So I've got this 1980s Schwinn World Sport converted to a fixed gear for fun, but since petrol prices have gone up quite a bit, I've decided that I wanted to commute with this bike. Now I could use my Cannondale but I don't think parking that on school campus is a logical choice. So, I've decided that I wanted to go for a 1x9 set-up on my beater.

Now, I'm not exactly 100% sure on what I would need to make this set-up work. As far as my knowledge goes, I would need:

- Rear Derailleur
- Shifter
- Cables
- Cassette

I know I'm missing things and I would gladly appreciate it if you guys could help me out on what I'm missing, small or big parts.

Thank you in advance!

what rear wheel are you going to use? If you have the original wheelset and it is 6/7 speed.. you might want to just use that.
If you are going to buy a 9 speed cassette, you are going to need a wheelset that is compatible with your cassette.

You are going to need a chain that is compatible with your cassette, cable housing, downtube cable stops(if you are going thumb shifter or barcon).

You going thumb shifter or downtube shifter??

I will most likely be using down tube shifters, though the bike doesn't have the holes for the down tube shifters. Would I be able to find some clamp on shifters? I mean if I could find some cheap, used Tiagra/Sora shifters then I'd use those. I'm not sure of what wheel set to use yet since I gave out my stock wheel set and went with some flip-flop hubbed Alex wheels.

That bike probably takes 27" wheels - should be reasonably easy and cheap to find a used 27" rear w/ 5/6 speed freewheel, an old Suntour or Shimano derailer, and a set of old clamp-on shifters. Maybe even post a wanted ad in C&V classifieds here on Bike Forums. Or if you have a bike co-op in Richmond (seems logical enough, from what I remember of the town), or a good sized LBS that does fixed conversions, those would probably be good sources too.

Personally, I would just commute fixed for the time being and use this an excuse to buy another bike. Or throw a bigger freewheel on the flop to deal with the hills, and again, use it as an excuse to buy another bike.

yeah you are going to need a new rear wheel to accommodate the cassette. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to stretch the drop outs out.

Are you trying to go index or friction? How much of a beater is this going to be? Is price a factor?
If locking it up and not worrying about is a priority, I almost think you should find the cheapest wheelset that you can find that already has tires/tubes and a freewheel, get a rear derailleur, chain, and the cheapest friction shifter you can find.
Since your frame doesn't have downtube braze-ons, you will either need some sort of stop clamp or a clamp on downtube shifter or you can just run cable housing all the way from shifter to rear derailleur.

Would venture the reason there are no holes for the dt shifters is because your bike had stem shifters w/a bolt-on set of cable stops on the dt. The assembly was like a clamp. You may be better of w/bar-end or stem shifters as you wont have to drill a hole or weld a stop onto the frame, but you will need a set of stops, regardless.

Make sure your deraileur has enough lateral and forward swing to be able to clear all of the teeth and cogs. For example a 27t der wont clear a 34t cog even if they're both 9 speed. And to avoid 'chaindrop' you may need to mount a 'narrowed' frt der or get one of these: https://www.paulcomp/chainkeeper.html

Also, you may want to pose your question on the Mechanic's sub-forum as they'll be able to dial you in w/pics! Those guys are the experts and are very generous w/their knowledge.

Thanks so much for all the help!

This bike will be locked up on campus where lots of bikes are stolen so I'm trying to spend as cheap as possible. I would use my CAAD9 but there's no way in hell that's going to last all day without getting something stolen from it. Lol.

Thanks again for the help! Your responses definitely cleared up some hazy looks on how I was going to get that 1x7/8/9 set-up.

You could also use bar-end shifters if your frame doesn't have braze-on mounts for DT shifters. I assume you already have brakes on the bike, but you'll need them if you don't.

https://cgi.ebay.com/Quality-Metal-Sh...10039246089315

Unless this is 'indexed' it'll cover any der lateral swing for 7-8-9-speed. It looks like a friction shifter. Again the main thing is getting ahold of a stop assembly clamp.

Btw, are you using drops or flat bar?

I ran a 1x9 set up on a commuter for almost a year. I ran a single bar end shifter on some drop bars.

What bars are you running?
is it really a fixed gear or did you just swap the 6 speed freeewheelfor a BMX freewheel on the stock wheel and make it a single speed?

Do you have the original derailleur?

If you are running straight bars and your original wheel I'd consider going with a 7 speed grip shift or thumb shift with a Mega range MTB free hub and a Derailleur. New you could be up and running for under $60. used you could probably hit the local CoOp and be done for under $15.

80's bike is going to be a 126mm spacing where a modern 9 speed is 130mm. Older steel frames You can force it in but be careful it spreads equally on both sides or it will dog leg (ride sideways).

Easiest way would be to find an older geared bike to use as is or to use as a donor bike. A donor bike doesn't have to fit. Adding stem shifters might the simplest way to go. If you want to go RD only then take off the extra shift arm and mount a bell on the stub. Rear dropout spacing might be an issue.