# Portland LBS for fixie conversion



## mcsqueak (Apr 22, 2010)

Anyone have any recommendations for a shop in Portland that has a good amount of new/used parts for fixies and a decently knowledgeable staff?

As a winter project I think I'm going to take an old Peugeot that I have in storage and convert it to a fixie, so I have a "beater" bike I can use in the winter without hours of cleaning after messy rides (like my nice road bike) and to work on perfecting my "magnificent stroke" :thumbsup:.

I'm doing a lot of research now, and I know that Harris Cyclery out of Mass. will carry almost everything needed, but I'd rather source the parts locally if possible, and of course have people to bounce ideas off of.


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## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

My personal recommendation is Bike Central downtown on SW 1st. Dean is super-knowledgeable and a fantastic mechanic, great wheelbuilder. He is meticulous and uncompromising in his work. I have no business relationship with them, other than they built two bikes for me.

Dean is also no-nonsense, and does not have a lot of "salesmanship" or games. He will tell you what he thinks is a good idea, if you ask. He's probably right. 

There are other shops with more "cool" factor, to be sure...


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## mcsqueak (Apr 22, 2010)

Cool, thanks Argentius. Not looking for cool, so that should be perfect.

It's been a while since I've seen the bike, so I still need to check and see what type of rear dropouts it has. I'll probably just get an inexpensive wheel with a track hub on it. Since it's a road bike it might be a bit of a kludge project, but should be fun. I'll probably drag the whole thing down there and see what they think.


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## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

Dean has built three sets of wheels for me. They've been fabulous. He probably will cringe at a junky factory wheel.

I got my fixie conversion there -- an 80's Basso. We kept the stock double crank, with the little ring on the outside. It turned out great.



mcsqueak said:


> Cool, thanks Argentius. Not looking for cool, so that should be perfect.
> 
> It's been a while since I've seen the bike, so I still need to check and see what type of rear dropouts it has. I'll probably just get an inexpensive wheel with a track hub on it. Since it's a road bike it might be a bit of a kludge project, but should be fun. I'll probably drag the whole thing down there and see what they think.


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## mcsqueak (Apr 22, 2010)

Nice, well I appreciate the suggestion. I still have a lot more research to do before I make any decisions and involve a local shop in the project.


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## PomPilot (May 17, 2006)

Not a rose city resident, but I have visited a few shops during my visits there. There are something like 65 shops in town, so there has to be at least one with a strong leaning for what you want to do. If you have a good handle on the project, and are mainly looking for parts, I'd start at the Community Cycling Center or the City Bikes annex. You could also check out the forums and shop links at Bike Portland.


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## MerlinAma (Oct 11, 2005)

mcsqueak said:


> Anyone have any recommendations for a shop in Portland that has a good amount of new/used parts for fixies and a decently knowledgeable staff?..............


There's a bike shop about every three blocks so you have many to choose from.

Seriously, I go there to see my son & his family and always try to visit a few shops while there. I've been in several that seemed on the surface to be decent shops.

The ones that fascinate me are the community bike shops that have boxes and boxes of used parts. 

One of the mechanics at the community shop on Alberta helped me get a rear wheel redished so that it would work on a single speed bike I was building. He did a great job and the charges were very reasonable.

I'll be back in Portland late Monday and hope to visit some of the high end shops I haven't been to previously. Just for grins.


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## bahueh (May 11, 2004)

the Veloshop downtown specializes in stuff like that. Molly C. can set you up.


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## mcsqueak (Apr 22, 2010)

Cool, thanks for the suggestions everyone. Yes, there are a LOT of shops here, which is why I asked - I know which ones I like when it comes to taking care of my road bike, but I wasn't sure which ones would know more about fixies.

I don't exactly have a handle on the project yet, but I'm going to continue reading and doing research first - the thought of another winter spent cleaning the drivetrain on my road bike after every nasty rainy ride makes me feel preemptively exhausted. I have a bike I'm not using for anything, and I don't need "another" standard road bike, so I thought it would be fun to try something new.

MerlinAma: If you want some "high-end" shop recommendations, I'd recommend West End Bikes, Athletes Lounge, and CyclePath - I've purchased things from all of those shops before, but they are all pretty standard as far as shops with expensive road bikes go.


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## bismo37 (Mar 22, 2002)

Sellwood Cycles has great service and also deals with used stuff. Check them out too.


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