Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Rob Roy Build Idea

Here is my idea:

Buy a complete IRO Rob Roy with drop bars, v brakes and road levers (when I called they said they will be compatible with each other). Single speed setup, etc.

Sell of the wheel set and add a Nexus 8 speed internal hub wheel, the HubBub (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/shimano-nexus.html) from harris cyclery and the shifter.

Be a little bit happier on my 28 mile roundtrip commute.


Any thoughts?

Why not buy the IG hub, send it to Tony so he can lace it to a wheel and send it and the rest of the bike back to you?

good idea. i wonder if he'd do it. i just thought his wheels were stock that he just threw in the box - i didn't realize he laced them there.

long as you don't mind some electrical tape or a zip tie for the cable routing, sounds like it'd be a nice bike.

worth checking to see if iro will lace the hub for you, but it could end up cheaper to just buy the wheelset and some spokes and relace yourself.

I agree with dirty on this. And a spare wheel never hurts for a commuter.

I did a version of this on a Rob Roy group buy frameset. Mine has a SRAM i-Motion 9 rear end. I'm also running a set of Soma Sparrow bars, in drop/pursuit mode; inexpensive, fun, and you don't need a HubBub.

Since there are no cable stops on the frame, I ran full length derailleur housing; fastened to the frame with black, velcro, cable ties. I would love to find a nice set of classic, chrome, cable clips but my version works too. I agonized a bit, thinking it was going to be difficult to nail the cable-to-housing length, but it was a non-issue.

V-brakes only if you have a set that you need to recycle because you're short of funds. Tektro CR720 make for a nice, budget cantilever set, and are available in both silver and black, for all occasions.

I don't know what you are used to, but coming from a more traditional road bike, I've found the Rob Roy to be overdamped AKA too stable, maybe even a little truck like. In truth, not bad qualities for a commuter rig.

wow, this is all great advice.

stagger - i'm running a traditional single speed conversion now on a road bike. do you think the jamie roy would be more compatible with this type of ride? my only aversion to that frame is that the seat tube sits at 55 with the top tube at i think 58 or 59. i would be concerned that i'd be too hunched over on the bike with an extended seat post. that's beside the point though.


any idea if the cross levers that IRO provides would work for a bar like the soma sparrow? maybe i could get it stock with the v-brakes and swap them for cantis eventually...?

nevermind - just called him and Tony said that mountain levers come on the flat bar stock (not the cross levers). so i'd probably be good swapping it for another flat bar and adding the nexus shifter.

I can't really compare the Rob Roy to another in the IRO line, as I don't have any direct experience. Most of my ride time is spent on my Surly Pacer, which has 73.5 deg seat tube and 72.5 head tube angles, in a 54cm frame. I can't find the original geometry sheet on IRO's new site, but another site had the Rob Roy seat tube at 75.5 and the head tube at 72. I've put less than 100 miles on the RR, versus 1200 or so on the Pacer, but I feel farther forward, and more "in the bike" on the RR; otherwise, the fit on the 56cm RR is similar to that on my 54cm Pacer. Yes, different sizes. It's not a bad ride at all, just a little less sports car like than some of my other rigs. Part of that may be my perception of the i-Motion 9 rear end too.

I'm not quite getting what you are asking on the cross bars...Soma Sparrow issue. The Soma Sparrow is a 7/8" diameter bar (standard MTB diameter), as opposed to 15/16" diamter (road standard). The twisty shifter, for the i-Motion 9 needed a 7/8" bar, and the Sparrow was the closest I could find to my beloved mustache bars. Generally, standard modern clamp diameter is 26mm. Levers for v-brakes pull more cable, at less of a mechanical advantage, than road caliper and/or cantilever compatible levers. I'm running a set of Avid levers on my RR, that can work with either setup; but only because it has an adjustable fulcrum point. They are MTB levers though. I've never seen such an adjustment on a traditional road lever. From what I understand, Cane Creek does make a v-brake compatible road lever.

I'm just not a big V-brake fan. A properly setup cantilever is thing of beauty, and a pretty powerful stopper to boot. My Rob Roy had a rear brake hanger bridge, but I had to buy a Dia Compe, stem-mounted hanger for the front end.

