Originally Posted by lebowitz
I asked a friend who works at a bike shop and he said that any frame with forward opening dropouts should not be fixed, as skid stopping and general riding can put too much tension on the chain and the rear wheel can come loose and forward. He recommended that I do a single speed with it.
Is it really that dangerous to do a conversion with dropouts like these?
It can be dangerous. Bikes with forward facing dropouts were not designed to be fixed gear machines. If you want a fixed gear bike you should get a track frame. If your heart is set on that frame, please use a chain tensioner, or at the very least a
Surley Singulator.
Originally Posted by operator
Your friend is not qualified to work at a bike shop. He's an idiot.
He may be an idiot, but what he told Lebowitz was absolutely correct.
Originally Posted by lebowitz
He's Chris B up at City Bikes. Really nice guy but I guess confused about the dangers of these conversions. Perhaps he wanted to sell me a track frame
I work with Chris B, he's cool as *****, and though he may be a confused individual, he's got his info straight concerning conversions.