Not quite a fixie, but 2 or 3-speed?
04-01-05 | 10:32 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,470
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From: Houston, TX 77095
Bikes: Specialized Sequoia Elite, Schwinn Frontier FS MTB, Centurion LeMans (1986)
Not quite a fixie, but 2 or 3-speed?
Anyone here have any luck converting a derailleur bike's rear cluster to a single gear, and removing rear derailleur, but leaving the front derailleur and 2 or 3 chainwheels intact?
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Peter Wang, LCI
Houston, TX USA
Peter Wang, LCI
Houston, TX USA
04-01-05 | 11:04 AM
#2
Rebel Thousandaire
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 733
Likes: 1
From: Hartford, CT
Bikes: Public D8, Yuba Mundo (cargo), Novara Buzz (1-speed, soon to be 2-speed w/ a kickback hub), Xootr 1-speed folder
I did it once, but not without the derailer. As Chrisgerne notes, the chain length would be problematic.
04-01-05 | 12:16 PM
#3
legalize bikes
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,250
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From: bucks county, PA
Bikes: too damn many
pauls component melvin chain tensioner is designed to do that. it can handle up to a 20 tooth spread. perfect for a 24 34 44 or 22 32 42 etc.
a friend of mine has one on his singlespeed (actually double speed) MTB and runs a 22 32.
a friend of mine has one on his singlespeed (actually double speed) MTB and runs a 22 32.
04-02-05 | 12:42 AM
#4
troglodyte
Joined: Jul 2004
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From: the tunnels
Bikes: Crust Romanceur, VO Polyvalent, Surly Steamroller, others?
Originally Posted by chrisgerne
if you were to throw a tensioner on a fixed....
that wouldnt work, would it?
that wouldnt work, would it?
As soon as you go to skid, all the chain tension goes to the bottom of the chain, the bottom of the chain goes straight, and the top of the chain therefore goes slack. Really slack chain = asking for trouble, really slack chain while skidding = getting it in heaping quantities.
Which isn't to say people haven't done it, probably moreso with tensioners with small amounts of travel (only taking up a minimal amount of slack).
04-02-05 | 01:14 AM
#5
Retrogrouch in Training
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 5,484
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From: Knee-deep in the day-to-day
Make that into a dual tensioner setup (eww.. mucho ugly) and you're in business. The key to not breaking your toys is to make sure that when the chain snaps taut, there's sufficient travel in the tensioner to not snap it off.
04-03-05 | 05:52 AM
#6
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 824
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From: Bellaire TX USA
Bikes: Bianchi Alloro, Veloce, San Remo, Pista; Rivendell Canti Rom; Zinn custom
I know next to nothing about fixed/SS, which is why I am here trying to learn, but I just wanted to say I recently saw mention in Cycling Plus magazine of the Schlumpf Mountain Drive and Speed Drive, and I found that Harris Cyclery carries them in the USA. It has one front chainring, no derailleur, and the shifting mechanism is internal. I have no idea (yet) if this will work with all frames but if alignment issues are OK then it might offer the oportunity to have a SS rear with a 2-speed front, offering a lower gear for hills and higher gear for flats areas. Anyone have ideas on this? Edited to add: It was the Dec-Jan issue of Cycling Plus.
Last edited by Rex G; 04-03-05 at 05:55 AM. Reason: add info
