How long did it take you to get the wheelset? I leave for school in a little less than two weeks.

Took about a week, and ordered before Labor Day, so there was a little lag there. They ship via UPS from FL, at least mine did, so take that into account.

From FL transit times:

SouthEast = 1-2 days
NorthEast = 3-4 days
Central = 3-4 days
Great Lakes = 3-4 days
West Coast = 4-5 days
Hawaii = 5-6 days

*i deal w/ UPS transit times everyday, so i know that **** off the top of my head

Re-reading my original post, I realize that I sound like a bit of a hardon. I didn't mean to, so I apologize if that was the case.

But, that said, the issue of Suicide Hubs (uni-thread hubs fitted with a lockring are known) is touchy. Some guys say its okay (even Sheldon mentions the BB ring + chemical weld as reasonably safe), but others believe that it's very dangerous. I don't really know, I've never tried it...but I think that the decision is best left to someone who knows their way around fix-geared drivetrains, and knows what their riding conditions are. If you use a brake and have the ring chemically attached, it's probably safe....but mechanically speaking, it's not as safe as a track-specific hub. I was trying to avoid the OP from considering this as an option, seeing how little he seems to know.


My point is that most pre-made SS wheelsets will accommodate both fixed and free, so you get double the value (depending on how you value these options)...plus, they are bolt-on vs QR, which adds a safety element. I guess I just don't see the value in buying a road wheelset and converting it.

Not "reasonably safe", but "perfectly safe" as long as you have two handbrakes on the bike.

The "suicide" appellation only applies if you try to rely on it for serious stoppage.

It's only dangerous if you rely on it instead of a brake.

Sorry, I don't buy that. There's nothing safer about nutted ("bolt on" hubs) compared with good quality quick release hubs.

Sheldon "Not A Safety Issue" Brown

I don't buy you not buying that

I would not put a quick release on my back axle

especially since I think my fix is a bmx/trick bike

Yeah, I second this, and have to call an 'ipse dixit.' None of the SS/fix riders I know run QR due to the problem of slippage (or the fact that track hubs are made with threaded axles)...Sheldon obviously has wayyyy more experience than me, but I'd never run QR on any single speed drivetrain. I think that steering a newcomer towards threaded axles is a sound move, if for nothing other than simplicity's sake.

EDIT-- I've been quickly disproved by some followup posts...

Really? It didn't even occur to me for a second that a QR would be any less safe than a bolt on axle, as long as it is decent quality one and that you secure it properly. I've been running SS with QRs on the front and rear for 2 years with nary a problem....don't you think that road bikes that have QRs are safe?

Yeah, that's not really what I was saying...on my rig I get some wheel slippage unless I have the rear nuts cranked way the heck down. I don't feel like I can get QR as tight as nuts...not a problem on vertical drops because there's no possibility of them sliding back and forth. I'd prefer to not use QR on any of my bikes, 'coz I've broken a couple of levers...one when cinching it down, and one when I wrecked Mtn biking. I think that they're a pain...nuts are simpler and seem more secure to me. Just my hangup, I guess.

You use QR on a fixed? Or is it SS only? Intriguing... Are they conversion wheels, or QR fixed hubs? Do you have any problems with slipping?

And to clarify-- I don't think that it's really a safety issue...for someone that knows what they're doing...or even if not, it might never cause a problem. But lots of new guys seem to have chain-tension problems, and improperly tightened QR hubs might exacerbate this (I recall a couple of 'I'm a newbie' threads popping up with questions about this.) The OP seems pretty fresh, and I was trying to limit the options to make things a little easier.

Anyway, this is pretty far afield from the OP's question; I didn't intend for it to become a rathole. Might be an interesting thread to start, though. I'm really curious how many guys use QR...honestly, I've never seen it, but I'm not really 'in the scene.' Most of my anecdotal evidence is gleaned from a a few fellow riders and the bikes I see around.

No, it is only on my SS conversion, my track bike has Miche hubs which have a bolt. I've never had issues with slippage on the conversion but I do make a point of having the QR really tightly applied. Here is how it looks, I've since switched the release mechanism to the non-drive side:



Yes, I think he wants to do what I did on the bike in the photo, take an old road wheel and space out the freewheel to make a SS wheel. I was lucky enough to find that Shimano WH535 wheel in a dumpster and it rides really great as an SS rig (forgive me the rust, this is my winter/rain bike):

"Fresh"? Regarding my singlespeed background, that's an understatement. jet sanchEZ: you have the right idea. That was my exact idea. However, my frame pretty much made the decision for me as since it's an old Peugeot, the spacing for the forks are too narrow for contemporary wheels that are 130mm. Measured my rear fork and it was around 124mm due to a little bending in the dropouts. I also tried putting my Mavic Open Pros from my road bike on the frame and that was not kosher. So I went w/ the Weinmann DP18s. Thanks all for your extensive and very informative help.

Bal