I can't get my cassette off my rear wheel, and i can't afford to replace the hub, so i was wondering if i just took the derailure off of my bike, (it's an old 70s ross 10spd) and welded the gears on the casettee to the hub so they can't spin as a freewheel anymore, would that make it fixed? Then in theory i could just choose the front cog and rear cog that i wanted to ride and shorten the chain? I'm not really sure on this, but it would seem plausible to me, any help or comments would be greatly appreciated.

yes it would, but you are advised to do a search for the many many threads on the subject. terms like "bumbike" and "suicide hub" are useful to put into the search engine, and also give you an idea of the generally-held opinions on this type of set-up

if you do it, be sure to tilt the drop bars way back, so that the bottom of the brake levers point straight forward.

i don't have brakes, i've been riding a free wheel for the past week with no brakes because they broke, i'm also riding flat bars.

The problem is that the cogs intended for shifting do not hold the chain too well. my home made adapter (https://www.pbase.com/wojtek_burkot/image/49244615) survived all the torque OK, but thrown chain cut the fork ends and broke the pedal spindle it caught.

Is it a cassette or a freewheel hub? If it's a freewheel hub, you can just take apart the freewheel to get it off. Destructive removal. Sheldon (sheldonbrown.com) has information about this.

If it's a cassette hub, you have to get real creative. There is an article at 63xc.com about it.

The best thing to do is just get a new rear wheel though. IRO has rears for $100 shipped.

dude rides a freewheel without brakes. if a $3 brake cable is too expensive, I don't think he's buying a rear wheel.

Do us all a favor and wear a big orange traffic cone on your head when you ride so the rest of us have half a chance of dodging out of the way.

That'd be perfect because it would also serve as a dunce cap.

is a surly "fixxer" an option?

If he's (and I use the male pronoun only because I don't know any women that stupid) running a freewheeled geared bike with no brakes, I doubt he's terribly concerned about the bumbike nature of the proposed setup. In this case, welding the freewheel or freehub mechanism would be a significant safety improvement over freewheeling brakeless. (ignore if you happen to be Ted Shred)

Sorry guys, but this is too funny, so who stuck the worm on the hook?

yes i would be a he, and yes i am stupid, but i am also poor. I am in art school and can't afford much, so after breaking many parts on my bike because it is going on 30 years old, i figured it would be much easier and cheaper to just convert it to a fixed since i know how to weld and don't have to pay for anything.

Dude, poor is fine and cheap conversions are a great way to do a cheap, no hassle bike. Just use the search function and check out sheldon's website and you can figure out how to do this without welding anything. And see if you can get a brake set up. Riding brakeless is crazy in most situations.

Dude, i gotta know where you're from. There's an art student here in Richmond that rocks a single speed with no breaks.

try googling 'ted shred'

You're talking about something that is quite a bit different than converting to a fixed gear. What you're talking about is attempting to make something into something it isn't. Converting to a fixed gear isn't cheap really. Maintaining a fixed gear tends to be cheap, but building one that will last is probably going to cost you a couple hundred bucks at least. Find someplace you can save money or something you can sell and build a decent bike, 'cuz what you're talking about can get you killed, as can riding a bike with a freewheel brakeless.

You are a new Darwin Award candidate with that set up.

nah it's cool, i fixed it tonight, i got my welder and welded the casette solid so it doesnt freewheel anymore then i took some links out of the chain and set it on the gear i wanted, i had a little trouble with chain tension since i don't have horizontal dropouts, but i got it worked out. I'm riding no brakes on flat bars and clips.

oh yeah and for whoever asked i go to Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah GA. A few guys here that ride fixed ride no brakes, but only a few, most have atleast a front brake.

Did you at least put some JBweld on there. I hear that **** makes the bike wicked-safe.

I would REALLY like to see you post some pics of your bike, mp. Especially your modified rear wheel. I like seeing improvised solutions to problems.

what is jb weld?

here are pictures of my bike and my conversion.

careful with the chain there...you mentioned the tension...

if this works, then this is a great solution. if it doesn't...ouch.

well that's cool and all, but what's holding the freewheel to the wheel? The whole point of a track hub is that the lockring is threaded backwards to hold the cog in place.

Be VERY careful.