single speed with front der?
#1
cyclepath
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single speed with front der?
This isn't a true single speed issue but I wasn't sure where else it belonged.
I've got a mid 80's steel road bike that I want to do something with. It used to have downtube shifters and years ago I had it converted to brifters. Now I'm thinking about a single speed, or a single chainring with a cassette. I'm open to suggestions.
Somebody suggested a single cog in back with triple chain rings. Have any of you ever done that or seen a bike like that? Good idea, bad idea, stupid idea?
I've got a mid 80's steel road bike that I want to do something with. It used to have downtube shifters and years ago I had it converted to brifters. Now I'm thinking about a single speed, or a single chainring with a cassette. I'm open to suggestions.
Somebody suggested a single cog in back with triple chain rings. Have any of you ever done that or seen a bike like that? Good idea, bad idea, stupid idea?
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you will have to still have a rear dearailer to take up the chain tension. at that point you might as well put a cable on it and have a regular multispeed.
#3
cyclepath
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Good point. That's the kind of stuff I'm looking for. Thanks. I can put that idea to bed. Now the choice is a single chain ring with a cassette or a regular SS. My problem with an SS is that I live in the mountains and I'm afraid it wouldn't get much use. Just occasional rail trail riding or whatever.
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Originally Posted by daredevil
Good point. That's the kind of stuff I'm looking for. Thanks. I can put that idea to bed. Now the choice is a single chain ring with a cassette or a regular SS. My problem with an SS is that I live in the mountains and I'm afraid it wouldn't get much use. Just occasional rail trail riding or whatever.
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Originally Posted by daredevil
Somebody suggested a single cog in back with triple chain rings. Have any of you ever done that or seen a bike like that? Good idea, bad idea, stupid idea?
Seems to me you'd do better running a single front ring with a cassette on the rear. Just front rings are going to give you some pretty big jumps in gears.
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#6
aka mattio
something like VD's yamaguchi?
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i think a hot idea might be 22x32 in front with like a 16 in back. use a chaintensioner....
then you'd have a "normal" ss mtb ratio and a superlow gear for climbing the STEEP long climbs.
never tried it though, so i can only guess that, in theory, it should work allright.
then you'd have a "normal" ss mtb ratio and a superlow gear for climbing the STEEP long climbs.
never tried it though, so i can only guess that, in theory, it should work allright.
Last edited by max-a-mill; 05-09-07 at 12:59 PM.
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Originally Posted by max-a-mill
i think a hot idea might be 22x32 in front with like a 16 in back. use a chaintensioner....
then you'd have a "normal" ss mtb ratio and a superlow gear for climbinhg the STEEP long climbs.
never tried it though so i can only guess that in theory it should work allright.
then you'd have a "normal" ss mtb ratio and a superlow gear for climbinhg the STEEP long climbs.
never tried it though so i can only guess that in theory it should work allright.
Concerning gaps in gearing, that doesn't really concern me. I wouldn't be shifting very often.
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i think you'd want to use a nice tensioner (an old rear d might work best) that keeps the chain nice and tight (storng spring) and can take up all that slack between the two gears easily. i don't think the standard singlespeed tensioner is going to work well for you because it is not desgined to take up that much slack.
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I predict a single speed mountain bike will make you very happy. I built one up last year with a 32x15 ratio (it fit perfectly without a tensioner) and I love it. It kills hills, and it actually forces me to slow down and take in the city a little more. I put it together just for the hell of it, thinking I wouldn't ride it a whole lot, but it has far exceeded my expectations. I've even taken it to work a few times (8.5 miles each way) and they were surprisingly excellent rides.
You can look at it right here : https://velospace.org/node/2696
You can look at it right here : https://velospace.org/node/2696
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you know what? I read "mountains" and "bike" and completely missed that you said it was a road frame. my apologies, but riding single speed is fun and challenging regardless of what kind of bike it is.
