Hit 1,000 miles on my homemade fixie build and the crankset still hasn't exploded

I threw together this single-speed from a rusty Huffy frame I pulled out of a ditch behind the old lumber mill. Spent maybe $40 total on parts from the dump and a co-op in town. Everyone told me the bottom bracket was shot and the chainline was off by a solid 8mm. But I figured what the hell, I ride it to the gas station and back. Then I started taking it on the greenway. Then I did a 30-mile loop out to the county line. Yesterday I rolled over 1,000 miles on that thing and the only thing I've replaced is a bent spoke. I know it's not aero or fancy but there's something about proving the doubters wrong with cheap junk that just works. Has anyone else pushed a sketchy build way further than it had any right to go?

3 comments

3 Comments

calebc4028d ago

Idk, that whole "this cheap thing shouldn't work but it does" thing happens way more than people admit.

gray87528d ago

Is it bad that I kind of get what he's saying though? There's something cool about a cheap bike just working even when everyone says it shouldn't.

ivanbell28d ago

Give it time. 1,000 miles is nothing, I've seen cheap bottom brackets grenade at 1,500 and take the frame with them. That 8mm chainline mismatch is grinding your chain and sprockets down way faster than you think, even if it feels smooth now. You're basically riding a ticking time bomb that's one hard pedal stroke away from snapping a chain and sending you over the bars. And that Huffy frame was never meant for any kind of real riding, the dropouts are probably flexing every time you stand up. I'd be checking for hairline cracks around the welds every single ride if I were you. But hey, your legs, your funeral.