Originally Posted by
werewolf
At this point, I'd put that in reverse: Go freewheel single speed. It has most of the advantages of fixed gear - light weight, compactness, cleanliness as compared to derailleur, simplicity, inexpensive - and none of the dangers, like those shown above.
Although fixed gear is decidedly not my thing, I can understand the fascination, because it does things no other transmission can. (I have always thought a hand-controlled clutch, squeeze for freewheel, release for fixed, might be interesting. Couple that with a Cambio Corsa, and you have the Holy Grail of a 5-speed fixed gear. Use the left brake handle for the new clutch control and the right brake handle for the front brake or front-and-rear braking with a split cable.) However, a single-speed freewheel conversion of a perfectly good classic geared bike just does not make any sense to me whatsoever. Friction control derailleur systems are neither complicated nor expensive nor unreliable.
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069