Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - SS / Fixie Newb needs 27" wheel advice.

I bought this bike at a garage sale and intend to convert it to a SS or Fixed.
It is a 1986-1987 Bianchi Campione Del Mondo - Colorado Springs.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c76/TequilaJoe888/Bianchi%20Campione%20Del%20Mondo/April232006148copy.jpg

This is my first SS project so I am a little confused to what I need to do even after reading through Sheldonbrown.com. I'm intrigued by Fixed but I'm not sure how much I would ride Fixed as I live in hilly terrain and I have a 40 mile round trip commute to/from work. Sheldonbrown doesn't seem to recommend Fixed for my application. So, a SS or a Flip Flop rear is what I'm thinking about.

I've read on sheldonbrown.com that it would be better to buy a new rear wheel rather than build due to spokes popping under new tensions, re-dishing, shop fees but i can't find anyone locally that has a pre-built 27" wheel for sale.

Questions:
1. I can find 700mm wheels but I have brake reach problems. Anyone know a remedy?

2. Should I just get a rear sprocket and add some spacers or pay my LBS to build up a rear wheel?

3. What ratio should I use? 39 x ?

Thanks for any insight you can provide.

can you drop your brake pads 4mm? If yes brakes will fit.

cant help with the rest

can you drop your brake pads 4mm? If yes brakes will fit.

cant help with the rest

I pulled the 700mm wheels off my roadie and tried it on the Bianchi and the old 105 brakes are too short. :(

You can either get new brakes, or rebuild the 27" wheel with new spokes and a new hub. just reuse the rim. as for gear ratio, figure out what you ride most on your road bike and try to get something similar. Personally, I think I would go 39/14.

I was thinking 39 x 14 too. Thanks

I've built up 3 ss conversions (26" mtb, 27" road, 700c)and I haven't had to redish any of the rims. The inner chain ring position gives a pretty straight chainline.

I started with a 39x18 and its ok and might be what you want with your hills. My girl friend rides that and she's happy with the ratio (about 58 gear/inches). I've got a 32x16 (54 gear/inches) on the "mtb" and while its pretty low for the street its still ok for a beach cruiser sort of spin to the store and back.

Most fixers (at least till your legs start to build up) start around 70 gear/inches (42x16, or 39x15) which is probably the most popular gearing. I'd say start with 39x16 or 39x18 and see how you like it.

More teeth on the rear gear (or less teeth on the front gear) is easier to crank over.
More teeth on the front gear (or less teeth on the rear gear) makes it harder to crank.

27" Track wheel (http://www.bikepartsusa.com/view.phtml?f_c=Wheel&f_c2=Track)

I've built up 3 ss conversions (26" mtb, 27" road, 700c)and I haven't had to redish any of the rims. The inner chain ring position gives a pretty straight chainline.


The Bianchi has a 6 speed freewheel. I'm interested in what you did with your 27" conversion.

The first bike I did was an early 80's schwinn world sport, it came with 700c wheels and a 6 gear freewheel when I got it, but the 27" wheel I did next was done exactly the same way.

I took the gears off with Parks FR-1 tool and greased and threaded on an 18 tooth Shimano BMX freewheel (without any spacers) by hand. As you ride, the freewheel will tighten itself onto the hub, getting it off is another matter (Parks FR-6 tool?), make sure you thread it on with the notches facing out or you'll have a tough time getting it off later. After I rode that for a while, that wheel went onto an old Nishiki frame I built up for my GF. My fixed wheel set went on the schwinn.

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=48

I used the 39 tooth chainring and left it on the inside of the crank spider, and used the original chainring bolts, with washers I picked up at the hardware store on the "nut" side of the chainring bolt to make up for the missing outer chainring thickness. I'm cheap. Single chainring bolts would have been more elegant.

I might have played with the axle spacers on each side a little, a good bike shop should have an assortment, I managed to dig through my junk stuff and got what I needed. Put them in-between the nut holding your bearing races and the nut which goes against the inside of the dropouts. Actually I didn't have to with the 700c and 27" wheels, but I did play with the spacers on the mtb frame.

If you like your chainrings on the outside of the spider, get a narrower bottom bracket, 68x107?, nashbars got em for $20, probably about the same cost at your LBS.

Long winded but I like wrenching on my bikes. good luck, its easy.

