Which S/S kit to use?

[snotrag]

Dabbled before but never owned one... got a perfect candidate for a SingleSpeed conversion to use as my commuter/winter bike, My old Steel Kona with P2's and V-brakes, lovely.

Currently got fulle Deore group on it, 9 speed.

So I need -

A chainring
A tensioner
A Cog/Spacer kit for a freehub
A big bd chain

Tonnes and tonnes of companies do them, but are some better than others?


Also - 'uppy' tensioner, or 'downy' tensioner?

Edited by snotrag on Tuesday 7th September 16:38

[mowog]

I converted my 1990 Lava dome to SS last year.

1. Mount middle chainring only on outside of crank spider using single chainring bolts.
2. Decide on what overall gear ratio you desire (somewhere in the mid 50's GI would be about right) this will determine the rear sprocket teeth required.
3. I bought a cheap SS kit with the required sprocket size from ebay which worked out fine.
4. Don't buy a tensioner just yet - I managed to find a 33 x 15 magic gear wihtout the use of half-links or filing of dropouts. If you're unlucky you'll need a tensioner (pull-up ones look better IMHO).
5. Adjust chainline using the right combination of spacers either side of sprocket.
6. Enjoy!

I did C2C on mine last year 190 miles over 3 days.

Good luck!

[snotrag]

Any more for any more?

Found a decent kit of spacers and cog, gonna start off with a 32:16 ratio.

Good source of cheap sturdy chainrings? DMR used to do loads but dont seem that cheap these days!

[Raven Flyer]

Wil 32:16 be good for going up hill or downhill?

[Roman]

Alternatively, you could simply replace the triple with a single ring up front (36, 38 or 39 best). Much cheaper & simpler, you still drop weight, gain simplicity & cleaner looks and still have a wide spread of ratios to use (with an 11-34 or even just a 12-32 cassette). Not as trendy but cheaper & better for hilly terrain.