building a fixed gear, must have frame with horizontal dropouts?
 

So I have been told you can only use a frame with horizontal drop outs, the reason being obvious. But the other day I saw a sweet fixed gear build, locked up outside this cafe I go to. When I took a good look at it I saw it had vertical drop outs and used a tensioner to tighten the chain.

Anyone have an opinion on how this set up works?

The bike you saw on the street was a single speed not a fixed gear.

You can ride fixed with vertical dropouts but you have to figure out the magic gear ratio and can't adjust chain tension.

Or an eccentric hub or bottom bracket.

Well you could but then you'd have to use a chain break and keep taking out links and no one wants to do thst kind of work!

^^You'd have to do it once just to get the tension correct.... I've had to do that with every bike chain I've ever had.

You really need to read Sheldon Brown on FG conversion:

"You CanNOT use any sort of pulley type chain tensioner on a fixed gear bike!"
-S. Brown

Fixed Gear Conversions

-Bandera

Google "magic gear calculator".



ps: I've done this. It can be a fun little project or a huge PITA, depending on your willingness to tinker and tolerance for very limited gear ratios.