Alt Bike Culture - Anyone ever convert a shimano FF drivetrain to fixed?

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annieknowby
08-18-08, 02:48 PM
HELP!!! I'm pretty new to being my own mechanic here, but I have so many awesome older bikes and I just want to start using them or making them usable for someone else. This drivetrain isn't widely discussed on how-to sites and I was wondering if anyone has dealt with this situation before... feel free to IM me too if you're into that AIM: annieknowby
frameteam2003
08-18-08, 07:44 PM
They will not make a fixey,the cogs are not really fixed and will turn with good pressure.
FlatTop
08-19-08, 06:25 PM
With the freewheel in the bottom bracket, I don't see how this could work as a fixie. At least not as easily as replacing with a standard BB, which I've done.
The rear hub is not solidly fixed, as frameteam2003 has said.
FishBykeSteve
08-22-08, 12:57 PM
HELP!!! I'm pretty new to being my own mechanic here, but I have so many awesome older bikes and I just want to start using them or making them usable for someone else. This drivetrain isn't widely discussed on how-to sites and I was wondering if anyone has dealt with this situation before... feel free to IM me too if you're into that AIM: annieknowby
I was a shop mehanic for 10 years and am a certified fixed gear addict as well as a fan of the late Sheldon Brown, so I like to make things like 160-speed bikes and tall-offroad-track-tandems and hence feel qualified to answer your question:
The other fellow was correct in that FF systems have a "safety" feature that allows the cogset to freewheel if your shoelaces or pantsleg gets caught in the chainrings. I have welded freewheels on to make multispeed fixies, but don't like backlash , as the whole beauty of fixedgear is the precise control you have in traffic--besides, its hell on the rear derailleur.
There are many better ways to have multispeed capability with a fixed gear.
The best thing you an do for a Shimano FF bike is to wrap all your Shimano Positron(Positrash) derailleur parts around it, add all the Shimano RapidRise (viagra competition?) derailleurs you an find, weld on a few dozen pounds of BioPace chainrings and throw the whol offensive mess as far as you can into very, very deep saltwater or an active volcano. Many a mechanic will thank you.
sailorbenjamin
09-08-08, 03:48 PM
on that note, I have an entire ff system in a box downstairs that I haven't brought myself to throw out yet.
Anyone want it?
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