Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Finished Conversion + Questions

After doing a bit of research, I decided to convert a cheap Target road bike to fixed. So far I've removed all unneeded components. I also used JB Weld to stop the ratcheting mechanism from working by sealing the section of the freewheel that my chain sits on to the section that actually connects to the wheel. So far the bike rides wonderfully, but i'm concerned about the mentions of lockrings that I've seen. Unfortunately, these mentions always fail to say what the lockring actually looks like--or how it functions. If someone could please tell me what the lockring is, I would much appreciate it. Also, what does this Loctite stuff do, and can a similar effect be acheived with some form of epoxy?

I believe the lockring you refer to was just a misspelling of cockring. Sorry about the confusion.

Sounds like a rad bike*! Pictures please.



*and by rad bike I mean a horrible idea, but still, please post pictures.

Never mind all of the above. :(

The first time I did any moderately intensive riding on it the wheel died. The seal completely tore loose, and the wheel is now completely useless. The seal snags slightly, yet it provides no braking or resistance. Eighteen thumbs down for Jb Weld!

New questions:
What components do I need to buy to convert the bike as cheaply as possible, and where can I get them? It's going need a new wheel, so i might as well do it right this time. My price limit is going to be extremely low, so I just need the cheapest stuff possible. I don't have any need to replace the crank or chain, so all I'm looking for is a back wheel (700c). Must be under $60 US.

I was stupid to even bother trying.

you could just paypal me $60. that will give you about as much "return on your investment" as continuing to put money into this bike

Oh, I get it now. This forum is full of a bunch of people who think they're superior just because they have a ton of money to blow on expensive frames and modifications.

Seriously, any money I put into converting this bike is going to be carried over onto the next frame I buy. I know that the bike sucks, but I honestly don't care about your opinions on it. I haven't even said what it is, so use some common sense before assuming that it's trash.

Be respectful and answer my questions with intelligence or don't respond at all.

I'm sorry, I think we all assumed you were troll.

JB Weld in the freewheel? Really? This was a single speed (cruiser?) from Target?

Never mind all of the above. :(

The first time I did any moderately intensive riding on it the wheel died. The seal completely tore loose, and the wheel is now completely useless. The seal snags slightly, yet it provides no braking or resistance. .

You said it yourself. If the wheels are crappy then the rest of the bike probably is too. I wasn't trying to make a snide remark, I was just trying to save you some money and some hassle but it's your bike so do what you want with it.

No. it's a model that I think is out of production now. (Dynacraft Triax Crimson)

It's a road bike, not a cruiser.

oh hells yeah you got spotted... Jesus on the headtube ftwhttp://farm2.static.flickr.com/1004/1367190440_b058e91102.jpg

You may not have totally trashed your wheel. You might be able to remove the freewheel (you will need a special tool) and put on a track cog. This still won't be particularly safe.

I doubt you will be able to find a rear wheel and cog for under 60 dollars. Good luck, keep researching, and ask lots of questions before you try to kludge something together again. As you just found out, that can end up costing a lot more in the long run.

@gmckey: If that was me, I wouldn't need help figuring out how to convert this. It would already be fixed.
***
Should my LBS carry fixed cogs, and should lockrings need special threading or will they be able to fit if I get a cog?

You said it yourself. If the wheels are crappy then the rest of the bike probably is too. I wasn't trying to make a snide remark, I was just trying to save you some money and some hassle but it's your bike so do what you want with it.


I have never understood this horrible logic. If you really wanted to save him money why would you suggest him buying a new frame? He already has one of those. Is it probably ****ty? Yeah, but he can still buy nice parts for that frame that could translate universally to another frame in the future.

OP: If you want to do this on the cheap, look at putting a fixed cog on the existing hub. Your wheel may not be totally shot. If you've ****ed the threads on the hub, then new wheels may be a more expensive but worth it option. If you put a fixed cog on the existing hub, then make sure you use a bottom bracket locking (your LBS will have some laying around), and some blue loctite. THIS IS NOT THE BEST WAY TO DO THIS AND IS POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS.

