The joys of a shonky, spare parts singlespeed

[TwistingMyMelon]

Currently enjoying 5 miles of muddy tracks a day and 18 miles of road on 25c slicks! Only thing that cant cope is SPD-SL shoe cleats, the mud instantly clogs them up. Ive got spare egbeaters but I like the big contact patch of SLs so gonna stick it out

Love the ride home from work, the ride in is hard work! Pitch black lanes and old railway tracks all the way home

I'm finding my chain needs tensioning every 3 or so weeks, by tensioning I pull the wheel back a bit more in the horizontal drop out, which tensions it, I guess this is a sign it is stretching and needs changing soon? Its not at the end of the drop out yet and roughly in the middle

Edited by TwistingMyMelon on Wednesday 18th November 13:51

[Justin S]

richardxjr said:

Mine's gone a bit fat

I recognise that box

[richardxjr]

It's a lovely box, thanks again J

[neenaw]

BadgerBenji said:

NeeNaw that looks lovely. Are you using the Q-rings with rotor cranks, how are they for keeping chain tension?

Yes, using the Rotor cranks with a Q-ring.
Absolutely no issues with the tension at all. If you adjust the tension so the oval is vertical, if that makes sense, then it's the tightest point. The difference between the tightest and slackest points is minimal.
The Pivot uses swinging drop-outs to tension the chain but when I've used an EBB on a previous Niner frame it was a bit more of a hassle getting the tension correct as the EBB will raise or lower the BB axle so it's not sitting dead centre. Once it's done it's fine though.

[timolloyd]

I've got a spare mountain bike that I've been wanting to convert to single speed for ages. Can anyone recommend a kit, or list of items needed? I'm particularly concerned with getting chain tension right.

[MC Bodge]

timolloyd said:

I've got a spare mountain bike that I've been wanting to convert to single speed for ages. Can anyone recommend a kit, or list of items needed? I'm particularly concerned with getting chain tension right.

It is very easy.

The cheapest way:

take the spacers out of 2 old gear cassettes and one of the 16 tooth sprockets. Arrange them with the sprocket in the middle (as close to aligned with the front chainring as possible) and fit to the free hub.

Use an old/broken rear mech as the tensioner. I chopped off the lower jockey wheel too.

If you want to do it a bit posher, buy a single speed sprocket, BMX chain and maybe a half-link, sprocket spacers and a chain tensioner (I prefer the chopped down rear mech)

[anonymous-user]

Singlespeeders, I have a ratio question.

I ride a 26" MTB with 1.75 inch touring tyres to work and it's ~150m of climbing. The bike has a 38T single chainring and currently a 11-34 cassette. I've just purchased a 16T SS conversion kit and tensioner from on-one. Is this a decent ratio to be using on road / gravel? I am pretty fit - the only way I can think to quantify that is I did the London to Brighton off road ride in September (75 miles) in under 7 hours and pedalled up the massive hill just outside Shoreham which is very rough and broken up rocks in 30/36 (most walked it ).

I think it's mind over matter. Without a lower gear to chicken out with, my theory is that I will just get on with it on the 38/16 ratio. The other option was 18T but after much deliberation I thought that was too spinny.

Edited by RenOHH on Monday 23 November 00:14

[daddy cool]

I have a 26" full-sus MTB and also a 650B carbon hardtail, and now im having dirty thoughts about not just a 29er, but also a single-speed, for muddy winter rides.
For £350, is this good value? Or what would be a reasonably cheeky offer?

[Fluffsri]

RenOHH said:

Singlespeeders, I have a ratio question.

I ride a 26" MTB with 1.75 inch touring tyres to work and it's ~150m of climbing. The bike has a 38T single chainring and currently a 11-34 cassette. I've just purchased a 16T SS conversion kit and tensioner from on-one. Is this a decent ratio to be using on road / gravel? I am pretty fit - the only way I can think to quantify that is I did the London to Brighton off road ride in September (75 miles) in under 7 hours and pedalled up the massive hill just outside Shoreham which is very rough and broken up rocks in 30/36 (most walked it ).

I think it's mind over matter. Without a lower gear to chicken out with, my theory is that I will just get on with it on the 38/16 ratio. The other option was 18T but after much deliberation I thought that was too spinny.

Edited by RenOHH on Monday 23 November 00:14

Usually rely on a 2 to 1 ratio. Mine is a 32 to 16 but thats mainly off road and its a pain on the road, yours will probably be good on the road and off road stood up on all the hills LOL.

[TwistingMyMelon]

RenOHH said:

Singlespeeders, I have a ratio question.

I ride a 26" MTB with 1.75 inch touring tyres to work and it's ~150m of climbing. The bike has a 38T single chainring and currently a 11-34 cassette. I've just purchased a 16T SS conversion kit and tensioner from on-one. Is this a decent ratio to be using on road / gravel? I am pretty fit - the only way I can think to quantify that is I did the London to Brighton off road ride in September (75 miles) in under 7 hours and pedalled up the massive hill just outside Shoreham which is very rough and broken up rocks in 30/36 (most walked it ).

I think it's mind over matter. Without a lower gear to chicken out with, my theory is that I will just get on with it on the 38/16 ratio. The other option was 18T but after much deliberation I thought that was too spinny.

Edited by RenOHH on Monday 23 November 00:14

Sounds the same as my commute, quite hilly roads with 2 miles of gravel at end.

