Stumpjumper, thanks for the hub/spacer info. As I said, I'm using an old Kingsbery hub and a five speed freewheel body with just a single cog screwed on ( A third position cog I think) / Looks weird but works. Using a freewheel body allowed me to use cogs in different positions to attain a decent chainline (Though I must admit that I'm probably one of the few folks around with Regina & Malliard freewheel bodies and cog boards / and some Suntour & Shimano - I collected them at bike shops that were about to toss them in the dumpster). However, I'm chagrined by the fact that I didn't think to experiment with different length bottom bracket spindles like you did (Good going!). I installed a bottom bracket with a 124 mm spindle, but because it's a single speed, I could have used a much shorter one (Although the spindle I'm using is titanium, so that's cool and probably why I used it - How's that for rationalizing?).

I'm not sure about your bottom bracket problems - mine seems to be holding up OK, but I'm a wienie. However, and I hate to admit this, years ago I installed a 73 mm bottom bracket in a 68 mm shell and messed up a bunch of stuff before I learned better, so this might be a possibility (Some of the symptoms sound similar). Also, check to see that your bottom bracket shell isn't ovalized a bit. Otherwise, you're correct that even a used one should be pretty reliable. Keep me posted...

a2psyklnut, I like the idea of a large version bmx-style single speed (The difference between a small & large mountain bike frame is probably only about four or five inches), so I say, "Build it!", if you have a long enough seatpost and a riser stem and/or high rise bars. The beauty of this is being able to cob together a cool bike with what you've got and truly end up with a one-of-a-kind ride. I'm sorry, but I don't have any knowledge of the Atomic Lab's mechanical disk (Is it mostly a bmx specific component?).

What I'd like to do is build a high end single speed with a coaster brake rear hub, thereby eliminating all the extraneous stuff (No other brake), and end up with a trackbike-like, ultra simple, sleek, and probably very light bike (If I could find a quality coaster brake hub). The frame might have to be custom built (Reynolds 853!) so as not to have brake braze-ons, but have a tab on the left chainstay to attach the coaster brake arm. I've got a 40's balloon tired Schwinn that's pretty spiffy, but it must weigh 50 pounds (I'm afraid to put it on my scale for fear of ruining it - The scale, not the Schwinn). Oh well, one of these days...

RainmanP, I've always loved Bianchi's, but, alas, have never owned one (In the early '80's, I worked part-time in a shop that sold Bianchi's and lusted after a Super Leggera). Is yours "Team" celeste? A fixed gear single speed is probably the ultimate / Are you running any brakes, like maybe just the front? Did your road frame have long slotted, almost horizontal dropouts such that they allowed enough adjustment to run it as a single speed, or did you employ some other trick to take up chain slack?

I used to put road sew-ups on my track bike and ride it around on the street occasionally, without brakes (Which probably wasn't too bright), but a few close calls finally put an end to that. Get the Voyageur converted and let us know how it turns out (Is there a story behind the commuter's bent fork?), and thanks for reminding me of fixed/free flip-flop hubs.

I live in the Idaho "panhandle" and I must say it's a pretty nice place to be. Hey, did you know of a bike parts & accessories distributor named "Orleans Cycle Supply", that used to operate in your neck of the woods up until about four years ago? It was a neat outfit!