Going single speed

secretsam

Whilst bike 2 is awaiting repair, my thoughts turn to single speed bikes, which is all I need for my London commute...

How much would it cost to convert my current wagon to single speed? All the wheels I see in shops are horribly costly, surely there must be cheap wheels and chainsets out there?!?!?! (am assuming 700c wheels)

Ta

niblue

You can go singlespeed without changing wheels by getting using a spacer kit with a geared wheel.

I run my Cotic Soul as a single-speed some of the time and I use a On-One spacer kit and tensioner, a normal chainset with the small and big rings removed and a single-speed chain.

redddraggon

niblue wrote:

a normal chainset with the small and big rings removed

How does that work? You actually need a chainring to go anywhere!

Sea_Green_Incorruptible

Yep. Just get the spacer kit: around £12. You might need some tools like a crank puller, chain tool or cassette unscewer thingy if you don't already have them. Then just mess around with chain ring and sprocket sizes and chain length to get the tension and chainline right. If worse comes to worse you may need to buy a chain tensioner: about £15.

I did a conversion like this over xmas. It was great fun and cost buttons. I use my single speed whenever I go out cruising with the family... it is ace.

DavidTQ

redddraggon wrote:

niblue wrote:

a normal chainset with the small and big rings removed

How does that work? You actually need a chainring to go anywhere!

If you have a triple you can remove the big and small chain ring and still have one left.

redddraggon

DavidTQ wrote:

redddraggon wrote:

niblue wrote:

a normal chainset with the small and big rings removed

How does that work? You actually need a chainring to go anywhere!

If you have a triple you can remove the big and small chain ring and still have one left.

Oh right. I take "normal" as meaning "standard" as in 53/39 etc, compact is 50/34 etc and triples are a (non normal) special type.

A double would be better to use anyway for that application anyway, as it would give a better chainline, and you wouldn't have an extra set of spidery bits.

Kafka\'s Doll

I'm sure it's been asked a million times, but could someone explain the benefits of single speed? Is it just a maintenance thing? Over what sort of distance does it make sense?

Sea_Green_Incorruptible

Kafka\'s Doll wrote:

I'm sure it's been asked a million times, but could someone explain the benefits of single speed? Is it just a maintenance thing? Over what sort of distance does it make sense?

Check out Sheldon on this one... http://www.sheldonbrown.com/singlespeed.html
And he's quite right. The simplicity actually feels quite liberating...

I got tempted into the idea when my rear shifter 'went'' and I couldn't afford to replace it for ages (or at least until my work introduced Cycle2Work). I locked the derailler onto the 6th sprocket and could only change up or down on the front (double) chainring. 16 miles a day, every day with some uber hills and only 2 gears... it was... actually pretty cool once I got used to it. If you see a hill its heads down and up out the saddle, no messing around.

My route into work really is BLOODY hilly both ways though so this wasn't an ideal long term solution... but it did make me think that I'd love a simple cruising SS for pretty much all my riding where distance/hills aren't a massive issue... (e.g. almost all my 'pleasure' riding). So.. I built one.

And I've shown pictures of it so many times I'm loathe to put them in again but check the links if you're interested... http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2258/219 ... 84.jpg?v=0 AND
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2227/219 ... 6f.jpg?v=0

My chain is still probably a wee bit too tight but it rides lovely...

DavidTQ

redddraggon wrote:

DavidTQ wrote:

redddraggon wrote:

niblue wrote:

a normal chainset with the small and big rings removed

How does that work? You actually need a chainring to go anywhere!

If you have a triple you can remove the big and small chain ring and still have one left.

Oh right. I take "normal" as meaning "standard" as in 53/39 etc, compact is 50/34 etc and triples are a (non normal) special type.

A double would be better to use anyway for that application anyway, as it would give a better chainline, and you wouldn't have an extra set of spidery bits.

