My singlespeed (bicycle) build

Oh and it just so happens that my daily bicycle is one bought, raced, and toured by late father as well.

In reply to PHeller:

I guess I can understand that. In reality, I only use the top four gears on my bike now that I'm in decent shape. I never use any but the largest front chainwheel, but frequently shift among the 4 smallest sprockets in the rear, depending on terrain. I still can't imagine a single gear low enough to get up hills without being way too low for flat cruising or fast downhills.

ultraclyde wrote: Nice build up, but !'ve never been a fan of bull bars, Fignon or not. I enjoy the heck out of my SS mountainbike, and I keep thinking about the same kind of build when I run up on the right frame.

yeah, I found a 1994 Bridgestone MTB-6 (Reynolds 4130) bike at a garage sale years ago, and $30 or so later, it was in my garage. The '94 shimano equipment has long since passed its prime - shifters are all gunked up inside and wont shift, and the Biopace has GOT TO GO.

After seeing this thread, I plan on making it a single speed freewheeler....bonus points that I plan to cast my own chain tensioner from scrap cymbals

I plan on some platform BMX pedals, probably some random BMX cranks on a MTB BB, 26 x 1.5 tires, and some flat Easton carbon bars I have laying around. Probably just a rear brake. Kind of a MTBMXCRUISER hybrid for the street...and Its blue too!

I went with Kenda Cruiser Tires. 2.125 width for 26" wheels. Look sweet and I run them at 45 psi fine.

$15.

PHeller wrote: Having ridden both fixed gear, single speed, 3x6, 3x9 and 1x9, I can tell you that the beauty of a single gear (that still freewheels) is that you just ride. There is no thinking "man this is a hard gear" or "man this is an easy gear" because eventually you just say "oh well, I'll just coast" or "I'll just push harder." It's also frustration free. I can't stand a slipping chain or a chain that can't find a gear. That rattle from the front derailure? Irritating. Now internal hubs are a different story. It combines all the wonderful things of a single (external) gear with the ability to change ratios. My only concern is that they are not exactly suitable for offroad use or people who are mashers.

I agree for the most part, although I have some creaks and squeaks so the SS is nearly as noist as my dual suspension bike sometimes.

For me, it's a totally different ride experience - My singlespeed is a 29" wheeled, rigid (no shocks front or rear) bike that weighs less than my road bike. It's the Lotus of the off road bike world. There's a huge "WHEEEEE!!!" factor in a lightweight bike that basically rides like an overgrown BMX

1988RedT2 wrote: Nice build! I've never understood the allure of single speed bikes, "fixie" or otherwise. Why go single speed? Just curious.

PHeller put it best.

I already have two geared road bikes and a geared mountainbike. This adds some variety to the stable.

For me, it's like a grown-up BMX bike. I used to mash hills just to get around on my old Skyway T/A back in the day, so why not do it again?

Plus, they look cool as E36 M3. I remember seeing a drop bar singlespeed road bike in a bike shop a few year ago and I instantly thought "I need one of those". Now I have one. I win.

It'll force me to hammer on hills on short rides. I'll just be using it for quick rides around my neighborhood--pretty much 5 mile jaunts where I don't feel like throwing on cycling shoes and cycling shorts--just get out and ride for a bit.

Long rides will still be the domain of the "proper" road bikes.

4cylndrfury wrote:

ultraclyde wrote: Nice build up, but !'ve never been a fan of bull bars, Fignon or not. I enjoy the heck out of my SS mountainbike, and I keep thinking about the same kind of build when I run up on the right frame.

yeah, I found a 1994 Bridgestone MTB-6 (Reynolds 4130) bike at a garage sale years ago, and $30 or so later, it was in my garage. The '94 shimano equipment has long since passed its prime - shifters are all gunked up inside and wont shift, and the Biopace has GOT TO GO. After seeing this thread, I plan on making it a single speed freewheeler....bonus points that I plan to cast my own chain tensioner from scrap cymbals I plan on some platform BMX pedals, probably some random BMX cranks on a MTB BB, 26 x 1.5 tires, and some flat Easton carbon bars I have laying around. Probably just a rear brake. Kind of a MTBMXCRUISER hybrid for the street...and Its blue too!

That sounds like a very cool idea. You can upgrade the rear brake from cantilever to v-brake for short money--just make sure you get a v-brake-compatible lever.

Talk to a bike shop about how to get a proper chainline on it. If the bike comes with a cassette, it's a snap to do with a cog conversion kit (like I did on mine). Trickier to do with a BMX-style freewheel.