I have a 45/16 could be a 15 actually

Ironically the steep hills are ok, they are a bit of a grinding workout, but not too bad. The slight loong hills in headwinds can be a pita and makes me wish I has a smaller gear.

What you might find is a 38/16 suits one way of the the commute but is a bit spinny on the the other way, thats what I find, I want an easier gear for way in to work and the current gear for the way home!

[richardxjr]

daddy cool said:

I have a 26" full-sus MTB and also a 650B carbon hardtail, and now im having dirty thoughts about not just a 29er, but also a single-speed, for muddy winter rides.
For £350, is this good value? Or what would be a reasonably cheeky offer?

Looks like value to me. I like those ivory frames as they have both ss and derailleur dropouts.

Mine cost £500 to build, doing another one for a mate at the mo, mostly s/h parts

Inbred 29er Frame w/headset BB cranks £60
Fork, one on Carbon bladed as your pic £80
Saddle, stem, bars £50
Brakes, new BR-M355s from CRC £35
My old wheels (Flows tubeless on Deore)SS conversion tyres seatpost and all the other bits he needs £120

Defo go tubeless and run silly low pressures for grip, feel and cush. A semi fat (3") tyre on the front is silly fun in the mud at the mo.

[MC Bodge]

TwistingMyMelon said:

Sounds the same as my commute, quite hilly roads with 2 miles of gravel at end.

I have a 45/16 could be a 15 actually

Ironically the steep hills are ok, they are a bit of a grinding workout, but not too bad. The slight loong hills in headwinds can be a pita and makes me wish I has a smaller gear.

What you might find is a 38/16 suits one way of the the commute but is a bit spinny on the the other way, thats what I find, I want an easier gear for way in to work and the current gear for the way home!

I suggest multiple gears. You can even change gears on the move.

I wouldn't want a singlespeed road bike, conditions can require different ratios to allow a suitable cadence. Off road single speed is great as cadence is changing a lot anyway.

[TwistingMyMelon]

MC Bodge said:

TwistingMyMelon said:

Sounds the same as my commute, quite hilly roads with 2 miles of gravel at end.

I have a 45/16 could be a 15 actually

Ironically the steep hills are ok, they are a bit of a grinding workout, but not too bad. The slight loong hills in headwinds can be a pita and makes me wish I has a smaller gear.

What you might find is a 38/16 suits one way of the the commute but is a bit spinny on the the other way, thats what I find, I want an easier gear for way in to work and the current gear for the way home!

I suggest multiple gears. You can even change gears on the move.

I wouldn't want a singlespeed road bike, conditions can require different ratios to allow a suitable cadence. Off road single speed is great as cadence is changing a lot anyway.

I'm the opposite, I love it on the road, its a different kind of workout, you have to use your legs and brain in lieu of gears.

The lack of maintenance, smoothness/silence is great. Its more suited to urban comuteing granted, pulling away from traffic lights is so much easier and you can spin up to 20 mph so easily with the right gear . Long stretches of rural road are good as well, as it forces you to focus on your cadence,pedal stroke and breathing having no gears to hide behind.

[anonymous-user]

TwistingMyMelon said:

MC Bodge said:

TwistingMyMelon said:

Sounds the same as my commute, quite hilly roads with 2 miles of gravel at end.

I have a 45/16 could be a 15 actually

Ironically the steep hills are ok, they are a bit of a grinding workout, but not too bad. The slight loong hills in headwinds can be a pita and makes me wish I has a smaller gear.

What you might find is a 38/16 suits one way of the the commute but is a bit spinny on the the other way, thats what I find, I want an easier gear for way in to work and the current gear for the way home!

I suggest multiple gears. You can even change gears on the move.

I wouldn't want a singlespeed road bike, conditions can require different ratios to allow a suitable cadence. Off road single speed is great as cadence is changing a lot anyway.

I'm the opposite, I love it on the road, its a different kind of workout, you have to use your legs and brain in lieu of gears.

The lack of maintenance, smoothness/silence is great. Its more suited to urban comuteing granted, pulling away from traffic lights is so much easier and you can spin up to 20 mph so easily with the right gear . Long stretches of rural road are good as well, as it forces you to focus on your cadence,pedal stroke and breathing having no gears to hide behind.

I'll give it a go and see how I get on. I cycled today staying in the 17T on my cassette to see what it was like. I think spinning out is more of a problem than the climbs, though there is one hell of a hill at the mid way point that is rather testing. I'm hoping 16T is the sweet spot. It's a slower overall ride but I'm not as tired when I arrive. I guess it's because you can't pedal flat out everywhere as normal.

[Max5476]

Here's mine: An old Ridgeback that came with a hub gear, repurposed following the death of the hub gear.



Since then it has had SPD pedals fitted, and a Surly tool to stop the chain slipping



Only problem being, I prefer using a my 10 year old hybrid with gears for commuting, which could do with new gears / dérailleurs / brake pads / cables all round

[Max5476]

TwistingMyMelon said:

I'm finding my chain needs tensioning every 3 or so weeks, by tensioning I pull the wheel back a bit more in the horizontal drop out, which tensions it, I guess this is a sign it is stretching and needs changing soon? Its not at the end of the drop out yet and roughly in the middle

Edited by TwistingMyMelon on Wednesday 18th November 13:51

You need something to hold the chain tension - like my surly tuggnut.