Road Cycling - converting Road bike to Single Speed

how do i turn my road bike into a single speed?i know the chain is not going to align properly since road bikes have rear derailleur. i heard you can get some type of adapter that will tighten and straighten the chain.anyone tried this before?

the bike stores i have gone to have given me different stories,from it cant be done to get an adapter.

a chain tensioner is not for so much for alignment but... tension. many older steel bikes have horizontal dropouts which will allow adjustment of the wheel for proper tension. Alignment depends on several things, the bottom bracket width and the rear wheel dish. Its pretty eash to redish the rear wheel and adjust the spacers.

The chainring can also be placed on either the inside of the crank or the outside. A friend just did a conversion and he had to use the smaller chainring as a spacer for the big chainring to align the chainline.

Chainline is critical with a fixe, good luck.

a chain tensioner is not for so much for alignment but... tension. many older steel bikes have horizontal dropouts which will allow adjustment of the wheel for proper tension. Alignment depends on several things, the bottom bracket width and the rear wheel dish. Its pretty eash to redish the rear wheel and adjust the spacers.

The chainring can also be placed on either the inside of the crank or the outside. A friend just did a conversion and he had to use the smaller chainring as a spacer for the big chainring to align the chainline.

Chainline is critical with a fixe, good luck.


thanks man!
i didn't think about redishing the rear,or getting spacers but i was going with what the guys at the bike stores told me.
i have a couple of bikes i use for commute and i figure single speed will easier to maintain

Not sure if this will float your boat, but I think it's White that has a new single speed hub out that's just sweet. Flip flops for fixed gear and single speed and has tensioners built into the axle. Haven't seen it on a bike yet, but it's damn cool.

may be Crank Brothers, now that I think of it.

You know, when you say singlespeed, you are running a freewheel, therefore you will be able to coast as opposed to a fixed gear. If you have a cassette, you can replace all the cogs but one using spacers. Depending on your dropouts, you might need a chain tensioner to keep your chain taught.

Try here: http://bikeforums.net/forumdisplay.php?f=178

Not sure if this will float your boat, but I think it's White that has a new single speed hub out that's just sweet. Flip flops for fixed gear and single speed and has tensioners built into the axle. Haven't seen it on a bike yet, but it's damn cool.

may be Crank Brothers, now that I think of it.

Nope, it's made by White Industries. Harris Cyclery has 'em, for about $100/hub.

One fourum down...the singlespped, fixie forum.

I, too, am building a new machine, fixie, and that forum has been more than helpful.

PJ