Beginner! Gears to fixed speed

DonS

I've got a old model of Ribble with a campagnolo volce groupset.

I've been unable to replace the hanger and meanwhile I want to put a new chain on without the derailleur essentially making it a fixed gear on a 9 speed cassette. If anyone has done this or has any pointers i.e what gear it would work best on any advice / help is welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading

fenix

You mean single speed ? Wouldn't fixed mean you need a new wheel due to the free hub ?

Have you tried one of these ? http://problemsolversbike.com/products/universal_derailleur_hanger

FWIW - Fixed is fun - but singlespeed seems to be a half way house thats not really satisfactory.

keydon

what he means is single speed without use of a deraileur and whether it is possible to achieve this without being able to adjust the chain tension? Both the chain and cassette are nine speed and brand new, Campshagnolo!! The Ribble hanger is made of unobtanium and when Ribble did an Eureka, they actually sent the wrong one, deciding that because both the old and the new had 3 screw holes, then this must be it, nothing about them, other than the three holes, is similar, other than that they share a name, hanger!!

It is very annoying to have a total functional bike, with one small, irreplaceable, part!!!

fenix

You can get chain tensioners that would help = but I think the whole idea is flawed - just because Ribble cant find the right hanger - doesn't mean there is one. A decent local bike shop should be able to help = and that'll be just as quick as turning it into an overspecced single speed.

simon_masterson

What you're suggesting is a real bodge - not much more than a get-you-home measure. You could run your bike as a singlespeed - it's not ideal on vertical dropouts (horizontal or track ends are better), but it can work reasonably well. You wouldn't have to spend very much and the bike would be very rideable.

964cup

No, he can't run single-speed, because he can't fit a chain tensioner without a derailleur hanger to fit it to, so he'd have to fit an eccentric BB, which is a lot of work (and money) to bodge up a single-speed.

marcusjb

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19741594#p19741594]964Cup[/url] wrote:

No, he can't run single-speed, because he can't fit a chain tensioner without a derailleur hanger to fit it to, so he'd have to fit an eccentric BB, which is a lot of work (and money) to bodge up a single-speed.

Yep. All true.

No hanger, means no where to hang a tensioner from.

One further option is the White Industries eccentric hub - but I think they are pretty big bucks.

are there any markings/numbers on the hanger? There must be some way of getting a replacement? Poor show from Ribble to not have a decent supply of hangers for any of their older frames.

fenix

They did used to do chainstay mounted tensioners - so it was an option - now I think you'd have to make your own as seen here - http://www.mbr.co.uk/mountain-bike-videos/workshop/workshop-video-make-your-own-chain-device-315852

But getting a new hanger is better.

mattsccm

Why not hunt for a hanger? Plenty of websites show masses of different versions. Just pic the one that is the same shape.

simon_masterson

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19741594#p19741594]964Cup[/url] wrote:

No, he can't run single-speed, because he can't fit a chain tensioner without a derailleur hanger to fit it to, so he'd have to fit an eccentric BB, which is a lot of work (and money) to bodge up a single-speed.

I was more thinking a half-link chain. It's a real bodge, but it's better than nothing. I'd really hope a hanger could be found, though...

keydon

Anyway, thanks for all the replies. The man himself found a site which dispatched a hanger

which fitted perfectly and I put it all together tonight, making sure first gear was out of bounds,

£19.99 was the cost, we probably need a new 9 speed cassette, as it was apparently jumping,

didn't have time to do everything properly, as life interfered with the time available.


I figured straight away that the bodge would never work, but you try convincing a novice

cyclist, with a very fast mind and legs that would like to be, of anything other than that,

"yes, of course we can", and if you succeed I'll give up my kingdom for a life of

monastic solitude. Well, that is the idea, but tomorrow we ride!!



The moral of the story is to always check your indexing after taking the door off a Smart car.


(edit) It was the deraileur and not the cassette that was brand new. The deraileur catching the spooks was the cause of the problem, the wheel ain't so straight either, but I got some of the fruitier bits(banana) out of it.

keydon

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19749074#p19749074]mattsccm[/url] wrote:

Why not hunt for a hanger? Plenty of websites show masses of different versions. Just pic the one that is the same shape.

Ribble should have been able to do that, but their attempt was ridiculous.


Below is the site which came up trumps. And they knew that we needed a slightly

different machining to drop it into the right position, so they know stuff.

http://www.mountainbikecomponents.co.uk/hanger-33

Anonymous

V good site.

It is actually possible to make a geared bike into an SS but you don't get to choose which gear - you just have to use the one which works with the chain

keydon

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19750661#p19750661]coriordan[/url] wrote:

V good site.

It is actually possible to make a geared bike into an SS but you don't get to choose which gear - you just have to use the one which works with the chain

I thought that too, but I don't do waste, so was in a willing to try it at this a point!!

lamajdi

Agree with the guys saying look for a hanger, take it into your lbs and see if they have one that fits. I doubt ribble frames are made with some super specific hanger

rolf_f

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19750661#p19750661]coriordan[/url] wrote:

V good site.

It is actually possible to make a geared bike into an SS but you don't get to choose which gear - you just have to use the one which works with the chain

Surely you just use whatever sprocket you like - just shuffle them around so that the one you want to use is correctly aligned with the chainring.

Anonymous

Sometimes you can't get the chain the right length though so it falls off, unless you wedge your chosen sprocket between two larger ones when you mix them up. Not something I would want to try.