Originally Posted by thenathanator
Could someone please answer my question about the chain crunching/grinding/clicking sounds? I'm just wondering how much there should be...
It sounds like you bought a chain and put it on yourself. If so, after you put it on, did you lube it? If not, you still might need to lube it; one time I took a bike to an unknown LBS to put a chain on and they didn't lube it for me. That crunching sound can be caused by poor lubrication.
Originally Posted by thenathanator
I got it all together without too much trouble, getting the chain right was a biatch, but it worked out after awhile. Sore thumbs, but it's fine. I had a hell of a time trying to get the bolts off of the rim so that I could align the cog correctly, but I'm not sure that I've gotten it yet.
What type of cranks are you using? Are they track-specific, or are they road cranks (for example, the ones that were originally on the bike)? If the latter, you can also adjust your chainline by changing the position of your chainwheel on the crank. In other words, if your cranks were originally for two or three chainrings, you can change the position of the single-speed ring (to either be the inner or outer ring). You can also get spacers for your chainwheel to adjust the chain line in small increments.
Originally Posted by Robbykills
that is a lot to spend for a conversion but look at it this way, you'll be able to switch the parts over to any other frame you might end up with if you take care of them.
I'd like to second that. If you're caught up on the money issue, think of it this way: the only thing that differentiates your bike from an IRO is a $250 frameset. You can always upgrade your frame and swap components. With the market the way it is these days, you could probably sell your austro-daimler for almost the same price that you originally paid.