Should I Go SS on my CAAD 9 ?

gb155

Pro and Con's please?

Pro's from me:

I can use the Groupo on another bike

My Caad9 will make an excellent SS commuter

Con's

Killing the race pedigree by stealing the gears


Your thoughts ????

tailwindhome

Why would you even....

jonny_trousers

Bad idea.

Fireblade96

:shock:
No.
just no.

If you want a SS, buy something like a Pompino, or an old 80s steel roadie to convert.

Marcus_C

If it's just a case of you want to try single speed, go with a reynolds frame from the bay, there are loads of them out there for not much money.

thel33ter

Do it! :twisted:

roger_merriman

um drop outs? going to be vertical isn't it? which means a chain tensioner etc.

But other than that, if it's good for old road bikes then it's good for newer ones.

thel33ter

roger merriman wrote:

um drop outs? going to be vertical isn't it? which means a chain tensioner etc.

But other than that, if it's good for old road bikes then it's good for newer ones.

Chain tensioners aren't hard, an old rear mech works great, and I'm sure pretty much everyone has one kicking about somewhere. You can even mod them to make them lighter, like mine.

redvee

Do it on 52x11

nich

Try it ..if you don't like it, convert it back

Personally I wouldn't. If I had that frame, I'd want to treat it to shiny bits, including gears, and pedal as fast as I could in the top gear, then tackle the biggest climbs like Lance :P

lemoncurd

Depends. Are you cool?

jonny_trousers

Like putting an electric motor in your Bentley Continental GT: might look cool, but a waste of what it's designed for and highly impractical.

iPete

erm don't touch the shifters when riding

job done.

Canny Jock

If you do, this is a better (though price) option for a nice conversion:

http://www.forwardcycle.com/

I used one on a Ribble winter frame for a year with no problems.

Drfabulous0

If you must then please don't get use one of the awful chain tensioners, you can get a half link chain and one of those eccentriciser bottom bracket thingies. But a steel frame and proper singlespeed/fixed rear wheel would be much better than any conversion job you could make to the Dale, you'd ruin a lovely bike.

prj45

God man, NO! Your bike will weep as you effectively limit it to about 20mph [edit: on the flat]. And anyway, just NO!

Oddjob62

prj45 wrote:

God man, NO! Your bike will weep as you effectively limit it to about 20mph. And anyway, just NO!

Is that the fastest a SS will go? Man i'm glad i ride FG :P

roger_merriman

Oddjob62 wrote:

prj45 wrote:

God man, NO! Your bike will weep as you effectively limit it to about 20mph. And anyway, just NO!

Is that the fastest a SS will go? Man i'm glad i ride FG :P

meh hit twice that with the help of sayers hill.

Gussio

If you convert, you will most likely need to change:

- shifters to brake levers
- chainset
- rear wheel (possibly)

For about the same price you could pick up (as suggested above) a Pompino or simmilar off fleaBay, leaving you with the CAAD9 and a SS bike.

gtvlusso

personally - I would buy an old frame with horizontal dropouts or a cheap track frame. Loads on ebay.

johnboytheconfused

Why? Do you really find gears that difficult to use/maintain? If you want a tougher workout, just stick it in the big ring on the front and the little one on the back.

If you are doing it for style, then I have nothing to say to you.....

EKE_38BPM

Bad idea Gaz.. Its too good a bike to convert.

Buy the components and build a fixie (or its vanilla cousin the SS) yourself.

prj45

Anyway, as soon as you go FG or SS you'll start swearing like a cunt.

gb155

Stuck 25 miles on it today

You are right

Too good to go SS on

It's gears are saved.....:D

EKE_38BPM

You should build a fixie. Great fun.

gb155

EKE_38BPM wrote:

You should build a fixie. Great fun.

Im too dangerous LOL

dhope

gb155 wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

You should build a fixie. Great fun.

Im too dangerous LOL

Nah, dangerous would have been you bombing around on a fixed at 39stone, you'll be fine now

georgee

only if you do it with a magic ratio or an eccentric BB, and then only fixed not SS. Everyone knows SS is the exceptionally soft option and you'll just look a bit of a nob jockey who's done a hashed conversion.

davmaggs

Canny Jock wrote:

If you do, this is a better (though price) option for a nice conversion:

http://www.forwardcycle.com/

I used one on a Ribble winter frame for a year with no problems.

Did you buy from a UK supplier or ship it over (how much did that cost)?

UndercoverElephant

I re-flipped the flop on my Day One at the weekend, going back to SS. I must say I found the bike had regained the fun-factor that I never realised it had lost since I went fixed. I was bouncing around on it again, hopping off curbs and wearing a huge grin. Fixed seemed too serious on it, never enjoyed it as much.

Only went fixed in the snow as my free-wheel froze at -14 C. More reliable, perhaps, but a whole-lot less fun.

DonDaddyD

But the CAAD9 is like the best aluminium race/commuter frame around the £1000 mark (when dripped with 105). That's like the biggest most competitive price point and that bike stands out like a shinning beacon of hope!