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Hi, just wondering if I can get some advice. I just purchased an 80's (maybe early 90s) peugeot for my sister. It's kinda a women's hybrid to best describe it I guess. So I'd love to remove all of the "noise" meaning the extra - the derailleur, the extra gears, the shifters, "the noise" as I like to refer to it. Anyway, anyone know how I can do this easily and cheaply? She'll be riding in relatively flat situations and the one gear should work and make the bike lighter and more manageable. :D
google will probably be your friend, there.
Are you going to make it fixed or just single speed? If fixed, then you might want to be concerned about the direction of the rear dropouts. Frames made to have a fixed gear have horizontal dropouts so that it is more difficult for the wheel to unbolt itself from the frame under the types of stresses that go along with having a fixed gear.
Good question, thanks for asking. No, not fixed, just single speed. I have been watching a few youtube tutorials on the subject since. I have a new question: this bike is for my little sister who is not athletic necessarily but she will be riding, (probably non-hilly easy short rides) in Seattle; any idea what ratio I want for the gears or the cogs or whatever?
I hate to break it to you, but we do have hills here in Seattle. Pretty much everywhere. Big ones and little ones. Gradual ones and sharp ones.Quote:
Originally Posted by extra-vert
If she's not athletic, she will probably really want gears here.
The gear height is best found by having her ride the bike a good bit, switching from one gear to another until she finds the one she likes best and is able to do all her riding for a couple weeks with the bike in that one gear. Everyone is different.
ETA: Most of the parts you'll need are available from Surly. www.surlybikes.com They are a great resource for info, too. (make sure you get her a Jethro Tool so she can tighten the axle bolts every day, AND it works great for opening beer!) I've got a Surly Cross Check, and my SS conversion Motobecane mixte has a combo of Surly and Salsa parts - I have no complaints about anything Surly makes.
Hey Knotted Yet, thanks a lot. I'll check out surly tout de suite!:) I'm curious what you mean by the daily tightening thing you mentioned. I have a ss bianchi pista and I have never tightened anything.:confused:
The nuts for the wheels loosen up on mine, part of the bike's personality. (She's a loose gal...) Plus ya gotta be able to take them off to change the tubes. The Jethro tool is handier than a monkey wrench.
And I need it to open up the beers... :p
Quote:
Originally Posted by KnottedYet
Ain't that the truth!!
Does the bike have a single chainring, or a double or triple?
You would want a rear wheel made for single speed, they often come with a back pedal brake built in, which can be handy if she likes it. Otherwise you would need a free-wheel.
I rode a singlespeed bike for about 5 years in town.
And maybe because of that I just don't get the recent hype around singlespeed/fixed gear bikes. With a single speed you either never can ride as fast as you like (because your gear is not high enough) or you can't get over steep inclines without fearing to damage your chain/chainring - or, most often, both, depending on the situation. And I'm not talking about long steep ascents, only about every day bike use in a not too hilly city.
I don't see why a singlespeed would be an improvement over the use of at least some gears in any possible way, really.
Wow ever since I started riding a single gear, I just can't get enough - I love it! I've been riding it in SF for the last 2 years and now in socal. Anyway that said, I've decided to turn my sister's bike into a 5 gear I guess. I went to a bike store today for some ideas and he showed me a nicer single front ring (terminology??) and ten suggested leaving the rear cassette and that would clean up the look. And it's relatively cheap, $40 parts, $15 labor. So that'll work I think. Here's a before pic for you guys, (check out that world's ugliest seat!: o)
Hard to tell from the pic, but i also hate the funky stem. I'm hoping to switch out to an old nitto stem I've got. :D
Glad you found a solution you're happy with.
I'll third the lack of hilly riding in Seattle. :)
My own just-for-fun (Seattle) singlespeed is geared at 42/20 right now. Nice and comfy...but I don't ride that bike for speed. It's mostly my go-meet-friends-for-coffee-or-brunch bike.
My sister's bicycling career is only ever going to amount to 'going to meet friends for (scrabble and cocktails) in her case LOL. But now I'm wondering if any of you Seattle-ites ride with special tires for all the rain??
You don't need special tires in the rain, though some harder tires like Gatorskins can be a bit tough cornering in the wet. Fenders are key, though.