One of these days, I will have to post up a couple of photos.

Hope that helps some.

that helps a ton. thanks!

Sheldon truly was a man ahead of his time (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/bianchi-sanjos8/index.html).

It sounds like a great idea. Traditional road levers will work with caliper and cantilever brakes. V's will work with newer mountain levers or V-specific road levers, such as the 287-V's (http://www.outsideoutfitters.com/p-4887-dia-compe-287-v-linear-brake-drop-levers.aspx) or the Cane Creek Drop V's (http://www.harborcountrybike.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=BR5070).

Post pics if you do it.

-Rob.

Here's a photo for you:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/dave.glos/SIXZ2fZstEI/AAAAAAAAAmI/U_ZQ6nAVMFM/s400/DSC_7543.JPG

More here (http://picasaweb.google.com/dave.glos/IRO_RobRoy) if you like.

Yeah, the clamp on rack is garbage, but it was already in the parts bin. One of these days, when ordering from Trashbar, I will correct that issue. Otherwise, I'm good with the build. A dynamo front hub, for winter use, might be a nice addition. Although, I picked up a Vega on chainlove not too long back.

It looks like there is a ton of drop, from the seat to the bars, but the RR is a little shorter in the cockpit, and I find the setup comfortable. I started with the bars flipped, but that was too high.

This is my "keep at the office/short haul/ride it in street clothes/grab a sandwich/run to the hardware store/cruise the 'hood and destress" bike. The 28x700 T-Servs are reasonably comfortable on our ugly city streets without feeling like boat anchors.

Everyone needs a bike like this. Felt has something similar, a 29er (which is the same was 700c in diameter) with a Shimano Nexus 8 rear hub. The nearest LBS, around the corner from the University of Cincinnati, claims to have sold all they can get their hands on.

alright. you've inspired me!

I built up a RR Group buy with Nexus 8sp hub and love it. I use Nitto Moustache bars in mtn diameter with road brake levers and the Alfine rapidfire shifter inboard of the right brake lever. Routed the cable and housing down the downtube and along the chainstay using zip ties. If I ever find crome cable guides in the proper diameter for the downtube, I'll be all over them. I totally geeked-out with VO aluminum fenders, a rack, and a Shimano dyno hub with B&M lights. I am totally in love with this build. I used moustache bars because I already had them on another commuter and like them a lot. I thought of drop bars, but didn't want to go with some adaptor to make the shifter work with them, and since I already had and like the moustache bars...

There is someone over on the Serotta group that has a set of those Tektro CR720 cantilevers, NIB, for 40 clams. The Shimano BL-R550 brake levers would be a nice match, if you are going to use a MTB diameter bar, like the Soma I used. Otherwise, its very difficult to beat Tektros B200a levers, if you are going to run road drops, or a classic mustache bar.

Post photos.

i've got those tektro R200a's and a nice road bar, so i think i'd stick with this setup. i just sent the serotta dude a PM about those brakes. thanks for that heads up!

somewhat unrelated, i'm really stuck on a stem for this build up. i've never used a threadless stem. would a 6-10 degree rise be good enough? i'd like to finally have the bars somewhat parallel to the seat on this one..

By "parallel" I assuming you would like the top of the bars level with the seat position? With a threadless fork/stem setup, there is more to work with than just stem angle. You can also leave the steerer a bit longer, and add spacers under the stem. Too many, and it looks a bit silly, and flexible too.

On my Roy there are two, 20mm spacers, plus the 10mm thickness of the steerer mounted brake cable hanger. The steerer was one of the longest I've seen, and more spacers would have certainly been possible. I have no idea of your proportions, nor the size frame you ordered, but I'm guessing you will be fine.

Got it. I went ahead and ordered this stem:

http://aebike.com/images/library/catalogs/soc/p350X350m/SM2366.jpg (http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=SM2366)



I'm debating whether or not to see if Tony will go ahead and just put the headset on for me. I've never had experience with threadless headsets or cutting forks or spacers. I did get a steerer mounted cable hanger and picked up those tektro brakes. I'll keep this updated!

