thetray

I'm in the process of converting an old steel Motobecane road bike to a single speed. I bought a chain tensioner (Forte brand from Performance) and got to work. Got the tensioner on ok, but when I went to work on the cranks (SR Suntour, square-taper BB) I noticed that the rings are RIVETED together. SO..I now need to get a new crankset for my project. My questions are as follows...

1. Will a track crankset work?
2. What is the difference between 3/32 and 1/8? Which is most common?
3. Is the White Industries ENO rear hub (flip-flop) hub worth the time/money investment if I'm brand new to SS?
4. When installed, should the chain tensioner hang straight down like a DR or be more flush to the rear triangle? (The Forte tensioner didn't come with any picture instructions)

Thanks in advance for any advice.

dutret

1. Any one but you might as well just get a new bb and use the suntour cranks unless they are some wierd bolt pattern in which case you might as well just get some road cranks.
2. 1/8th is 1/32" thicker. 1/8th inch cogs and chainrings will wear longer but require the use of a 1/8" chain. 3/32 is often cheaper, will work with any chain and may be quieter.
3. Only if you have vertical dropouts and don't want to use a chain tensioner.
4. more flush and possibly on the inside of the chain... If the bike is really old it probably has horizontal dropouts and you won't need a tensioner.

baxtefer

old steel motobecane?
you probably didn't need the chain tensioner in the first place.

mathletics

+1 don't need a chain tensioner.