Singlespeed Bodge...

[DirtDiva]

Ok. My roadie is in need of some major drivetrain replacement after a winter of commuting in London (Why do they salt the roads so freakin' much? It just isn't possible to clean your bike twice a day!), but cash is limited due to spanky new Rebas going on the hardtail next week.

Anyway, seeing as the roadie is exclusively being used as a commuter at present, I was thinking it would be way cheaper and kinda fun to just turn it into a singlespeed for now. I can get a tensioner and a conversion kit for the back for not much, but how do I do the front end on the cheap? Can I just take off the big ring and the granny from my current crankset, ignore the ugliness and use the middle ring and the cranks I've already got? Doesn't have to be classy, just has to work!

TIA.

[xeney]

We've done exactly what you describe -- my husband's daily commuter had a double up front, and he just removed the big chain ring, took off the rear cassette and replaced it with a freewheel (he has horizontal dropouts so no need for a chain tensioner), adjusted the chain length, and voila. But his chain line isn't perfect and it doesn't always work out so easily. Usually you have to re-dish the rear wheel in order to make the chain line straight.

You could also replace the rear wheel with a track wheel and that would take care of the problem. This is what I've done on my singlespeed conversions.

[DirtDiva]

How much leeway do you think there is between "chainline not perfect" and "chain falling off at random"? I really am after a "for now" solution - I may love the bike as a single speed and want to tart it up as such, but I may not... One thing is for sure, just at the moment I can't afford to make the changes and upgrades I'd like to if this bike stays geared, and I haven't been on a ride on it that's needed more than three gears all year!

[DebW]

Are you putting a single cassette cog on a freehub? You should have the flexibility to arrange spacers on either side of the cog and select your chainline pretty well. To use the center chainring of a triple, you'll need the cog on the middle to outer 1/2 of the freehub. This sounds like a cool project. Have fun.

[DirtDiva]

That would be exactly what I'm doing. The little conversion kit thing comes with spacers and a 16t sprocket, plus I've got an old cassette from my mtb that I can try a few different sized cogs from if I don't like the 16t. I think it will be a fun little project.

[DirtDiva]

She's done!

42t in the front, 16t in the back. Unfortunately, I had to leave the granny on as I couldn't get it off without taking the crank arm off, and I turned out to be too much of a puny little girl for that. I might be able to get away without the tensioner if I had a 14t or maybe a 15t in the back, but my legs need a bit more work first! Did a wee test ride around the block (sort of - 5.6km) and was smokin'. Quite a difference between telling yourself you're not allowed to change gears and really not being able to!

[DebW]

She's done!

Good work! Enjoy.

Unfortunately, I had to leave the granny on as I couldn't get it off without taking the crank arm off, and I turned out to be too much of a puny little girl for that.

DD, you aren't too much of a puny little girl. You just needed a longer wrench on your crank extractor. What we lack in muscles, ladies, we can make up for in brains and leverage.

P.S. I generally use a 12 inch crescent on my crank extractor. Leverage. Leverage. Leverage.