Originally Posted by
mattyfatty182
I converted an old Cannondale frame once without a tensioner - just had a set of single cogs for the rear cassette on hand and my chain breaker handy. I got pretty close with (one of) the original chainring(s) - buying a 42 ring for up front did the trick. Rode perfect.
Did the same thing! A '91 Cannondale SR400. I used a 42/16 setup with a half-link and it was perfect for SS. It was ridable fixed but a few months of wear would haave made it all bad! There are tricks to get just a little extra adjustment with vertical dropouts. Some people file the back of the dropouts a little if they don't mind doing that to the frame, others file the actual axle a bit to give it a flat spot. Again, these are just ways to get it closer to perfect if you're tension is just
a little off. Remember, parts wear and you'll be loosey chain in no time. Eccentric hub if you have the $ and LOVE the frame