Since there are no cable stops on the frame, I ran full length derailleur housing; fastened to the frame with black, velcro, cable ties. I would love to find a nice set of classic, chrome, cable clips but my version works too.


If I ever find crome cable guides in the proper diameter for the downtube, I'll be all over them.

since two people have mentioned chrome cable clips, i thought i'd point these (http://www.velo-orange.com/agpacableclips.html)out. i bought them for the rear brake on my surly steamroller. turns out the top tube is about 1cm too big in circumference to fit the clips. im not sure what size the tubes are on a rob roy, but if anyone wants to try these, pm me your address and i'll send em to you free.

staggerwing: are you using mtb levers with those cantilever brakes? i'm wondering if i should just order the bike with a flat bar & mountain brakes so that the shifter will work from the get-go.

also, they seem to stock 32h rims, so i don't know if the 36h will be compatibly laced to anything they carry - i'm waiting to hear back from them on if they'd lace the hub for me.

Here's my Rob Roy, from the group buy, built up with Shimano Nexus 8 red band, using grip shifter on trekking bars:

http://www.smithyorkies.com/bikey/robroy/robroy.jpg
http://www.smithyorkies.com/bikey/robroy/bars.jpg

More here (http://www.smithyorkies.com/bikey/robroy/)

I just used zip ties to secure the shift cable, and it hasn't been a problem at all. Also, I just went with Avid Shorty 4 canti's with Kool Stop salmon pads - one setup properly, I'd say they offer better modulation, with the same overall stopping power of a v-brake.

Bars look dorky as hell, but offer more comfy hand positions for both my suburban to city commute, and for any long distance ride. Most folks balk at the grip shifter - the advantage I see in it is being able to shift through the gears quickly, or outright skip gears. It's nice to roll up to a stop in a high gear, and just skip down to something lower to take off in while standing still.

very nice. i'm definitely becoming more practical in my bike taste, because when i see those bars, i just think "niiice". commuting every day, rather than standing around with a "fashion bike" will do that to you.

one other question - do your rob roys have drilled holes in the bottom bracket cup, for water draining?

i talked with a bike shop tonight who said i should have it faced, chased, a bottom bracket cup hole drilled and frame saver applied. whew. this is turning out to be not-so-simple.

No drilled holes in mine. Face them tubes. Frame Saver is cool.

Here is my idea:

Buy a complete IRO Rob Roy with drop bars, v brakes and road levers (when I called they said they will be compatible with each other). Single speed setup, etc.

Sell of the wheel set and add a Nexus 8 speed internal hub wheel, the HubBub (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/shimano-nexus.html) from harris cyclery and the shifter.

Be a little bit happier on my 28 mile roundtrip commute.


Any thoughts?

Its a neat idea and I had planned on doing basically the exact same thing with my RR , but I ended up making it SS, then later made it FG. My commute is about the same distance as yours too. I came to the conclusion that it just wasn't worth the cost or the hassle of an internally geared hub. Unless you are riding extreme hills in really really crappy conditions, I don't see the point of an internally geared hub. Nearly all internally geared hubs are reportedly less efficient than even standard external gears. If someday I decide I need gears, I will probably just go with a basic derailleur bike..its cheaper, more efficient, easier to fix flats, easier to find parts, and not really that hard to maintain.

Still, I'm sure an internally geared RR would be fun to set up and tinker with. Good Luck!

I've been riding a 1979 Fuji Royal frame with a Nexus-8 redband for about 3000 miles now and I've plenty of long distance rides. I don't think efficiency vs. a derailleur is an issue. I think you would be pleasantly surprised with how nice it is to ride.

I will say that a hub like the Nexus 8 would have made a much bigger impact on cycling if it had come out before indexed shifting.

long as you don't mind some electrical tape or a zip tie for the cable routing, sounds like it'd be a nice bike.

Get some of these (http://www.jagwireusa.com/en/cablehousingguides.html) instead.

well, i decided to build up a geared cross check...BUT i did find that aebike.com sells a pre-built wheel with the nexus 8 internal hub for $196.99 which is insanely good, considering harris cyclery sells just the premium hub for more than that...


link (http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=WE7501)