I went to Trash Palace yesterday. They have 3 or 4 good bikes that could be converted into a Fixed gear bike quite nicely. They had a couple of Raleighs, including a Raleigh Arena in better condition than my one. If you need a frame and fork for your Fixed gear project, check them out.

Few changes to my Raleigh Arena Lately. New Nitto Riser bars and Technomic Stem. New Front wheel- Black Velocity B43 Rim Radially laced to Blue Soma Track Hub. Held together by black custom length wheelsmith spokes and blue nipples. Rolling on a Maxxis Detonator front, Rubino rear.

Update 03/06/09: The rim came in yesterday and I started building it up today. The B43 is nice. The guys at Bicycle will be truing it and installing it onto the Arena. I bent my front forks the other day so they will also need repaired.

I ride my Arena mostly at night, so I decided to make it easier for traffic to see me and my black bike.

Sanding Begins

When I got the bike home I began taking it apart. There is a fair amount of rusted parts on it, but over a couple of days and with a bit of help from the guys at Bicycle I managed to get everything off the frame.

I’ve begun building a fixie, for general riding around and some commuting. It’s a different type of riding that I’m not too familiar with but will be good fun.

I managed to find a bike after visiting 7 or 8 places in the Wellington Region. I found a Raleigh Arena, in less that perfect condition at Trash Palace. After looking around a few more places, I went back on the Sunday and managed to pick it up for $15, sans Seat. The idea was to just find a suitable frame, and use whatever else I could from the original bike. I plan on using frame, cranks, fork and headset though they will be made more suitable for the fixie conversion.

Here is the original advertising from when it came out, around 30 years ago.

Original Catalog Image (Click for Biggie)

Ride