# Fixed gear that can be converted for touring



## gand (Jul 14, 2009)

Hi guys,

I'm a first time poster, long time board loiterer. 

I was looking to buy a new bike for my morning commute. I've been liking the fixie side of my Marin Hamilton 29er, but I've kind of wanted a more aggressive frame. However, I also have the strange request that in the future I would like the possibility of converting to a geared touring. Is this even possible? Could the surly steamroller, bianchi san jose, or jamis sputnik accomodate brakes / racks / gears? Redline 925? Motobecane Uno? Iro Mark V? Kona Paddy Wagon? Raleigh One Way?

The reason I didn't immediately want something like a Surly cross check and convert that to fixie was because 1) I want to mostly ride it as a fixie 2) cost. fixies are considerably cheaper it seems...preferably I want to spend less than 800.

Am I just looking for too much in a bike for too little?

Thanks in advance!


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

Salsa Casseroll frame/fork....It will let you run fixed and can be converted to a great geared tourer later


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## Spinfinity (Feb 3, 2004)

Old school, Reynolds 531, sport-touring frame with horizontal dropouts. Worth the wait to find one.


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## PdxMark (Feb 3, 2004)

My Vanilla was built with track ends and a derailleur hanger... though, after the first 5 months (5 years ago), I switch to fixed and haven't gone back... but I could.


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## GeoKrpan (Feb 3, 2008)

You'll want a bike with 130 to 135mm rear spacing so that you can run a cassette hub.
Surly makes a gizmo that "fixes" a cassette hub.
If it has a derailleur hanger and cable guides, that's a plus, but you can get some DMR chain tugs that have a built in derailleur hanger, or, you can run a Shimano Hone or Saint hub with an axle mounted derailleur, a very slick setup. If the frame has no cable stops you'll have to get a clamp on cable stop for the front derailleur. No cable stop is needed for the rear der., simply run a full length cable housing from the der. to the shifter.
For my touring bike I got a Jamis Exile fully rigid, SS 29er. It is "gear ready" meaning it has a removable derailleur hanger and cable stops. I'm running it as a 1x9 with a 44 tooth chain ring and 11-34 cassette. The gear spread is 37.5 to 115 gear inches. I can climb any road with 37.5 gear inches so I am not going to bother with putting on a front derailleur.
If I wanted a drop bar bike for touring I would probably choose the Cross Check or Pake C'mute. Both use cantilever brakes which is good for touring because you can run a fatter tire than a road or track bike with caliper brakes.
Both frames also have downtube shifter bosses.
The Pake frame and fork is only $369 and it is a really nice color.


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## gand (Jul 14, 2009)

*Thanks!*

Thanks guys for a lot of input! It seems like there's a lot more options than I thought.

However, being the lazy/picky person I am...I'm looking for a complete bike if possible, and it's even better if it's locally distributed (I'm in SF) so I can try it out before I buy it.


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## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

I am in the process of buying a Surly Cross-Check. It can be ran as a fixed.


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## Hollywood (Jan 16, 2003)

gand said:


> However, being the lazy/picky person I am...I'm looking for a complete bike if possible, and it's even better if it's locally distributed (I'm in SF) so I can try it out before I buy it.


look for a local QBP dealer. You can ask them about the Salsa and Surly

aebike.com basically has the QBP catalog online


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## fiddlr40 (Sep 18, 2007)

Check out the Kona Sutra. It's a very comfortable touring bike but I converted mine to fixed and it worked well. Nice lively ride. I think you can get it for around $1000 new.


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