Originally Posted by
baldilocks
Has anyone tried setting up a bike so it has one one sprocket on the rear wheel, keep the derailleur for a chain tensioner and use the front three for a three speed? If I had a spare bike I would try it. I've talked myself out of a internal gear hub, because I don't believe it would stand up to the occasional thrashing on the local trails. Searched around on the internet and haven't found anything. I would like a bike with a up hill gear, a down hill or high speed gear and a flat land gear.
I have set up a bike as a 3 speed, removing the rear shifter and cable, and using the derailleur limit screws to a single sprocket, but I did not remove the freehub and replace it with a single sprocket. However, I did this because I knew someone I thought could use a free bicycle, and I found a discarded (i.e. free) 90's hybrid with a broken rear shifter. I removed broken parts, not working parts, and had a free bike with 3 more speeds than he had before (taxis and walking).
If your RD (including shifter) works, I'd just pick a sprocket and leave it there.