1. I can find 700mm wheels but I have brake reach problems. Anyone know a remedy?

Brakes as good as or better than what you have and with longer reach are at a swap meet near you for like $10

2. Should I just get a rear sprocket and add some spacers or pay my LBS to build up a rear wheel?

You're riding 40 miles a day with hills, on pavement, under commuter conditions. The usual jackass parade will of course argue with me, but this is the wrong application for single speed. Leave the crap on there, or go fixed if you want something different.

3. What ratio should I use? 39 x ?

39x14 is 75 gear inches for a 27". Little steep for the hills.

Don't get me wrong, if you ride 200 miles a week in hills on a single speed, you will have some kong quadriceps in no time flat, but if you whack yourself in the forehead with a hammer 200 times a week you'll build up some good head callouses as well. Skip the trend for this one and ride that nice roadie you bought to your job, your knees will thank you.

if the wheel's in good shape, just thread on a cog. done.

if the wheel's in good shape, just thread on a cog. done.

"just thread on a cog" leaves out important information, like, that might not hold up to backpressure and if you brake with your drivetrain you could very possibly spin your cog off.

stevo, there are ways to give this information, but you've got to give all the information so that somebody doesn't get hurt.

tequila joe: there's a method called "rotafix," which, if you search for, you can figure out how to do, the risks involved, and how to mitigate some of those risks. you'd be using the wheel you currently have.

As dkb said, if you're just looking for SS you can quite easily take the 6 sp freewheel off and slap a BMX freewheel on there. You could ride that for a while before deciding whether you really want to abandon gears for the commute.

Thanks dkb, this is great advice. I will try the BMX Freewheel for now and do the Flip Flop build if I really start diggin' the SS.

Cheers.
T.J.

Hey Fellas,

I appreciate your advice / insight.

I only commute 2 -3 times per week because the other days, it’s my turn to drop off my daughter at daycare. Recently, I’ve been using 1 gear the entire way on my commute 39 x 14 to see if I like it and it works. 39 x 12 is OK too but will keep the ratio lower for now. I usually ride 52 x 16 except for two large hills & over pass I use 39 x 16. I have cranked it up the hills in 52 x 16 but I'm pretty cooked by the time I get to the top. The knees don’t hurt yet.

I figured that if/when I get tired out by the SS, I could always go back to the Falcon for the next commute. I’ve read that training on a SS/Fixie will do wonders for your power & spin. This is the main reason for me. Also, I want ot do it for the simplicity of it all and I would like a low maintenance bad weather, run to the corner store bike.

I will thread a BMX cog for now. Thanks dkb, stevo, queerpunk, Toolshed. Landgolier, sviat, spreidel…

Cheers!
T.J.

"just thread on a cog" leaves out important information, like, that might not hold up to backpressure and if you brake with your drivetrain you could very possibly spin your cog off.

stevo, there are ways to give this information, but you've got to give all the information so that somebody doesn't get hurt.

tequila joe: there's a method called "rotafix," which, if you search for, you can figure out how to do, the risks involved, and how to mitigate some of those risks. you'd be using the wheel you currently have.

sigh; like that hasnt been debated adnausem.

The context of his question was WHICH wheel to use; not the method of conversion. I stand by my statement, and am glad he pursued that direction.

ok, if your commute is hackable on SS/fixed, go for it, I rescind my comments. We all have different definitions of "hilly," mine is pretty much "sh*t that makes me wish I had gears"

39x14 is on the small side, if it works for you run it, but a lot of people would go with a less microdrive setup at the same ratio. 13t cogs are out there if you want to step it up, but then you're running a 3:1 ratio, which can give you wear problems. Chainrings are often just as cheap as cogs, or cheaper (viva la rocket ring!)

Thats a nice bike. I say leave it alone and buy a junker frame for a fixed gear project. I've discouraged people who've brought in nice bikes for converstions. Thats just my personal opinion.

If you want to do fixed, buy another wheelset.

If you want single speed, redish your current wheelset.

I'm looking to convert my older road bike to fixed, and this wheel will make it a much cheaper project (instead of converting to 700c wheels). Thanks!

The first bike I did was an early 80's schwinn world sport, it came with 700c wheels and a 6 gear freewheel when I got it, but the 27" wheel I did next was done exactly the same way.