Build it and post it here.

good job giving the old bike a new life. those bars are wacky, i don't think i've seen anything like them before.

i've been in greenville SC for a few days, and there's lots of day-glo hipster fixies running around down here.

gamby wrote:

4cylndrfury wrote:

ultraclyde wrote: Nice build up, but !'ve never been a fan of bull bars, Fignon or not. I enjoy the heck out of my SS mountainbike, and I keep thinking about the same kind of build when I run up on the right frame.

yeah, I found a 1994 Bridgestone MTB-6 (Reynolds 4130) bike at a garage sale years ago, and $30 or so later, it was in my garage. The '94 shimano equipment has long since passed its prime - shifters are all gunked up inside and wont shift, and the Biopace has GOT TO GO. After seeing this thread, I plan on making it a single speed freewheeler....bonus points that I plan to cast my own chain tensioner from scrap cymbals I plan on some platform BMX pedals, probably some random BMX cranks on a MTB BB, 26 x 1.5 tires, and some flat Easton carbon bars I have laying around. Probably just a rear brake. Kind of a MTBMXCRUISER hybrid for the street...and Its blue too!

That sounds like a very cool idea. You can upgrade the rear brake from cantilever to v-brake for short money--just make sure you get a v-brake-compatible lever. Talk to a bike shop about how to get a proper chainline on it. If the bike comes with a cassette, it's a snap to do with a cog conversion kit (like I did on mine). Trickier to do with a BMX-style freewheel. Build it and post it here.

Yep, I already have a ton of spare bits laying about - I worked in a shop for about 5 years. A cassette and spacers for a single ring will certainly be in the plans.

I built a Surly Instigator frame into a trail bike and rode the snot out of it. When I sold the frame, I kept the rest of the gear but never did anything with it...some I sold to buddies or Ebay etc, but I have some brakes and other sundries still. Whenever I get around to building my single, I will definitely post a thread...

What's the cheapest way to convert from a cassette to a single speed?

I have a cassette hub bicycle that I just ran a chain to one of the gears and run it single speed, but it's geared a little too high

That turned out really nice! You got me dreaming about building a street bike again. Now that I have a welder I've been bouncing the DIY recumbent idea around too. Just not sure where I would ride the things, the older I get the less I want to ride on the road, I nearly get run over just walking (dumb students).

Supra, build one of these

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEm_esKCdAw

Taiden wrote: What's the cheapest way to convert from a cassette to a single speed? I have a cassette hub bicycle that I just ran a chain to one of the gears and run it single speed, but it's geared a little too high

if you are in fact running a casette they can easily be pulled apart into separate cogs... then you need to make a spacer... seen it done plenty of times with the spacers from random casettes (there are a bunch that space out the different cogs)... but if you don't have access to that you can just go with some PVC pipe...

if your frame doesn't sit at just the right length to run a chain without a tensioner you can use an old derailler as your tensioner...

but honestly... it's real cheap to buy a SS "kit"

gamby wrote:

it's funny I always see these classic steel bikes and they almost always have the brake lever lines run wrong... they are supposed to run BEHIND the bars... not that you routed them or anything :)...

I dig it... I resto-moded a '91 trek steel lugged road bike... can use modern parts but still fit some pretty fat meats on it... (think I was running 28 or 32 tires depending on what wheelset I ran... nice for a 300# fatty like me)

anyway... going to question you on a few small tidbits...

first... why the tensioner?... with that kind of dropout you should be able to set the tension on the chain without the PP tensioner

and this is more of a "if you care about the looks" which you may or may not... but check into a Nitto Technomic stem... looks like the bars you used are OS so it wouldn't work but if you looked for some old standard wider bars you could do the old cut n flip and still have the proper vintage quill stem look thats plenty high (I used the quill adapter myself cause with plans of going to the nitto quill when I found the proper length stem)

anyway always good to see some old steel out on the road :)...

Taiden wrote: What's the cheapest way to convert from a cassette to a single speed? I have a cassette hub bicycle that I just ran a chain to one of the gears and run it single speed, but it's geared a little too high

Whoa--sorry--was away and didn't catch that this was resurrected.

For the SS conversion, I got a Forte singlespeed conversion kit from Performance cycle for $34.99. It came with 3 different cogs (16T, 18T, 20T) a bunch of spacers so you can get a proper chainline when setting the cog onto the hub and the controversial tensioner.

As for why the tensioner--I figure it's easier to deal with than trying to center the wheel perfectly every time I remove the rear wheel. I'm running a quick release and the right side of the hub sits right into the back of the dropout. I center the wheel from there. The tensioner takes out any other guesswork.

