Teach me how to fixie

[TwoWheelsDC]

@dkel 148114 wrote:

I prefer a dummy lever to a hood without a lever. Looks like a part is missing when the lever is removed. That’s just me, though. Someone manufactures a hood without a lever, though, if you can’t abide a useless lever, and want a more finished look.

Same. Cane Creek levers have built-in springs to keep the unattached lever from flopping around. SRAM’s levers, maddeningly, do not. I use the SRAM levers and just deal with the flopping, but I have a plan to fix it when it’s time for new bar tape.

[DismalScientist]

Is that a steel handlebar? If so, you may wish to replace.
I generally replace levers with generic aero levers. Probably around $15 online.
I think I have a leftover set of non-aero levers is you would like them. (At least they are better than hoods with suicide levers.)

[Judd]

@TwoWheelsDC 148115 wrote:

Same. Cane Creek levers have built-in springs to keep the unattached lever from flopping around. SRAM’s levers, maddeningly, do not. I use the SRAM levers and just deal with the flopping, but I have a plan to fix it when it’s time for new bar tape.

How are you going to rig the lever? I’m leaning towards keeping the hoods and both levers but will need to figure out how to fix the dummy lever.

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[Steve O]

@Judd 148122 wrote:

How are you going to rig the lever? I’m leaning towards keeping the hoods and both levers but will need to figure out how to fix the dummy lever.

If you’ve got a lever you might as well make it do something. I like the idea of having it sound an “A-wooo-ga” horn.

[honestmachinery]

@Judd 148122 wrote:

How are you going to rig the lever? I’m leaning towards keeping the hoods and both levers but will need to figure out how to fix the dummy lever.

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I rigged my rear brake lever with a rear brake, contrary to the fashion. Belt and suspenders. Those bar top/suicide levers should be removeable.

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[TwoWheelsDC]

@Judd 148122 wrote:

How are you going to rig the lever? I’m leaning towards keeping the hoods and both levers but will need to figure out how to fix the dummy lever.

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I’ll probably feed a cable through the lever (just like if it had a brake attached) and tie off the cable to the handlebar somehow (may involve drilling a small hole in the bar…haven’t thought through it 100%), and then just put bar tape over it.

[huskerdont]

I have some dummy hoods if wanted. Can’t remember the manufacturer; they were about $45 and I’d give them away just to get rid of something I don’t use. (I changed out to bullhorn handlebars and it was no longer an issue.) I didn’t like having hoods without brakes because having the hands there meant that mentally I thought I had a brake lever to grab when no brake existed–a brake lever that goes to nothing would seem worse to me.

[dkel]

@TwoWheelsDC 148126 wrote:

I’ll probably feed a cable through the lever (just like if it had a brake attached) and tie off the cable to the handlebar somehow (may involve drilling a small hole in the bar…haven’t thought through it 100%), and then just put bar tape over it.

What if you run a very short segment of housing into the hood, and then a slightly longer length of cable through, then tie the excess cable off next to the loose end of the housing in such a way that it can’t run back through. Wrap with bar tape, and done! That, or rig it so that it rings a bell, which would actually be incredibly awesome. In any case, I wouldn’t drill the bar for this purpose—that just seems excessive.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@dkel 148135 wrote:

What if you run a very short segment of housing into the hood, and then a slightly longer length of cable through, then tie the excess cable off next to the loose end of the housing in such a way that it can’t run back through. Wrap with bar tape, and done! That, or rig it so that it rings a bell, which would actually be incredibly awesome. In any case, I wouldn’t drill the bar for this purpose—that just seems excessive.

I’ve considered the bell idea, but I don’t know if I have the patience to make it work. It would also be cool to rig up some kind of light shutoff or shield so I didn’t have to take my hand off the hood to cover my light during the winter. That would be nearly impossible for me though, since I use a couple of different headlights and occasionally move the mount around.

[Judd]

@Steve O 148124 wrote:

If you’ve got a lever you might as well make it do something. I like the idea of having it sound an “A-wooo-ga” horn.

I actually like this idea. I’ll have to take a look tonight to see if there is someway to trigger a horn or a bell.

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[jrenaut]

I kind of like the hood with the missing lever. It didn’t take me long to get used to not having it there. And now on those rare occasions that I follow the wife while she takes the kids on the longtail, I get questions from the kids about why I only have one lever and that leads to conversations about how awesome fixies are.

[ian74]

Why don’t you just get a set of bullhorns? Maybe a cut H-bar?

[jrenaut]

@ian74 148143 wrote:

Why don’t you just get a set of bullhorns? Maybe a cut H-bar?

Because they’re ugly. I almost left the track drops on even though I didn’t like riding with them because they were so pretty.

Trying out some track drops by Jon, on Flickr

[TwoWheelsDC]

I like bullhorns, but I think they only look good on some bikes. I probably wouldn’t put them on an older, converted frame.

[Judd]

I considered bullhorns. Still a possibility (although maybe I’ll save them for the next project). I like the look of the current handlebars. They have a nice stamp on them that I’ll have to take a picture of. I also am attempting to maximize the amount of original hardware.

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