftySix

Good eye.

raffivegas

wow, good eye indeed, I'll go and re-examine and make sure.

AlmostTrick

Oops. Back to the dumpster it goes! But I guess you can save the parts if any are still good. Sorry.

TejanoTrackie 

Before you throw it out, I'd suggest the following conversion into a very serviceable stool.



Vilano stool

raffivegas

got it for $80, I'll sell it for a loss, someone may want it for wall art. Wheels/hubs/tires, chain should be good for something. I shoulda stuck with the $35 Schwinn Varsity on craigslist. I have a bike in long term storage in Vegas, was looking for a burner while I moved to Sacramento. I can't imagine the frame was bent by the owner, assuming it was manufactured this way : / Fork and wheels are straight. I've trued wheels and the wheels are good. I feel like 95% of local listings are scams in one way or another. Off to the LBS for an honest used bike.

79pmooney

The fork is (near) straight because it has been bent back. You said the pedal overlap didn't vary as you rotated the fork. Forks are built with forward sweep (called "rake"). Rotating the handlebars 180 degrees should make for considerably more overlap, like twice the rake. So that fork got bent back roughly 2". And it looks like the top and down tubes are adding another inch to the fork being pushed back. I promise you, Pure Fix didn't build it this way. The pedal and bottom bracket - collateral damage.

seamuis

That bike has absolutely been in a front end collision or possibly jumped off something high. Hate to say it, but you got fleeced mate.

raffivegas

Kid showed up with his mom too. Crazy world. Hoping to flip it for parts for $40. Lessons learned. On the plus side, I haven't spent any additional money on it, because I was heading out to buy new tubes for the tires and a new crank for the busted crank. Thanks for the replies.

seamuis

That frame certainly didn’t come that way and you can clearly see the bend in the top tube. My best guess would be that it was repeatedly jumped, which could also explain the broken crank. Under no circumstance would I call that ‘rideable’ or even safe. As for as the spokes, it’s purely aesthetics. Tough luck mate, but most people avoid craigslist for good reason. Also, it could well have been the mums idea to fleece someone after their kid trashed it. People are crap.

BicycleBicycle

I've seen chromoly frame + fork combos for like $100 (brand new). 1/8", unbranded frames, etc. come to mind. Don't buy hi-ten (for reasons you now know first hand).
In fact like, when looking on the major shopping sites, I see like 5 frames right now that are less than $120 made from either alumnium or cromoly.

I've also replaced crank arms for $20 in the past (vuelta pista).
That will probably be the cheapest path to a servicable working bike and you can just transfer your parts and learn about how single speeds are put together.
Tools needed will be a 15mm wrench, 8mm, 6mm and potentially 5 mm allens,a very long thick(so you move instead of gouge) flathead screwdriver (to loosen the BB and take the headset out), hammer, and block of wood (to install headset). To do those things without damagaing anything, you could reference youtube videos.
That should get your headset/bb off and onto the other bike.
Actually, this is probably not a good idea. You could potentially break something to the point of being unsafe. I watched other people do this before I tried it myself. Ovalization and cracked bb cups are very possible.

The much much better option would be to find a local bike collective that lets you work on bikes with their tools, but the above will get you going without having to spend another $100 on tools. Or, you can do the whole hardware store washers and really long bolt trick to get the headset back on, and maybe get like a cheap $5 bb wrench. When putting the cranks back on, don't overtighten, but make sure they are on solidly snug.

I wouldn't invest in expensive tools unless you are 100% for sure going to be riding for a while.
Just trying to minimize the damage.

If you try this route, you'll be rolling for about $200 total including $80 spent on bike, and you'll have intimate knowledge of your bike.
Or, as suggested, you can convert it into a stool .

I've been screwed on CL before. It happens, but I've had more deals than not.
The amount of money I've saved and the cool things that I would have not otherwise been able to have is totally worth getting burned once in a great (like once every 4 years) great while. Don't give up on CL I've regularly seen $1000 bikes go for less than $500.
I typically only look at ads where the person is an obvious bike guy.

veganbikes

Another good reason to avoid buying used or thinking you are getting a good deal. A bike is rarely used and a great super cheap deal and something ain't wrong with it in some form or another.

With fixed gear and single speed bikes being relatively cheap one could be had for not much. Granted I probably wouldn't put much money into a Pure Fix new, they are certainly very cheap machines new (in all senses of the word). If I had to go on the lower end and didn't mind having some odd parts the #kilott isn't the worst choice and if I was willing to spend a little bit of money Wabi makes some decent stuff or I would go down to my local shop and see what they might recommend for me. The shop I work at has a few track heads who could get me set up on something cool and I would certainly set you up on something nice with more of a practical flair then some of my co-workers (since I like a road fixed gear rather than a straight track bike)

Mikefule

That bike has run into something that wasn't moving.

raffivegas

got er up and running.

youtube dot com/watch?v=P3ka_cmYi1Y

BicycleBicycle

Hey if that works for you great. Please replace the frame at some point though. Vegas/Henderson is pretty flat so it really shouldn't be much of a problem though. Henderson is a bit hillier but it's just long sloping hills. Point is, you're not going to be making a lot of turns and if you do you'll see them coming like literally a mile ahead.

