By far the trickiest part of building the single speed bike (and, consequently, the most fun) was building the wheel. I was a little hesitant to take on wheel assembly, but I couldn’t cop out and not try to give it a shot. It turns out, it’s rather easy and a lot of fun. Once you get the pattern down lacing the spokes is pretty straightforward, and out of all the parts of bike building this step really connects you to the bike.
Building a Single Speed: Wheel Building
March 15th, 2010 § 2 comments § permalink
Building a Single Speed Bike with a 183rd Street Frame
March 14th, 2010 § 1 comment § permalink
As we’re getting ready to gear up for summer, my wife was looking for a new bike. I wanted to get her something cool and unique, and (selfishly) use the opportunity to indulge myself in a bike building project. I heard building a bike was a pretty straightforward process, and in a worse case scenario I’ll just bring the parts to a bike shop and have them finish it up. We knew we wanted to go with a single speed- a friend has a Trek Soho S which I fell in love with. A single speed is perfect for jetting around the city- really light and nimble. The acceleration is surprisingly easy and you hit a nice cruising speed quickly. I’m anxiously awaiting to compare this custom build with other commercial bikes. Read More