My honest reccomendation. If your wheels are 700c, take off the tires and save them. Purchase a cheap wheelset (search ebay: fixed wheelset weinmann) off ebay or your LBS will be able to help you as well. Put your current tires and tubes on them to avoid having to buy tires and tubes again. This will get you rolling fixed. Should cost about $150.

Is the bike new? Could you be shiesty and return it to Target and buy a new bike? If this is the case, I would look into doing that and taking the money plus your $60 and looking at a Kilo TT from bikesdirect.com

There are a few suggestions. Hope it helps het you rolling.

@gmckey: If that was me, I wouldn't need help figuring out how to convert this. It would already be fixed.
***
Should my LBS carry fixed cogs, and should lockrings need special threading or will they be able to fit if I get a cog?

addendum:

Your LBS will have fixed cogs and lockrings.

on your current wheel there will be only one set of threads for the freewheel cassette. If you have enough threads to put a bottom bracket locking on there you can do that.

With a track hub there will be two sets of threads. One for the cog and one for the lockring. They thread on opposite of each other so the cog doesn't throw when you apply back pressure to stop or slow down.

i guess this won't do you much good since you apparently have a freewheel hub and not a cassette, but for $60 you can get a surly fixxer. what i'd suggest you do is to buy a fixed rear wheel for about $100 or so.

I'm just about going crazy now out of a lack of ability to use my bike. I wound up giving in to a new wheel (actually meant for fixed) thinking that it would save me trouble and translate into a more worthy investment that I would be able to put on future frames. It turns out that the cog I got (Surly) is incompatible with my current chain. The cog's sprockets are more blunt than those in my crankset. (Not sure if that's the right word.)

This is driving me crazy. I just blew a ton of money thinking it would save me money, yet it got me absolutely nowhere as far as the bike's functionality is concerned. The chain will not fit into the sprockets on the cog like it should. I don't think it's a problem with width, so what other compatibility problems could there be?

I'm really irked by this whole development right now. I would seriously prefer not to, but it looks like I'm going to need a new crankset.

:mad:

Why can't things just be standardized for all companies?

Thanks for your continued advice, everyone.

sounds like you bought a 1/8" cog and have a 3/32" chain. You can put 1/8 chain on a 3/32 cog, but not a 3/32 chain on a 1/8 cog.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1004/1367190440_b058e91102.jpg

You know what? Props to this guy. He's either put that bike together for fun, or he's doing the best he can with what he can get his hands on. The bike's either a grand experiment or a build-it-up-a-piece-at-a-time-as-finances-allow masterpiece. Either way, he probably digs his bike and rides it more than some of the regular posters here do.

