Seggybop

hay guys,

I picked up an alu Gary Fisher hybrid frame from the LBS trash heap a few days ago. I currently want to set it up as a fixed gear or SS 29" mountain bike, but I'm not sure of the exact setup I should use. The bike has vertical dropouts, which are obviously going to limit my options. I currently have the bike operating with 1x7 gearing and 700x38 tires.

My first thought is to go fixed gear, with something around 2:1 ratio. I don't know if fixed gear is going to be ok in rough terrain, though. I've read 63xc.com but some more input would be cool.

I also have a 2 speed fixed gear hub. It would be cool to use that, but due to the vertical dropouts I'd need to find a magic gear. The hub's high gear is 19t cog x chainring and the low gear is that reduced by 33%. It might be too hard to find a chainring that would both have a reasonable ratio and correct chain length.

I could go SS instead of fixed gear, like most people. Perhaps that's an optimal newbsauce solution?
Or I could leave it 7 speed like it is now and clean it up. But that wouldn't be cool at all.

aid please!

pinkrobe

Try it as a SS off-road first. FG in the dirt spells trouble, IMHO, unless you're on some smooth trails with no abrupt descents. If you can't find a magic gear, use an ENO flipflop rear hub. It's good for what ails you.

I've been drinking...

Aeroplane

Don't take a 2-speed FG hub offroad. That's just asking for a reason to break it.

SS will be waaaay easier than fixed, just get a Surly Singleator or a Rennen Rollenlager or some other type of SS/conversion tensioner and roll away. To go fixed, you'll either need to do some frame surgery, or else drop the big coin on the ENO hub.

Good luck!

Seggybop

Alright, I'm going to go with singlespeed 36x18 to begin with. I'm going to try the method described by Sheldon Brown where you have only the QR skewer going through the dropout in order to allow more room to adjust tension. Hopefully there won't be too much torque for that to work. I would prefer to avoid a tensioner, since if I'm going to have another gadget hanging off the frame I might as well keep the derailleur..

Aeroplane

If you're actually going to take it offroad on technical MTB trails, I'd recommend getting an easier gearing. I've been pushing a 34-18 for a couple months, and I [I]finally[I] got it through my head to lower it to a 34-20.

If you're going to depend on the QR for tension, and holding the wheel in the frame make SURE it is a steel axel, and that it is an internal cam type QR. Also, don't do ANY drops with it unless you love walking home. Good luck!

dutret

Unless you just want to ride running paths and an ocainsional loggin road get a mtb frame for off road use. If you want to ss it for road use the filing method should work pretty well.