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fixed gear vertical drops?

Old 11-02-05, 02:09 PM
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fixed gear vertical drops?

Hey,
I'm thinking of taking an old bianchi frame and converting it to a fixy. Only problem is, it has vertical drops. Can it be done? Any adapters (like a no-railer for a SS) needed? Thanks for the input in advance.
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Old 11-02-05, 02:14 PM
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ENO hub: https://www.whiteind.com/ENO_web/eno-index.html

do not run a tensioner on a fixed gear drivetrain to take up slack chain UNLESS you NEVER skid and run front and back brakes. the slack pushed back into the tensioner will cause problems. not good ones either.
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Old 11-02-05, 02:43 PM
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The only way to do it without the ENO Hub (which is a dynomite product, BTW) is to luck out and find a magic ratio, or else file away at your dropouts (not recommended). There is a link that helps find a cog and chainring that will work for a given chainstay length, search for it.

*edit* If you are into that frankensteining isht and don't mind filing, you might also try filing on your axles. If you flatten out the same side of each end, you can get a little bit of adjustability in your vertical drops. Again, like the dropout filing, highly NOT recommended. Just trying to be comprehensive.

Last edited by Aeroplane; 11-02-05 at 02:49 PM.
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Old 11-02-05, 02:51 PM
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Originally Posted by Aeroplane
If you flatten out the same side of each end, you can get a little bit of adjustability in your vertical drops. Again, like the dropout filing, highly NOT recommended. Just trying to be comprehensive.
why don't you recommend it?
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Old 11-02-05, 02:54 PM
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Most will say that if you don't shell out the large sum of cash for the eno hub + wheelbuild cost, it isn't worth the time/effort/frustration of trying to find a magic ratio.
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Old 11-02-05, 02:58 PM
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The ENO hub is well worth the money if you're trying to build a decent rig with vertical dropouts. About as well made and designed piece of gear as you'll find anywhere.
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Old 11-02-05, 03:15 PM
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I was messing with one of those hubs. Man it was nice. The bearings were so smooth that when I rotated the hub body the axle stayed at the bottom due to the small weight difference from the off-set. They are buttery.
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Old 11-02-05, 03:17 PM
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Are we ever going to get that "Standard answers to standard questions" sticky thread going. Its' a shame [165] lost his authority and with it his power to make things sticky.
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Old 11-02-05, 03:34 PM
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Originally Posted by MKRG
Are we ever going to get that "Standard answers to standard questions" sticky thread going. Its' a shame [165] lost his authority and with it his power to make things sticky.
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Old 11-02-05, 03:46 PM
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Yeah, apologies for the standard question. I did actually search quickly to make sure I wasn't repeating. Sounds like the eno hub is the way to go. Although its hard to turn down a good filing.....
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Old 11-02-05, 03:51 PM
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Old 11-02-05, 03:52 PM
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I feel like someone oughta make a product that is a horizontal dropout that bolts into vertical drops, such that the horizontal dropout (or track end) sits just below the end of the vertical one. It could be a single, machined piece of metal. It would raise the back end of the bike up a little and make the rear wheel be much farther from the bridge, but it would be for fixed-gear conversions, so a rear brake wouldn't matter.

Does this make sense? Is there some obvious flaw to this idea that I'm not thinking of?
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Old 11-02-05, 03:53 PM
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Old 11-02-05, 04:20 PM
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A chain made of halflinks would also help. Like this:

https://hubjub.co.uk/shadow/shadow.htm
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Old 11-02-05, 04:32 PM
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Originally Posted by Ya Tu Sabes
I feel like someone oughta make a product that is a horizontal dropout that bolts into vertical drops, such that the horizontal dropout (or track end) sits just below the end of the vertical one. It could be a single, machined piece of metal. It would raise the back end of the bike up a little and make the rear wheel be much farther from the bridge, but it would be for fixed-gear conversions, so a rear brake wouldn't matter.

Does this make sense? Is there some obvious flaw to this idea that I'm not thinking of?
You'd need to weld it on, bolts wouldn't really hold it that securely that way. It'd also RADICALLY change the geometry of the bike.
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Old 11-02-05, 09:16 PM
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magic ratio webpage
https://www.peak.org/~fixin/personal/fmu/php/fixmeup.php
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Old 11-03-05, 08:06 AM
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Originally Posted by queerpunk
why don't you recommend it?
I wouldn't recommend filing on dropouts or rear wheel axles because those are two things you do NOT want to mess up (rear wheel and frame being your two most expensive bike parts). And you can't undo a bad filing job.

ANOTHER way to do a sketchy job of it (that Sheldon did on his old Bianchi, if I remember correctly):
With a QR rear hub, cut off the axle part that the dropouts rest on. Use an old Steel QR. With just the QR going through the dropouts, you get about 1/2" of play to use for tensioning.
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Old 11-03-05, 10:04 AM
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Old 11-03-05, 12:29 PM
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Originally Posted by GGDub
Hey,
I'm thinking of taking an old bianchi frame and converting it to a fixy. Only problem is, it has vertical drops. Can it be done? Any adapters (like a no-railer for a SS) needed? Thanks for the input in advance.
See: https://sheldonbrown.com/vertical for a range of strategies for this.

See also https://sheldonbrown.com/fixed for lotsa fixed gear info and propaganda.

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Old 11-03-05, 12:32 PM
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here is one that would work

eno laced to open pro


https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEBI%3AIT&rd=1
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Old 11-03-05, 09:17 PM
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Originally Posted by the mighty bean
A chain made of halflinks would also help. Like this:

https://hubjub.co.uk/shadow/shadow.htm
has anyone sucessfully converted a vertical drop bike using a full half link chain?
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Old 11-03-05, 09:33 PM
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well, with a normal chain and just a half link you could get the same result and cheaper hehe

I've got horizontal dropouts, don't know if with a half link you can "fine tune" enough to run any gear with vertical dropouts, I doubt it, but it should help a bit. And its a cheap method.
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Old 11-04-05, 02:29 PM
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Originally Posted by the mighty bean
well, with a normal chain and just a half link you could get the same result and cheaper hehe

I've got horizontal dropouts, don't know if with a half link you can "fine tune" enough to run any gear with vertical dropouts, I doubt it, but it should help a bit. And its a cheap method.
I've found (in the only two instances I've tried) that a half link + a little bit of dropout filing will get the job done.
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