I still think of triples as normals, only one of my geared bikes has been a road bike the others were MTB's and hybrid and all had triples and my road bike has a triple

niblue

Normal for me is a triple! Even my road bike has one - the only bike of mine that doesn't is the singlespeed.

I use mine as a training aid but also find it useful on family runs.

Random Vince

normal for me is single ring

the road bike has a single ring and came with it

the mountain bike used to be a tripple, but is single speed

the other bike is a double

Drfabulous0

I have only one (used) ring on any of my own bikes, but I would consider 'normal' to mean a triple ring setup.

my main road/commuting bike is single speed with the chain on the middle ring and 6.th gear on a geared cassette, that's just the way I set it up because I didn't have a SS kit or any shifters or mech spare, (the bike is made entirely from scrap).

The advantage is hard to describe, words like simplicity and responsiveness spring to mind, you have to try it out, but suffice to say I'm seriously considering singlespeeding my XC bike.

secretsam

Kafka\'s Doll wrote:

I'm sure it's been asked a million times, but could someone explain the benefits of single speed? Is it just a maintenance thing? Over what sort of distance does it make sense?

in my case, my thinking is this:
1. Route is near totally flat (I was raised in Bristol, so to me central London feels like the fens)
2. Bike is old, battered - and derailleur at back may be toast
3. Maintenance - it lives in a train station
4. weight: it's an old steelie and taking off (deep breath) rear mech, rear freewheel (note: it's NOT a cassette jobbie), one chainring, front mech, gear levers would save about a kilo at least
5. I'd like to give it a go, if only to find out why my Grandad used to bang on about only needing one gear!

secretsam

Sea_Green_Incorruptible wrote:

Yep. Just get the spacer kit: around £12. You might need some tools like a crank puller, chain tool or cassette unscewer thingy if you don't already have them. Then just mess around with chain ring and sprocket sizes and chain length to get the tension and chainline right. If worse comes to worse you may need to buy a chain tensioner: about £15.

I did a conversion like this over xmas. It was great fun and cost buttons. I use my single speed whenever I go out cruising with the family... it is ace.

Thanks for this, sounds cheaper than I thought - mine's an old style freewheel hub, does that make a difference? I'm running 48/36 at the front so would probably keep the 48 and run an 18 or so at the back...

Bugly

Single speed has the benefit of simplicity - fixed wheel has the benifit of teaching you how to pedal smoothly no matter the leg speed. Dont know if its done now as a training excercise but years ago you would start riding on the road on a fixed wheel increasing the gearing slowely, with the aim of increasing leg speed and also make the pedal strokes smoother and rounded so you dont bounce on the saddle at high cadence.

Sea_Green_Incorruptible

SecretSam wrote:

Sea_Green_Incorruptible wrote:

Yep. Just get the spacer kit: around £12. You might need some tools like a crank puller, chain tool or cassette unscewer thingy if you don't already have them. Then just mess around with chain ring and sprocket sizes and chain length to get the tension and chainline right. If worse comes to worse you may need to buy a chain tensioner: about £15.

I did a conversion like this over xmas. It was great fun and cost buttons. I use my single speed whenever I go out cruising with the family... it is ace.

Thanks for this, sounds cheaper than I thought - mine's an old style freewheel hub, does that make a difference? I'm running 48/36 at the front so would probably keep the 48 and run an 18 or so at the back...

Freewheel hub might well make a difference. Certainly, the spacers I used were designed for a cassette... You COULD always just leave the sprockets use them as makeshift spacers with a shortened chain though. I'm sure you wouldn't notice much/any difference in the ride or weight, but it won't look as 'clean'....

CheapSkate

For a freewheel hub you should be looking at BMX type screw on freewheels.

I use one of these, and I go through a couple of them a year, but that suits me better than spending proper money one that'll last a bit longer.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=7805

WyS

shop did my racer.

£60 in parts, £30 in labour. Fixed not ss. wouldnt ride anything else in london.

I went for a v hard to pedal gearing, my legs are like rocks now.