DirtyJersey100

I have been reading this forum for awhile now and learning a lot of new things about cycling but never became a member until right now. I love riding bicycles around my home city everyday but I'm not the most knowledgeable or experienced person when it comes to changing geared bikes into a fixed / single speed conversion. Is this even possible with my current 58cm Univega Maxima Uno mens road bike on 27 inch wheels? The front wheel is quick release but the rear wheel is not. If my bike is alright to do a conversion with, then what new parts are required and what gear ratio do most recommend for urban city riding? I understand about taking off the smaller chain rings from the stock crank set but is it recommended and wiser to buy a whole new crank set? What other parts do I need to order besides a rear cog, fixed gear lock ring? I'm also removing all of the gear cables and rear brake but keeping the front brake on there at least until I am fully comfortable riding fixed gear. What are some exact dimensions / gearing / sizes / parts so I know what to order if this specific application. I'm trying not to break the bank on this but trying to build myself something decent. Thanks!

Would you recommended the Weinmann Deep V DP18 700c wheelset or Velocity B43 Track Wheels, Velocity Deep V's?

Kayce

Pictures would help, so this is going off of assumptions(and a maima Uno I found on flickr)

You would be better off getting new cranks, if you can afford it. The kind your bike probably has, are riveted chainrings. Meaning there is no way to take off or move your chainrings around. On most road bikes you can keep the current bb spindle width and just mount the chainring on the inside of the crank arm.

Dont ever take your front brake off, there is no reason to. And there is no harm in leaving your rear brake on.

The one thing that you have a choice on is the size of the rear wheel. If you choose a 27"wheel you will have the same size as the front, which makes carrying a spare tire easier, and wont effect the geomtry of the bike, and your rear brake will work. If you get a 700 rear you will change the geometry very slighty(probably innoticably), but more importantly you will have to have two different spare tires. Id lean twords 700 because you have a much better selection and variety of tires to choose from.

The only other thing you would need is maybe a new chain. Most track chainrings are 1/8" inch wide(you can find the road standard width of 3/16" though)

All of those rims are good, but not nessisary. They are just as much a visual appeal as a riding appeal. Which is totally cool if thats what you want. They are solid rims, but they arent on the dont break the bank list.

DirtyJersey100

Kayce,

I will take some pictures of the bike so it clears everything up more.. they should be posted sometime tomorrow evening after work. This frame has a lot of special meaning to me and building it into a fixed gear would be a nice thing to spice it up after all these years. What kind of crank set and size do you suggest? I'm wondering about the gear ratio and what's a good combo for city riding. And what's the deal with the flip hub for single speed? What parts are usually required for that?

DirtyJersey100

DirtyJersey100

DirtyJersey100

Sorry for the bad pictures.. they were taken on my phone early this morning. As you can notice in the pictures, I also started taking the chain off and about to take off the wheels etc.

Kayce

Yep definatly need the new cranks, like i thought. You wont need a fancy crank set up for that bike, being older low endish steel any advantage from the cranks would be lost. I really like the Sugino RD cranks, but there are a lot of options in that price range. But I wouldnt go down to the Origin 8/ pake crank range.

Since you have a totally ridable geared bike, id play around finding the combo you like, then count the teeth and hook that up with your fixed gear, maybe slightly smaller ratio. If you are totally set on fixed all you need is the wheel, cog, and lockring. It isnt a terrible idea to put a freewheel on the other side if you can.

DirtyJersey100

Would you suggest a Sugino RD2 170 x 48t or Sugino RD2 165mm 48T setup? For the cog, do you suggest a SHIMANO DURA-ACE fixed gear track? Is it normally suggested to get a 15-18 single speed free wheel for a bike like mine?

Kayce

Dura ace cogs only come in smaller sizes, and if you get the 48tooth set up, you probably cant get the right gearing. I already told you how I wold figure out the ratio Id ride. Any one telling you the right gear to set up is just guessing, that way will insure a gearing you like. Id get the 165mm arms, it will make cornering slightly easier and safer.

DirtyJersey100

Is it possible to take off the rear gears and make that current setup on the Univega onto another frame so it could be a singlespeed if that is even possible fitting one of those single speed free whees on therel?

ianjk

That crank is just fine, just going to have a big chain guard when you take the big ring off (it bolts to the inside of the spider).

Aesthetically, it won't win points, but should work just fine. Fashion police will probably object, but it should work, especially if you just want to try it out before throwing cash into something you may not like.

Kayce

Not the greatest picture, but Im pretty sure the rings are riveted onto the crank arm, so he would have no choice in gearing nor ability to adjust the chainline easily.

ianjk

Not riveted. Outer arm of the spider is tapped to take bolts for big ring. Inner ring held in with small stack bolts. Should choose gearing on the cog side anyway.

Kayce

You very well might be right about the first part, but the second part deosnt make any sense. Why when you have the possibility of fine tuning a gearing on both sides would you limit yourself to one?

ianjk

Because cogs are cheap and chainrings/new crank are expensive.