Hi - all you internet bike geeks infected me with the "I need an SS" bug. I've been shopping around for one on craigslist and ebay for a while now....lotsa beautiful custom-detailed, pre-converted, or old stock novara, bridgestone, stumpjumpers that would need conversion. But I honestly don't want to blow a big wad of cash for something I don't really need.

So I finally found a cheap bridgestone MB4 and the guy is willing to part it out to me and discount me for what I don't need. I'm a noob though so I'm a little confused - turning to you guys to help me know what I need : here's his message:

The bike is a medium size or 19", good for 5'8" to 6'0" or so.
>I will sell the frame with brakes and brake lever and no crank for
>$25. The wheels would be $30 for a set w/o cassette. Let me know if
>you want the square taper BB removed, its not the crap original, its
>an XT level I beleive that I put in. The steel is True Temper and it
>excells at climbing. Bike is deep blue with red lettering.

Now I know I need a crank...is there any reason the old crank wouldn't work with a singlespeed chainring I'd pick up on my own?

And the square taper BB? What's the difference between that and normal ones? The connector point is square?

Any other tips on converting (good kits/preferences/stuff to avoid/quality stuff) is welcome.

thanks!

I didn't really read all of that.
But, square taper BB is pretty much standard.
Isis is new and still not used very much in the single speed world.

Square taper


Isis



You can buy a Sugino XD or RD crankset for pretty cheap.
Or an IRO crankset.

yes square taper is/was the standard until a couple of years ago so you should have no trouble finding a crank. just get the crank first so you get the right size chainring. there are two sizes of swuare taper though but it shouldn't be much of an issue with mtb cranks.

It would be really nice if the fame has horizontal dropouts but it's not necessary. If it doesn't you'll probably need some sort of chain tensioner so keep that in mind

Well, starting with the right frame is a great first step, so I'll give you props right away. There are tons of square-taper cranks out there. That should be easy. It sounds like you are pretty much on your way to having a kick-ass SS.

Stuff to avoid: Anything proprietary. Shimano chains.
Stuff to use: Whatever fits, and looks good to you. Have fun!

I think the dropouts on that MB4 frame are vertical, which would require a chain tensioner of some kind.

https://sheldonbrown.com/singlespeed.html#vertical

right - i know i'll probably need a tensioner, spacers, rear cog, chainring, and chain

but do i need a new crank - this guy is saying he has a "three speed crank" i thought the chainrings were bolted to the crank so i could just take off the 3ring and put on a single?
thanks for the tips btw
-marcus

yes you can just take off the rings and use that crank

That's probably the case. Some cheap (very cheap) cranks have the chainrings riveted on, in which case you'll have to get some new cranks and a ring. Shouldn't be too big of a problem though.

Yo - I've got the MB-4, it's nice. Was a '92 when they were making the lower-end frames in Tange= pretty light.

Went to the town dump swap shop today and picked up some wheels with freewheels/cassettes on them to throw on and try to figure out a good gear ratio, as well as some freebie pedals and other random stuff. I've got a 36 chainring on the crank and so far I've only tried the 14 and 17 cogs on one of my dumpstered wheels. 36x14 feels too tough, the 17 feels better, I'm just curious what you all use for a SS ratio, and for what kind of riding. Right now the bike has semi-slicks on it, as I'm planning to do mostly road-riding with maybe a little bit of off road once in a while. Maybe I'll get into riding trails and scrounge some nubbier wheels, I don't know.
-marcus
p.s. pics soon