Here’s a new single-speed build I completed recently. I started with an old lugged steel 58cm road frame that I stripped, primered, and re-painted. I also removed the braze-on wire guides for a cleaner look. I added a 1960’s-era Ashtabula chrome track fork and a new Tange headset, which gives this build a unique and distinctive look. The bottom bracket was replaced with a 103mm Shimano cartridge and Bulletproof cranks.
The stem is a 120mm Specialized quill with silver chopped risers and black rubber grips, a chrome BMX brake lever and new Tektro front caliper brake. A pair of 700c wheels and a black saddle finished off the build nicely. The gearing is 42×16 which is my preferred “cruising” setup for commuting around NYC. The whole build took me about 8-10 hours of work; I’m pretty experienced at this point so the only tricky part was making the fork work. I had to cut the steerer tube down, re-chase the threads, and neck down the quill slightly as the steerer tube was a non-standard diameter, slightly narrower than the usual 22.2cm.
I sold it this evening for $250, so I’m glad I got pictures this morning. Check out more pictures after the jump…