dialing the Fooj

I got my shorter stem on there a few weeks ago, and today I stopped by SOPO and swapped out my cheapo 18T cog for an EAI 17T. I thought it would feel notably harder to pedal, but it didn’t, it just felt faster! I like that. Also, due to a nasty tirebiter of a pothole last weekend, I ended up replacing my back tire with a slicker one, with the bonus of easier skidding.

The Fooj is getting pretty comfy. I’m still looking at frames with tighter geometry, though. I have to admit, the Scattante track frame is looking appealing. Being the Performance Bike house brand, I’d get negative street cred, but apparently they’re hip to that, because they specifically say that the branding is stickers put on over the paint, for easy removal. Of course I would rather find something with more character, but craigslist hasn’t been yielding much lately, and the prices on other new frames I like are kind of steep.

gettin fixed

It’s been 6 weeks now since I built The Fooj. It’s the only bike I’ve ridden since then, as I intended to spend some quality time getting used to riding a fixed gear to see how I like it. Today I finally got out the old Scatmobile for a geared ride, so I’m feeling ready to compare the two.

Getting started riding a fixie was easier than I thought. Sure, it was a little awkward at first, but not nearly as difficult to adapt to as I expected. After a few weeks, I felt pretty comfortable on it, though I’m still leery of emergency braking and taking turns at speed. I tend to ride cautiously near intersections to avoid getting into such situations, which takes some of the fun out of it.

Riding a converted old touring frame has proven to be a bit of a downer. While I love the feel of steel, the long wheelbase and relaxed geometry are too stretched out for my tastes. It also makes it harder to do skid stops or ride no-handed. As much as I love the Fooj, I’m trolling the internets for a tighter frame. I’m not sure I want to go full-on track geometry, but at least to modern road racing geometry.

One of my expectations turned out to be spot on: I’d love the ability to turn the fixed-ness on and off at the flip of a switch. Not gonna happen, but it would be pretty neat. Most of the time riding fixed is very comfortable and fosters a feeling of greater control over the bike. But then sometimes I want to stop pedaling, duck down, and let gravity haul me down a hill at 30+ mph. That’s one of my favorite parts of riding a geared bike.

On the other hand, the simplicity of the fixed gear is sweet. Especially since my gears were acting a little squirrelly today on my road bike. I think it’s time to take it in for a tune-up. I think it has somewhere around 2000 miles on it with nary a problem, so it’s about time. Then again, I bet Bob can help me do it myself. In the mean time, I’m going back to riding the Fooj.

The Convert (aka The Fooj)

After the huge waste of time that was the Rapido, the Fuji has been good to me. With tons of help and know-how from Bob and some tools at Sopo, this conversion went quick and easy.

Last week we got most of it stripped down and a few of the new parts installed, but lacking some specialty tools, couldn’t complete it. Yesterday we took it to Sopo, replaced the cranks and BB, and installed the new chain. Its maiden voyage over to No Brakes yielded a bar-end brake lever like I wanted, and installing that and some bar tape finished it off.

Specs:

• 1979 Fuji S12-S steel 57cm frame and fork
• Velocity Deep V rims laced to Miche Primato Pista hubs w/ DT Swiss spokes
• Miche Primato Pista cranks w/ 48T chainring on Shimano BB
• Izumi chain and cheapo 18T cog
• Nitto bars and stem with stock headset
• Selle Italia Gel Flow saddle on stock seatpost
• Dia-Compe stock brake caliper and bar-end lever
• Crank Bros Candy pedals

Near-term upgrades:

• Higher quality 17T cog
• Lighter seatpost with integrated rail clamp
• New headset, but the Miche I got has an unusually large stack height, so I need to get something else.

The Fooj

After getting fed up with the Rapido, I was on the hunt for a new frame. I wasn’t excited about the cost of a new frame, and really wanted a conversion of a road frame as opposed to getting a track frame. It’s not easy to find a new frame with horizontal dropouts that isn’t a track frame.

This old Fuji popped up on craigslist, and I sprang. It’s in very good condition, especially for being nearly 30 years old (it’s a 1979). I don’t think it was ridden much. I’m sure some folks would be mortified at my stripping it down to make it a fixie, but I’m keeping all the original parts so that it can be rebuilt as stock later.

I tuned it up a little yesterday and took it for a ride. The steel frame is a joy to ride, though the sizing is not what I’m used to, coming off my modern racing bike (which I don’t race but I’m very comfortable on). The stand-over height is perfect for me, but the top tube is short, yielding “a more upright riding position” (read: “Graham scrunched up”). We’ll see how it feels with my bullhorns on there, the stem lower, and a new seat on there and slid back a bit.

Click the pic for more.