Maybe this isn't exactly a SoCal post, but I'm most inspired by the goings on in the SoCal forum, so here goes. After a couple of months of collecting parts and preparing the frame, I finished my first Single Speed conversion. It all starts with an ad on craigslist that so happened to be from our very own Billy (oleanshoebox). He was selling a Univega 10-speed. With my wife's blessing to make this my project bike, I bought it from him and got to work.
First I pulled everything apart and evaluated what I would keep and what I would change. I would keep the frame, the fork, the handlebars and the pedals. (By the end of the project, I'm left with just frame and handlebars). I would convert from 27" wheels to 700c, which meant converting the brakes to ones that would reach the rim safely. And biggest of all, I would refinish the frame.
The idea for the finish was inspired by my buddy Marcus, who decided to repaint his battered frame when I did some equipment upgrades for him for his birthday. He used to own a body shop and is a whiz with a spray gun. He agreed to help me spray an automotive-quality finish on the project bike. I traded him for a Brooks saddle. Anyway, when he was repainting his bike, I helped sand (because I have an unnatural love of sanding). He joked that we should just shoot clear coat over the bare steel. Hmmm. My wheels went into motion.
The idea for the SS was to go with blue and steel. So I sanded down to bare steel, polished the parts that I wanted to leave exposed, and whacked the frame back into shape -- the top tube had a slight dip to it -- but again, friends who run body shops are useful sources of information and tools.
The sanding and frame preparation happened while I searched for components in my budget. I told the wife $400, but I think I ran over (shhhh, don't let on). I ended up with a pile consisting of the following:
- Origin 8 Crank (46t) & matching bottom bracket
- Brooks B-17 Standard in black
- Xero Lite wheels
- Michelin Megamium tires in blue
- Conversion kit with 16t and 18t gears
- Blue single speed chain
- Crank Brothers Candy pedals in blue
- Nashbar long reach brakes
- (Recycled) Shimano 105 brake levers
- Pyramid (cheap!) stem and seat tube
I didn't intend to get a new fork, but it turned out that the original fork had a bend that I wasn't about to try to fix. Plus I found a 27" replacement for $22.
Friday morning we painted it and I learned a ton about spraying automotive finishes, while inhaling only slight amounts of chemicals known to the state of California to.... what was I saying? Friday night I just couldn't wait so I put it all together. I originally went with the 18t gear, because I thought I'd have trouble getting things started. I was wrong; I think that the 35 pound touring bike has done more for me than I realize. I swapped out for the 16t gear immediately. In sum, it looks a little something like this:
I tried to get it into proper BF position for a picture, but I don't have a white garage door. You'll have to live with my fireplace.
Today I did my first commute on it. It's only about 4 miles round trip, but I can already love the feeling of it. The cockpit is quite a bit more compact than on my Fuji Touring, which I've been commuting on for a year and a half. It's going to take a little time to find my comfort zone as far as the handling goes. But I'm hooked! Hats off to BikeForums for both inspiring me and for providing endless amounts of information about how to pull this off.