Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Completely Green Here...

I'm considering going the SS route and being that I am green beyond green on this whole notion could someone clue me in on what precisely I would need to change/convert/etc on either-

A. A cycle that is already living life as a multi-gear

or...

B. A frameset that I would find locally or on the Bay

And then after riding for some time on a SS perhaps I can then jump into and onto a Fixie.

Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.

Check these links out. They should help with a lot or all of your questions.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed-conversion.html

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/deakins/how-to-fixed-conversion.html

Geez we really need a sticky for this.

or just search the forum....

Well, all I did was take off all the ugly stuff from my bike, found a gear that gave me a nice chainline and boom I was living the singlespeed life!

If you have horizontal dropouts its that simple. Oh and by ugly stuff I mean the derailers and tensioner and shifters and extra chain links.

Its ghetto, but it works.

I did the same thing as junioroverlord. I bought a spiffy black steel lugged 10-speed (nameless) from the Salvation Army for something like $10, pulled off the derailleurs and such, shortened the chain, and it seems to be working fine. The only thing I notice is that I occasionally have to adjust the rear wheel - loosen it up, adjust it's position, and then tighten it back in - or else the drivetrain starts to make noise (never slips, though). I ride every day, and I adjust it about once per week. Just today I even re-trued the rear wheel so it would brake better. They're just crummy old wheels, so I didn't worry too much about it - just used a set of vice grip pliers on the nipples, luckily didn't strip any (not like I would have been out a ton of money if I had). Single speed on the cheap.


Check these links out. They should help with a lot or all of your questions.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed-conversion.html

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/deakins/how-to-fixed-conversion.html

Geez we really need a sticky for this.


Wowsa - that second link rocks - hadn't seen that before. That makes me want to do another conversion.

This FAQ (http://mtbr.com/faq/ssfaq.shtml) should answer just about everything you need to know about getting your SS up and running.

Part of the attraction of SS for me is the simplicity AND the reduced weight. So I agree with my SS brothers when they say strip everything off that you can.


I disagree with the keeping the cassette on. Those things weigh a ton. Find your gear (go easy at first), and go with one gear.

Keeping the cassette is just a temporary ghetto fix. If you just want to wet your feet in the ss world, its a good way to start.