I took the gears off with Parks FR-1 tool and greased and threaded on an 18 tooth Shimano BMX freewheel (without any spacers) by hand. As you ride, the freewheel will tighten itself onto the hub, getting it off is another matter (Parks FR-6 tool?), make sure you thread it on with the notches facing out or you'll have a tough time getting it off later. After I rode that for a while, that wheel went onto an old Nishiki frame I built up for my GF. My fixed wheel set went on the schwinn.

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=48

I used the 39 tooth chainring and left it on the inside of the crank spider, and used the original chainring bolts, with washers I picked up at the hardware store on the "nut" side of the chainring bolt to make up for the missing outer chainring thickness. I'm cheap. Single chainring bolts would have been more elegant.

I might have played with the axle spacers on each side a little, a good bike shop should have an assortment, I managed to dig through my junk stuff and got what I needed. Put them in-between the nut holding your bearing races and the nut which goes against the inside of the dropouts. Actually I didn't have to with the 700c and 27" wheels, but I did play with the spacers on the mtb frame.

If you like your chainrings on the outside of the spider, get a narrower bottom bracket, 68x107?, nashbars got em for $20, probably about the same cost at your LBS.

Long winded but I like wrenching on my bikes. good luck, its easy.


This is excellent stuff for me. I bought an old 501 framed Raleigh last night for $8 to make into an SS commuter. It has to live outside a station in London in the rain, so it needed to be simple, minimal adjustment, and really not stealable. The Raleigh Quasar I've got will appeal to no-one except those with an 80's fixation. It's naaarsty. So, the fact that all I'm likely to need to convert it is an appropriate freewheel, some axle spacers, and some washers pleases me no end. When you're putting up a bike for this purpose, even short stack chainring bolts sound like bling. I'm toying with putting Moustache bars on it, but they'll cost twice what the whole rest of the build costs!

For my fix, I have a nice old Nigel Dean frame, and I don't mind springing for a track crankset and wheels to make that one right, but it's not going to be sitting out in the rain 5 days a week......

stevo,
my bad. the conversation was about SS, not fixed, and i didn't exactly notice that. you're right.

39x14 is on the small side, if it works for you run it, but a lot of people would go with a less microdrive setup at the same ratio. 13t cogs are out there if you want to step it up, but then you're running a 3:1 ratio, which can give you wear problems. Chainrings are often just as cheap as cogs, or cheaper (viva la rocket ring!)
Quick note: If you plan on running this bike as a SS with a BMX cog, you're not going to be able to run a freewheel smaller than 15t, they have a different threading and diameter that is found only on flip-flop BMX hubs. Either get a new ring (44-52t will give you decent gearing options) or a new wheel with a freehub and cassette cogs.

Quick note: If you plan on running this bike as a SS with a BMX cog, you're not going to be able to run a freewheel smaller than 15t, they have a different threading and diameter that is found only on flip-flop BMX hubs. Either get a new ring (44-52t will give you decent gearing options) or a new wheel with a freehub and cassette cogs.

I found out that the chain ring is 42 t. Running this with a 15 t will be perfect!

If you're doing this kind of heavy riding on hills, and you figure you like the ss, then get your chainline fixed right and go re-space/re-dish. I've done both, and the re-dishing is worth it and not that much of a PIA. If you're interested in working on your own work, you can learn how to do it relatively easily, that's what I did. You could also just try taking off the deraillers, reducing your chain and just running a ss with the inside chainring and the appropriate cog on your existing freewheel. Sounds ghetto, but it's stable and works.

That's a nice, vintage bike, you might want to throw the picture over in the Classic & Vintage Forum and see what people there have to suggest for a commuter ride.

UPDATE:

Well, after some heavy convincing from a few friends, I have decided to hold off building the Bianchi into a SS for 1 month. I will ride it as my “backup / loan to my MTB friends to get them on the road” bike for now. If it doesn't see much action in the next month, the SS project is back on.

Although I still need pedals and tires, I went for a short 5 mile inaugural ride. I borrowed the wheels from my Falcon. It’s a real nice riding bike. The CroMo frame soaks up the road vibration very well and the 105 kit performed flawlessly. I defiantly need a longer stem and the bars were probably 1" too low but it felt and handled nicely.

Thanks for all the feedback,
Cheers!

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c76/TequilaJoe888/Bianchi%20Campione%20Del%20Mondo/April232006029copy.jpg