Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - So is this a good reason to convert a bike?

So I can fit a rack and fenders on it without the bolt hitting the small cog?

I have an old Miyata one-ten that's somewhat updated - Mavic rims, Dura-Ace/Ultegra/105 drivetrain (kept the friction shifters, though), moustache bars.

I discovered yesterday that the rear fender eyelets are not threaded. You need a nut and a bolt to go through the whole mess. There's almost zero clearance between the chain and where the bolt would go through. If it were threaded, no problem. I'd just use a very short bolt.

I can either space the frame out and put washers on the hub. That might give me clearance. Or I could maybe have the eyelets tapped for threads, but then I'd need a fat, stubby bolt.

I could also just pretend I'm a roadie and never need to carry anything on my bike or ride it in the rain.

The conversion would cost me zero. I have the parts laying around in my garage. Also, the bike lacks shifter bosses and has nice long dropouts. I think it wants to be a fixed gear.

I would tap the eyelets if it were mine but it sounds like a fun rainy day project.

you could also redish the wheel and move a spacer from one side to the other or simply set the limit on the derailer so you don't use the smallest cog. Unless you want the bike to be ss for some other reason converting it doesn't make sense.

So I can fit a rack and fenders on it without the bolt hitting the small cog?

I have an old Miyata one-ten that's somewhat updated - Mavic rims, Dura-Ace/Ultegra/105 drivetrain (kept the friction shifters, though), moustache bars.

I discovered yesterday that the rear fender eyelets are not threaded. You need a nut and a bolt to go through the whole mess. There's almost zero clearance between the chain and where the bolt would go through. If it were threaded, no problem. I'd just use a very short bolt.

I can either space the frame out and put washers on the hub. That might give me clearance. Or I could maybe have the eyelets tapped for threads, but then I'd need a fat, stubby bolt.

I could also just pretend I'm a roadie and never need to carry anything on my bike or ride it in the rain.

The conversion would cost me zero. I have the parts laying around in my garage. Also, the bike lacks shifter bosses and has nice long dropouts. I think it wants to be a fixed gear.

sounds like the idea's been firmly planted in your head. go for it.

tell us howit turns out, with pics.

So I can fit a rack and fenders on it without the bolt hitting the small cog?

I have an old Miyata one-ten that's somewhat updated - Mavic rims, Dura-Ace/Ultegra/105 drivetrain (kept the friction shifters, though), moustache bars.

I discovered yesterday that the rear fender eyelets are not threaded. You need a nut and a bolt to go through the whole mess. There's almost zero clearance between the chain and where the bolt would go through. If it were threaded, no problem. I'd just use a very short bolt.

I can either space the frame out and put washers on the hub. That might give me clearance. Or I could maybe have the eyelets tapped for threads, but then I'd need a fat, stubby bolt.

I could also just pretend I'm a roadie and never need to carry anything on my bike or ride it in the rain.

The conversion would cost me zero. I have the parts laying around in my garage. Also, the bike lacks shifter bosses and has nice long dropouts. I think it wants to be a fixed gear.

M6 tap, mission complete.

Could you get enough clearance if you use a round head bolt or machine screw? You could probably use a small machine screw with a washer to keep it from passing through the eyelet. I'm guessing there are other ways to resolve the issue, but if you want to convert it and need an excuse...

Oh, please do post pictures if you convert this. I really love miyata conversions for some reason.

It's very easy to tap threads in eyelets. I don't think a shop would charge much at all.

I vote for tapping. It is not hard at all.

But, you could also use p-clamps somehow to avoid putting bolts down there in a tight space.

jim

I've recently realized that I'm sort of at a crossroads right now.

I have four bikes. As I write this, three are rideable and one could be, given an hour or two's work.

But I've started thinking of them not as bikes, but rather as a collection of frames and parts (some interchangeable, some not).

Every frame in my garage could be run as a fixed gear or a geared bike. Two of the frames are on the small side (top tibes of 57 and 56cm and I'm 6' tall with long arms and big feet). Two of the frames are large (top tubes 59 and 60cm). However, I feel perfectly comfortable on each bike.

I have complete drivetrains for each bike. Two fixed, two geared. Presently, my Surly Crosscheck is 27 speeds, the Miyata is 18 speeds and I have a fixed gear built on an old Medici touring frame and another built from an entry-level Giant road bike circa 1985. The Giant is not presently rideable since it has had to donate some parts to the Miyata. The Giant is also the smallest of the four frames.

This is all complicated by the fact that for Christmas, I got wheelbuilding tools - a truing stand, tensionmeter, and Jobst Brandt's The Bicycle Wheel. So, if I wanted to, say, convert the Surly into an SSFG cross bike, I could easily build up a 135mm rear wheel for it.

I've retapped fender eyelets, it's easy as pie. And i am a very very bad mechanic.