The Fixie Project (part 1)

Anyone who knows me is aware that I'm a bit of a gear-head. It's also true that fixed wheel bikes are a bit of the rage in the leftie circles that Kath and I frequent. As such I thought I might try to build my own. A fixed wheel bike does away with conventional multiple gears in favour of one gear that is fixed to the rear wheel so that when the pedals turn the rear wheel turns, in both directions. In essence you can't coast down hills because the pedals are always in motion while the bike is in motion.

I picked up a frame a few weeks ago at bicycle revolution in West End. They specialise in second hand bikes and have heaps of parts on hand which should prove useful in the coming weeks. The frame was pretty beat up with plenty of rust spots, however structurally it is fine. The brand of the frame is Popular which I'd never heard of, if anyone has I'd like to know.


I started by stripping the bike back to bare metal. Then a simple base coat of white and it is ready to begin customisation.


Looks a bit better without the rust. I've already started painting the top coat, brown with yellow decals. I'll be posting up pictures soon...