dsprehe89

First off, sorry if there are quite a few typos in this post, I am doing this on an iPad and I am poor at typing on these things.

So down to it, it has been a few years since I have been on here. Since I was last on bike forums I have completed my final 2 years of college (bs in mechanical engineering) and have had a succesful early career with my current employer for the past 3.5 years (yes it's been nearly 5 years since I've been on here).

My first 2 years at my job involved enjoying the no kid graduate lifestyle of eating out for lunch every day. I gained a whopping 50#s. I dieted and exercised off and on, but nothing ever successful. Last year I started dieting and exercising seriously. I lost 65#s over around 8 months. I slowly stopped Exercising and dieting and have gained back 15#. Just this past month I have started exercising again to try and drop the 15# along with an addition 15 to reach what was my ultimate goal. However I've hit a road block that I also continuously hit last year.

You see, I have a very old road bike that is my go to exercise bike, but breaks too often. It is fortunately 1 single part that continuously fails. It is the rear axle and it is my own fault. The bike in question is an 80's Raleigh Capri (I can't seem to find out how to upload a photo from my ipad). When I first got it it was 100% stock. Since it has been fairly modified. One day while riding Something bent causing the rear derailleur to torque and go into the rear wheel. It toasted the derailleur and wheel. I decided to convert the bike to a single speed with a cheap set of 700c rims I had lying around. Since then I have flipped and cut the handle bars to create make shift bull horn bars, changed the front brake, removed the rear brake, swapped both wheels as mentioned above, and swapped the crank. The issue with my setup is that I am using a standard freewheel hub with a 5 speed freewheel and just using a single cog. When I am going uphill or just powering hard I can create quite a bit of power with my 245# body and this is when I always bend the rear axle. I try to remember to take it easy I always eventually forget and go hard and that's when it happens. This week I purchased new tires for the bike and during my first ride I bent the axle. If I replace the axle like I always have in the past it will be my 5th axle. My debate is should I

A. Replace the axle and wat for it to inevitably bend again.

B. Replace the wheel with a new wheel that has a flip flop hub that should be stronger as the cones would be close to the frame (the current axle always bends on the freewheel side immediately next to the cone which).

C. Replace the entire bike with a new one.

If I replace the bike I will most likely be going for a multi speed Hybrid like the giant fastroad.

My only concern with replacing the wheel is if my current crank doesn't line up with the new freewheel and needing to replace the bottom bracket and crank to correct the chain line.

Any and all opinions and recommendations are welcome. If I get a new bike I'll probably be looking in the $1000-$1200 range. If I fix my current bike I'd like to keep it at or below $200 as I don't think it's really worth more than that.

TejanoTrackie 

If you are a degreed mechanical engineer with 3-1/2 years of employment, I'd have to think you are not impoverished. So, why even bother with your conversion beater rather than just buying something decent that you like and will get you to exercise more to help meet your weight goals ?

dsprehe89

While you're right, I am far from impoverished, but being a recent college grad means I also have thousands of $$'s of student loans that require a strict budget. Currently my budget prevents me from getting whatever I want and if I get a new bike it will involve waiting until mid next year to get a new bike. If that's what I decide to do then that's what I'll do, I was just looking for some opinions as a $1000+ purchase isn't something to take lightly and do on a whim.

Also, while my current bike is far from optimal, it fits me well and i have so many miles on it that it does hold some sentimental value making it a harder decision.

TejanoTrackie 

Well then, just get a flip flop hub and a singlespeed freewheel. Chances are the chainline won't be bad enough to cause a problem, especially if you use a flexible 3/32" chain. If your dropout spacing is more than 120mm, get a hub with a longer axle so you can add spacers to make it fit in the frame.