I know the traditionalists will frown upon that setup, but I'm cool with it. I've had a decent amount of rides on it and it works great. A teeny bit noisy, but it's working like a charm.

In reply to donalson:

I care about the looks--to a point. I had that old Aheadset stem lying around and yes, the bars are oversized, so they work together beautifully.

I wasn't too concerned with following the "rules" of a "proper" singlespeed/fixie.

The rise and reach of it are working perfectly for me. It's a very comfortable bike and I agree--oldschool steel makes for a fantastic ride. The semi-aero position of the bullhorns is very cool. I really enjoy charging through the flats in that position--for a short time at least. Certainly not a long-distance setup.

I've been doing a few different loops around my neighborhood that are getting me used to mashing/honking hills in a larger-than-comfortable gear. The 46x20 gearing is perfect for what I'm using it for. It's going to make for some great cross-training for the longer rides I'll do on my geared bikes.

What it all boils down to is--I couldn't be more pleased to get my Dad's old bike back on the road. I feel very connected to it.

donalson wrote: it's funny I always see these classic steel bikes and they almost always have the brake lever lines run wrong... they are supposed to run BEHIND the bars... not that you routed them or anything :)...

Yeah, some dude at the long-defunct DJ Handlebars LBS did that in 1983.

I've been checking out a few different 700x32C tire options. Cross tires are frickin' expensive, though. I'll see what I can score.

(I keep responding to this in chunks--sorry)

I was a bicycle mechanic for a living more years than not from 1976 to 1995. I raced on the road as well as some track and cruiser BMX from '78 - 82 in the non-aero levers, Campy Nuovo Record era, and built and owned countless bikes like that.

The brake cables do not route behind the bars, and I'd bitch-slap any punk kid after-school part-time bike assembler who did so.

I seem to recall the early Campy Ergopower shifters ran the gear cables as well as brakes under the bar tap with brake routed front and gear to the rear - but that's awful mid-80's early lever shifting stuff.

I switched from Suntour Superbe Pro 8 speed index downtube shifters to first generation Dura-Ace 10 speed STI in '04 and I'm still riding it. It's a little more better than I am every year as I get older and fatter.

In reply to motomoron:

I'm gonna stick with my lowly, sad Sora/Tiagra 8-speed triple on my "main" road bike until next fall. I've heard great things about the new Tiagra 10-speed stuff (that it's basically last year's 105 stuff). I have Ultegra front and rear 9-speed derailleurs from a bike I stripped and flipped. I'll get a compact double (50/34) and some sort of larger 10-speed cluster (something like a 12-28) and that'll be my future setup. It gets pretty hilly around here, so I need a really wimpy climbing gear.

If I come into a bunch of money before then, I'll do it sooner. I think I put enough money into bikes in the past few months to cover me for quite some time.

BTW, motomoron--I was a big-box bike mechanic for the better part of 2003-2011. Not as prestigious/legit as a bike shop, but I'm pretty damn good with the wrenches.

motomoron wrote: The brake cables do not route behind the bars, and I'd bitch-slap any punk kid after-school part-time bike assembler who did so.

best go bitch slap some tour de france bike mechanics...

TaDOW! Ouch!

Oh man that hurts

hey came across this and thought you might like it... very GRM way to do a tensioner... :)

Bataivah said: I'll assume the spring-loaded type works better also.

sasquatch rides a SS from MTBR.com said: Nope, I'll never buy (or make) a spring loaded tensioner again. Doesn't get enough tension on the chain and it bounces around on bumps. Plus they don't make many that push up. If I ever do a full suspension singlespeed I'll use one..but other than that I'm using fixed tensioners. Easier to use, easier to take the wheel off and put it on, and they do the job better. I made another out of the other v-brake arm, and a random jockey wheel I had.

In reply to donalson:

Wow--that's really good. I like it.

BTW--I stuck some 700x35c hybrid tires on the singlespeed and I LOVE them. The roads around my town are rough, sandy (leftover from last winter) and all of the sewer grate slots run parallel to the curb, so they are a VAST improvement over the 700x23's that were originally on there. Ride quality is excellent and it's nice to be able to hop off-road if the urge strikes me. Big fan.

Plus, they look cool as hell. I'll take a pic tomorrow if I remember.

I love this bike, BTW. It's improved my stamina on hills amazingly. Too bad I'll lose it when the weather gets frigid.

Nice, love the v-brake chain tensioner. Very clever, that.

My new MTB is going to be 1x9. I was tossing around the idea of SS, but decided my skinny-ass legs probably aren't up for it .