Well, I know you are supposed to be prepared for a flat, but I never am and truth be told I rarely get a flat. On my ride yesterday, I got one. I have not pulled it apart to look at what happened but it doesn’t really matter. I was in the middle of the woods, 5 miles into an out and back when it happened.

The first thing you need to decide is whether you are going to walk or ride. Walkings a pain but it’s a sure way to minimize any damage. Riding will destroy your chance of saving the tube and will likely mean a new tire so think it through.

If you decide to try riding here’s what you need to know: If your suspension is easily adjustable - soften it up. Try to keep most of your weight nearest the inflated tire. Mine was on the rear so I slid forward as much as I comfortably could. Next go to a low gear, keep it around 5 mph for the least risk. Don’t ride over obstacles and loose stuff. Get off and walk over them. Take both the uphills and down hills slow. The flat tire will wiggle around just like riding in sand, just keep it slow and easy and you should be able to ride out.

If the tire comes off stop! No sense in destroying the wheel as well. Only do this on dirt, pavement will destroy the rim. If you need brakes you are going to fast.

The first step in building a fixie is in acquiring the base bike. You’ll notice that many of these are built from old ten speeds. Throughout the 70’s and 80’s the era of the 10 speed there were dozens of makers of bikes that collectors call lightweights. Most lightweight were built in Europe or Japan and of course featured 10 speeds (2 X 5). These came in many different levels of quality so this will help you to choose one. I am making assumptions here, the first is that you want the easiest conversion (least cost and headaches). The second assumption is that you want the bike to be relatively light, and the last is that you want to spend less than $200 on the whole thing. With this in mind I set out for a bike that has several features, horizontal dropouts are the most important. Here is what they look like:

The reason for this is it allows you to put a chain on and tension it without the use of chain tensioners.

Outside of this there are several things that will help you achieve the other goals (light and cheap).

First where to find. Well almost every teen in the 70’s and 80’s had a 10 speed so these are collecting dust all over the US. The cheapest place to find is garage sales but that is a process and not always successful. I usually look for sales that specifically call out bikes.  Typically these will sell for $25-50 max. I have seen them lower but not often.  Another place to look is craigslist.org and check your city under the For Sale - Bike area. Here’s the problem, people on craigslist know you are looking for this so the prices are outrageous. The other problem is that in most cases they have already done the conversion so they want to make a buck on it. Often they are building fixies out of the worst junk on the planet. You can look here but it’s not worth the time typically. Plus you need to deal with the normal flakiness of craigslist people. You can always check ebay but usually the shipping alone kills the deal even if you can find the great deal. If you want a really high end frame like a Colnago or a Merxck eBay is the place.

I went to a police auction which is the most fun way to buy. If for no other reason, go because you will not believe what some people will pay for a huffy. Take advantage of the preview. Look for bikes that are your size (standover them if you can’t tell, you should have about 1″ of clearance, for a fixie a little more is not a bad idea). Next make sure it has the following: Horizontal Dropouts, Aluminum Hubs, Stainless Steel Spokes, and Aluminum Handlebars. If it has all these and it looks like it’s not trashed it’s likely a worthy base. If you want higher end maybe look for a alloy seat post, look for a quick release rear wheel. Mainly look for something that looks like it was cares for. Spin the wheels, look out for rusted out chains and bent frames and forks. Try to pick out 4-5 of these. Our auction had 112 bikes and we found 6 excellent candidates and a few that would work but were just OK. Let someone else buy the first one unless it’s your perfect one. There will be others there for the exact same thing so the first one is usually the most expensive. We got ours for $75.

What we ended up with is a mid range Raleigh lightweight from the 80’s. The Alloy cranks will likely need very little change. The wheels have alloy rims and hubs and stainless spokes so there is a good chance we can either just add a freewheel if a single speed is the goal, or lace in a new flip flop or fixie hub. This has perfect alloy platform pedals. It also has a double butted frame so when we are done it will be nice and light. The tires are shot but usually you’ll want new tires anyways. The seat is also not perfect but could work. Fenders? Rack? We’ll see if they stay.

Step 2 - Prepping

Ok - I am sure this has happened to you. You get a couple of really great spring days and just when you take the bike of the trainer  - SNOW. What a bummer. Well the best thing to do is just put it back on the trainer and wait a few more weeks.

Not all of us live in a warm climate.  In Minnesota, it’s snowing as I write this. Being the hardy people we are , we still ride when. This article is about things to think about when you are riding on a trail that has snow and mud and leaves.

Riding through patches of snow can be a little unnerving in the spring especially if you are going up or down a hill. The trick is to try and judge the snow. If it is a patch of ice, ride straight across without pedaling. Ride along an edge where there tends to be a little grip. Keep the gear low and slow. Low for slipping and slow for falling. If the snow looks loose, try to pick a line that has been ridden but if none is available stay to an edge. Avoid the middle. These piles hang on into spring because they are shaded and deep. The center is usually just a slush pile with ice likely. The edges will have good grip stay on the snow side because it’s likely you’ll find mud on the outside edge. Keep in a low gear in case you need the power. If it’s a small patch ride right through the middle to try and break it up for the next guy.

Riding in spring mud is not much different than any other time except that it can contain slush. Slush mud can be very very very slippery so exercise  caution. Low gear and try not to tear up the trail to much. This time of year be careful about going off the trail to avoid these. Chances are the first few rains will erase any trail damage but rutting up grassing sections tends to stay on for a while.

The spring leaves can be tricky because they are usually much more slippery. Think of two sheets of ice on top of each other. That said, riding over these leaves helps brake them down. On the river bottoms of the Twin Cities this is great for helping the sandy spots stay away as long as possible. The leaves create a nice bace for riding over the top of the sand. Eventually they will grind away and the sand will show.