MTB fixed gear for urban use
 

I found an old, worn out MTB frame with horizontal dropouts and a freewheel rear hub that I converted on the cheap to fixed gear. All I had to invest in this thing was a cheapo cog.

I have had a ton of fun on this this thing around town.

How come I do not hear about many others using old MTBs in this way? Seems like the perfect beater for around town.

good quality old mtbs with horizontal dropouts are not incredibly common. Not all that many people bought mtbs back then and a lot of them got used hard. Most probably died a brutal death during the 90's.

my roommate is my main user of the steel trek that i got when i was in middle school. long seatpost, road stem, SS'ed... it's all good.

it will eventually turn into a low-geared fixed/free touring bike, actually. maybe. possibly.

One of my FG bikes is/was a MTB, but sadly, with vertical dropouts. So I had to play around with magic ratios and chain lengths. The chain is still a bit loose, but it's OK. I am building a wheel with the ENO Eccentric, and then things will be perfect.

When I don't want to pay attention to the holes in the pavement I use this thing:

http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2006/sept/Aldone-1.jpg

http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2006/sept/Aldone.htm

Front wheel is a BIG Swhalbe Big Apple 2.35", it's so fun compared to the skinny 700x23c of my other bike

Mine almost died a brutal death. Was a gift from a friend. Sat outside untouched for 3 years after he got it. No knowing how long it sat wasting away. Wish I'd taken a pic when I first got it.

Other problem besides lack of horizontal dropouts on most newer mtbs is the hub issue. I needed a 135 to work on my frame. No amount of b/b and hub respacing would work.

Anyway in s/s form
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...Reflective.jpg

and fixed
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...y/IMG_8758.jpg

SS MTB rule so much for urban assault.

fixed mtb are hella fun for polo and other stuffs

mine:
http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2006...eremyCox-1.jpg

on FGG

Oh my. Sexy. Love the fork.

Very nice ride!

What size tires are you using?

those are 1.25" fatboys i put on after getting lots of flats with 1" tires. kona project2 fork. the 38 tooth chainring is the largest i could fit without hitting the chainstay.

i've got a jamis sputnik on it's way, relegating the GT to beater status.

My Trek 7K has an ENO eccentric hub and its the jam. I love this frame and can rock 32-18 freewheel for the trails and a 15t cog fixed for the street.

My Rincon is in need of a new rear wheel and its getting a flip-flop hub to replace the shot, converted STX rear hub. No tensioner is needed because it has horizontal drop outs. It went from an entry level 7 spd mtb I bought when I was 13 to a killer SS bar bike in '99 and the frame is going strong 14 years later.

Look for old steel HTs, usually base models. Chances are they have horizontal drops and a bolt-on freewheel or 7sp cassette. Most are high-ten. steel but some are full 4130 chro-mo. Excluding the original purchase price in 1993, I built my Giant for around $70 including a Surly chainring and rear freehub cog, an old cassete for spacers, and a new chain.

Unfortunately I am sans camera at the moment, so I know, this post is worthless w/out pics

Craig

I posted these in the SS/FG pics thread, but nobody could appreciate.
http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/5205/bbefullow3.jpg

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/5...dropoutyu7.jpg

That's mah Hard Rock, fresh from its most recent and final clear coat. 26" represent, son.

my gt got stolen from my back yard, but im at work on an old rockhopper that will be RAD.

The reason you don't see very many is that most MTBs have vertical or short horizontal drop outs. Old road frames are much easier to find than MTBs with horizontal drop outs. If I could find a decent one I convert it in a heartbeat.

This is my urban assault bike. Not a beater yet but it will be soon.

Sorry, no pic yet but I'm using my GT Zum as a road/urban ride (then again, I believe that's what its intentions were to be). I'm converting it to a strictly road bike; swaping the bouncy front to rigid, loosing thr gears to a ss, using a bullhorn bar with aero bar end levers, and running 26 x 1.0 tires. I still may run a 700c up front but not sure yet . . . I just can't get comfortable on a road bike so I figured I go this route. MTBU.

A warning. I had problems running 1.0 tires, about a dozen flats in a month. No trouble yet with 1.25. As I said in posting about mine, careful with chainring selection. Depending on the length of your bb, you may be stuck with 38 tooth or smaller.

That frame makes me crave fresh limes.

I agree on the tire concern. I had 1.0 on a bike and had too many flats with them. And they werea major nightmare to get on/off when repairing. I like the IRC I have now. My dry season tires are Kenda Kwests. Other ones I liked were the Tom Slicks.

That's what I'm talking about. Thank you.

Thanks for the warning. Which 1.0's did you try? I'm trying the Hutchinson Top Slicks. I notice that the Fat Boy's 1.25 can run up to 100 psi. They must be fast.

I'm also using a 42 chainring on the big ring space of my triple crank. I'm using a cassette rear and just spacing the rear cog over to line up with the big ring. If I eventually get a ss specific rear wheel I may have to run the smaller front . . .

it was a while ago, so i'm not 100% sure, but i think they were Ritchey "Tom Slick MTB Tire" from performance.