#12
Tiocfáidh ár Lá
My cyclocross bikes like many others have a single ring up front because it's simpler and usually if you drop a chain it's from shifting the front or bouncing it off. It's less likely to loose a chain on a properly adjusted cog set. I use 8 speed in the back. I live in the mountains too and have a fixed gear ratio just good enough to get over 80% of the climbs. Some are a real struggle but others are OK. It's a bit of a trade off and it's excellent training for strength and a hell of a lot of fun.
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Why wouldn't you just use a flip flop with two different freewheels, one for climbing and one for sprinting. How long are your dropouts?
Or just could just get a 3sp internal hub.
Or just could just get a 3sp internal hub.
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You can use two chainrings as long as they are close together and you have long dropouts, but you will not be able to shift on the bike.
I rocked the "Dingle Speed" (as someone around here called it) for a little while with a 42 ring on the outside and a 40 on the inside. I didn't have single chainring bolts. It turns out you can ride just fine, even without the perfect chainline.
Check out the Quickbeam here.
I rocked the "Dingle Speed" (as someone around here called it) for a little while with a 42 ring on the outside and a 40 on the inside. I didn't have single chainring bolts. It turns out you can ride just fine, even without the perfect chainline.
Check out the Quickbeam here.
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if you had a bit of dough you could hook up one of these setups from white industries...
https://www.whiteind.com/ENO-cranks-specs.html
they call it the double double. the idea is that you use either a 38/16 or a 35/19 ratio which both end up having the same chain length. i'm not sure how much that would help though because it would take a fair bit of messing around to change gears.
https://www.whiteind.com/ENO-cranks-specs.html
they call it the double double. the idea is that you use either a 38/16 or a 35/19 ratio which both end up having the same chain length. i'm not sure how much that would help though because it would take a fair bit of messing around to change gears.
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Originally Posted by queerpunk
something like VD's yamaguchi?
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Originally Posted by daredevil
Have any of you ever done that or seen a bike like that?
https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.ph...iple+chainring
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I know a few people in the world of Cyclocross that utilize a single chainring/cassette type set-up.
check in that forum area for more info if you choose that path
check in that forum area for more info if you choose that path
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Originally Posted by queerpunk
something like VD's yamaguchi?
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On a different note (rear der only) there's a bike on fyxomatosis that I bookmarked some time ago, one chainring and shifter, rear derailleur - but anyone know why the front derailleur would be needed? For the weight of a chainring, cable and shifter one might as well have twice as many gears, or why not drop the front derailleur altogether?
https://www.fyxomatosis.com/news.php?readmore=246
https://www.fyxomatosis.com/news.php?readmore=246
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I thought about doing this. If you want gears, but want to keep the bike simple, Try a Shimano Nexus Multispeed Hub. 7 gears, no deraileurs. It'll cost you at least $150 though
You could also try an Internally Geared Bottom Bracket. Really sweet, but they cost around $500 and have to be imported from Czechokoslovakia
You could also try an Internally Geared Bottom Bracket. Really sweet, but they cost around $500 and have to be imported from Czechokoslovakia
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Originally Posted by paulv
On a different note (rear der only) there's a bike on fyxomatosis that I bookmarked some time ago, one chainring and shifter, rear derailleur - but anyone know why the front derailleur would be needed? For the weight of a chainring, cable and shifter one might as well have twice as many gears, or why not drop the front derailleur altogether?
https://www.fyxomatosis.com/news.php?readmore=246
https://www.fyxomatosis.com/news.php?readmore=246
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Originally Posted by TreeUnit
I thought about doing this. If you want gears, but want to keep the bike simple, Try a Shimano Nexus Multispeed Hub. 7 gears, no deraileurs. It'll cost you at least $150 though
You could also try an Internally Geared Bottom Bracket. Really sweet, but they cost around $500 and have to be imported from Czechokoslovakia
You could also try an Internally Geared Bottom Bracket. Really sweet, but they cost around $500 and have to be imported from Czechokoslovakia
.ch stands for Switzerland.