The most ghetto and possibly even the only fixed gear bicycle in H-Town, my bike, is a ladies bike from Butterfly that has been modified quit a bit.
The bike was in acceptable working condition, so the first thing I changed was the look. The majority of the frame, the front wheel and even the chrome handlebar had received a coat of rusty looking orange brown paint. I left it that way. Because of the smaller size of the front wheel, the fender was hanging too high, so I placed it on the rear, facing the other way so the chrome detail on the top would make a nice tail. The lack of actual brakes is no longer an issue because without a fender over the front wheel, I can use my foot on it to slow down.
That technique went well until a brake attempt with the wrong shoes transformed into a stoppie, bending the fork in the process. It’s now barspinable but I had to mount it backwards in order to get enough space behind the front tire for my feet.
Because I wanted something of a real brake, but mostly because riding fixed on a bike wth inappropiate geometry seemed like a (not so) good idea, I welded the single speed. The dodgy, unrefined welding seam (it’s crap) fits nicely with the rat bike styling.
I installed an aged leather Brooks saddle with chrome sprungs, removed the plastic around my lock to expose the polished steel chain and provided the rear axle with a peg. This setup nearly got me doing barspins during fakies.
To finish things off, I mounted the bell on the stem, that’s one thing now stopping to prevent me from doing candybars with this bike. The other is the will to not break my balls.
P.S. The bike's outside and my digital camera is broken. For some reason I don't feel like using my white laptop's webcam right now. I'll post some pictures when this snow storm is over!