Don't get a new fork, just replace the frame and fork at the same time. Cheapest fork you'll find is like $25 (and it will be hi-ten), those pedals we're probably $10-$20. At $45 you're almost halfway to one of those frames I mentioned. I wouldn't get literally anything more than those pedals to compensate for the bent frame.


Man, I always want to get a cool haircut but I can't seem to find someone that will give me one that last and actually fits my head.
They always look "kinda cool" for like a couple days or so.
I don't want to drop like $25 on a haircut but I'm only going to have hair for so long so I guess I might as well.
Do you go to an actual stylist?

KLiNCK

It might be “up and running” but that pedal/wheel overlap is an accident waiting to happen. YRMV.

phobus

Look, riding fixed with no brakes and no foot retention is sketchy enough anywhere outside your driveway. Doing it on a bike where the wheel will literally force your foot off the pedal is just asking for trouble.

.. unless you posted the video just to troll, in which case, good job.

hardboiled718

Even with narrower pedals you'll still encounter some pedal strike since your toes hang off the front of the pedal. In any case a little toe overlap shouldn't be a deal breaker, there are lots or frames that have it and you'll learn how to time you turns, etc. You usually never turn that much unless at slow speeds anyway. The main thing I'd be worried about is that frame and fork.

raffivegas

My mom is a hair stylist, and I'm happening to relocate to Sacramento, CA, so she gave me a haircut Doesn't usually happen that way. What usually happens is my wife and I usually pray and then my wife, who is not a hairstylist, cuts my hair, with varying results.

Not posting to troll.

I had a semi-pro triathlete / biker enthusiast with lots of miles and experience and clout check out the bike and he said it was fine to ride. Didn't seem bothered by any of it, said he had a bike with actual kinks in the frame that, from what I gathered, he rode.

In any case, whether or not he's right or wrong, I got this as a burner to ride for a month until I find a house to rent in the Sacramento area. All my family's personal belongings are in long term storage in Las Vegas as we try to get situated here in Sac. I like to have projects and thought it might be fun to piece together a burner for the next couple of weeks. I was half expecting to get scammed, but wasn't expecting to deal with a busted frame, so I'm making the most of it. I think I can ride it like this for a month or two and toss it or use it for parts in the future. I'll be riding it along a flat river trail here with my wife and 7 year old. They ride fairly slow, safe, and steady, and I'm going to get them some Huffy Tosses from Target for now. My wife only learned to ride a year or two ago and has already forgotten how to ride. My son has a CO-OP 16" in Vegas.

The pedal on my fixie just slightly grazes the wheel at a very specific angle. I think if it happens at speed, it'll flick the pedal upward and not completely bind the wheel and stop it from spinning. All that said, I enjoyed riding not only a fixie for the first time, but a 700c wheeled bike. Also wondered what a 58cm frame would feel like (I'm 6'1"), and now I know. I appreciate all the input.

AlmostTrick

AlmostTrick

In your case I'd consider finding a shop that has one of these. Or make one. Those Pure Fix frames/forks are not flimsy, they can handle it.

hardboiled718

^^ Just reading the title of the video made be cringe a bit. It's an interesting, highly specialized tool, but definitely not worth it. I like how after the demonstration, at 3:15 is goes on to say, "I don't recommend using a tool like this..."

Anyway, glad OP enjoys the bike and like he said, for his intended purposes it's probably not going to explode.

BicycleBicycle

Hi-ten is very ductile, so yes it would probably bend back easily but at the same time it is also incredibly susceptible to stress fracturing.
I bent back a hi-ten frame like once. A month or so later low and behold there was a huge crack in the frame.
You could potentially bend it back and have no problems, or you could bend it back and it could suddenly and unexpectedly break on you.
It would sorta fracture, and then just "peel" and "rip" apart.
Everytime you bend it, it gets worse. Just like a paper clip but with much less bending required to break.

Cromoly is a bit different. I'm more confident bending that back because if it's goigng to break, it's going to break on the spot while I bend it. It doesn't seem to "weaken" as easily.
Cromoly sorta bends, hairlines, and snaps. That's it. It tends to bend in a very "rigid" linear way if that makes any sense, and will bend back just the same. Eg. If you bent a fork, the whole leg would be slightly bent in one direction, and you would just bend it back. There's no intermediary crazy bending or paperclip waiting to break action going on.
This is TOTALLY from personal experirence and shouldn't be taken as a safety guide.

That bike is safer left as is. If it rides, just ride it for however long you need it.

Also, for the purposes dude described, I wouldn't even put another $10 into the bike unless that money was going towards a new frame and fork.
He seems to just be moving in straight lines and putting around town, which I mean, whatever you can do that on anything.
I think it will do fine left alone and replacing pedals was a good choice.

raffi (or other people with hi-ten frames), if you're still reading htis, please don't replace around the frame. Just replace the frame itself.