Guys like this guy -- and the OP of this thread -- shouldn't be ridiculed.

~~~~~
* At least, that's how it all works out in my head, heh.

I'm so relieved... I thought I would need a new crankset, but the width definitely explains it now that I compare the cog and the chainring.

I saw a similar problem through a search a minute before I read the response. I'll be getting a new chain tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be out and riding again!

There should really be a sticky with all the potential problems with converting a bike.

Thanks for the help. I can barely contain my excitement now that I know it should work.

you could always get a 3/32 cog instead of a 1/8 chain.

I'm just about going crazy now out of a lack of ability to use my bike. I wound up giving in to a new wheel (actually meant for fixed) thinking that it would save me trouble and translate into a more worthy investment that I would be able to put on future frames. It turns out that the cog I got (Surly) is incompatible with my current chain. The cog's sprockets are more blunt than those in my crankset. (Not sure if that's the right word.)

This is driving me crazy. I just blew a ton of money thinking it would save me money, yet it got me absolutely nowhere as far as the bike's functionality is concerned. The chain will not fit into the sprockets on the cog like it should. I don't think it's a problem with width, so what other compatibility problems could there be?

I'm really irked by this whole development right now. I would seriously prefer not to, but it looks like I'm going to need a new crankset.

:mad:

Why can't things just be standardized for all companies?

Thanks for your continued advice, everyone.

what other compatibility problems could there be?
Well, for one, depending on your dropouts, the front chainring, and your cog's size, you may not be able to get things assembled at all.
See: http://www.machinehead-software.co.uk/bike/chain_length/horizdropout.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.machinehead-software.co.uk/bike/chain_length/bicycle_frame_dropouts.html

If you have horizontal dropouts, you can adjust the distance between the bottom bracket and the rear hub. Not so much if you have vertical dropouts. So, you could possibly run into the case where your chain is either too short (the rear axle won't reach the dropouts) or the chain is too long if you add a link (there is slack in the chain when you add a link).

If this happens, you either need to
1) Add a half-link to your chain - but this still may not work if you have vertical dropouts
2) Change the size of your front chainring
3) Change the size of your rear cog
4) Add a chain tensioner (I know these work for single speeds, but seem dangerous on a fixed gear... not sure though)

don't add a chain tensioner to a fixed gear.

Pics??

I'm so relieved... I thought I would need a new crankset, but the width definitely explains it now that I compare the cog and the chainring.

I saw a similar problem through a search a minute before I read the response. I'll be getting a new chain tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be out and riding again!

There should really be a sticky with all the potential problems with converting a bike.

Thanks for the help. I can barely contain my excitement now that I know it should work.


There is a sticky. It's called http://sheldonbrown.com/fixed/index.html The article by Tom Deakins is especially relevant.

After doing a bit of research, I decided to convert a cheap Target road bike to fixed.

Was it one of these? I bought mine for $37 and threw on parts-bin cranks and a cheap Esjot cog, Blue LocTite and a BB lockring. It made a fun beater.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c218/acampagnolo/Bike%20Forums/GEDC0096.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c218/acampagnolo/Bike%20Forums/GEDC0095.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c218/acampagnolo/Bike%20Forums/GEDC0093.jpg

That's the bike. Mine was quite unfortunately not on sale, so i paid the full $120 about a one and a half years ago. Had I paid that little, I thing I would be far quicker to just trash the bike and buy something meant to be fixed gear instead of blowing $160 on wheel + cog. (That wheel's going to stick with me for another twenty years or so after spending that much on it...)

The frame has looooong horizontal dropouts, so adjusting the chain's slack isn't a problem at all. It was just the 3/32 chain being too narrow to fit the 1/8 cog. I'm getting the 1/8 chain later today, so my only worry is that it won't work with the 3/32 chainring. I know it should work, but I'm trying not to get my hopes too high up.

The 1/8 chain will work with the 3/32 ring. It's not an ideal fit, but close enough.

As per a previous post, if you're trying to keep this cheap, why not exchange the 1/8" cog for a 3/32"? That saves buying a chain, and you could even pick up a less expensive cog than the Surly while you're at it (though Surly also makes 3/32").

Tried to save you some money, instead you took offense to my post and now look where you are.

Tried to save you some money, instead you took offense to my post and now look where you are.

When? When you suggested that he send you the money? Or when you pointed out that his bike was cheap? Veeery helpful.

OP: I wouldn't worry about the money spent on the wheel, wheels can easily be transferred between bikes, and good wheels are the most important part of any bike. The smart money is always on nice wheels first before any other component upgrade.

If you can exchange the cog, than that's your cheapest bet, but at around $10 the BMX chain will work nicely. And it will look bad-ass.

3 dollar 3/32 chain from walmart
3 dollar chain breaker from walmart

seriously..walmart has cheap bike tools!

don't go to walmart

I bought a self-propelled lawnmower from Wal*Mart last night for $104.

As long as you have a proper chainline, it shouldn't be an issue.

I've already got a chain breaker, so getting a new chain isn't a problem. The bike place I went to for the wheel is pretty far from my house, so I don't mind keeping the cog and replacing the chain. I'll keep the 3/32 chain with the rest of my spare parts until I find a use for it.