At the present both my bikes are geared, but since I've been checking out the forum I am becoming interested in converting one of the bikes to a s/s or fixed. Right now it would be a 24 speed rigid gary fisher that I would want to switch. I was hoping that I could get some advice on how this can be done. I checked out Sheldon Browne and can convert my old 7 cog hyperglide to a s/s using his method. Is the van dessel hub that is s/s and fixed a good idea. I don't know if I want to commit to fixed and then not like it. What other convertions or alterations would I need to undertake? Thanks for the advice in advance.

DO IT, DO IT, DO IT!!!!!! You'll never go back. check out Sheldon Browns website. www.sheldonbrown.com .

van dessel hubs are nice for the price. they're sealed too. scott (xcutterx) has them on his van dessel country road bob. what are the rear dropouts like on your gary fisher? is that a mountain bike then? vertical dropouts won't work for a fixed gear unless you go with a white industries eno eccentric hub. otherwise, you can't get good chain tension. of course, if you decide to just go single speed you could get one of those surly chain tensioners if you do have vertical drops. however, i have heard mixed reviews on the effectiveness of those. another thing to consider if you decide to go fixed is your crank length. you don't really want to run super long cranks with a fixed gear bike. sheldon brown's site is a great resource. good luck.

SS is pure fun. Fixed is a acquired taste.

You can probably try SS easily using your existing setup. I did this for about a year when the derailer got tweaked. I just yanked off the derailer, found the chainline was at a good gear ratio and cropped the chain to fit. No cost whatsoever. This is really simplicity.

These days, my fave SS is a coaster brake bike. My fixed gear has a freewheel on the one side of the flip flop, but I never use it.

Sheldon Brown has the lowdown on SS/fixed. He doesn't really cover coaster brake SS bikes. His bad.

I have semi vertical dropouts on the frame. I checked out the eno hub and after figuring out the currency exchange with shipping, well I am looking for a cheaper way. If I was to run the middle chainring on the front, covert the rear cassette to a s/s by removing the cogs and adding spacers and buy a new chain, would this work for me with minimal hassles? I am fairly mechanically inept and don't want to undertake a project that will require advanced bike skills. Thanks

your idea would totally work. just pick a good ratio, or pick up a few SS cassettes in different sizes...sometimes the cassette cogs from a gear cluster won't let the chain stay on them, even if the chainline is PERFECT...just the way they're built. the surly singlator is designed to work better pushing UP on the chain, not pulling down, although a lot of people run it that way, and it works for them...

i'm thinking about converting my trials bike/monster truck to SS, just because the rear derailluer hanger has been broken uh...since i got the damn bike. i've been using an old suntour-style derailluer "foot" to make everything work, and it works...it's just that...i never really ride the damn thing, and i think i'd ride it more often if it was SS...but that bike has other issues besides that...needs new tires, new brake pads, new handlebars and stem...probably could use a new derailluer cable too...how does 22/12 sound for a SS ratio...or 22/17/18?? hmm..come to think of it, it might actually be a 20...20/18??...for trials...RAR!

Pretty much all the info you need to convert to SS plus a whole lot more can be found here

I agree with Shecky...can easily experiment with what you got...dont even need to buy new parts or remove the deraileur.

set the derailuer limit screws so the rear doesnt shift. remove the front drlr. Bingo. instant singlespeed. Ride like that for a few months....if you enjoy it; you'll know exactly how you want to modify for permanent ss/fging, including the most common concern of newbies (which gear to select?)

If you dont enjoy it; didnt waste a penny. I hate resolving problems by throwing money at it.

I helped a friend of mine convert his Bridgestone MB-1 last night. We had a blast, and it was pretty straight forward. His bike has vertical dropouts so we used a chain tensioner, although it sounds like you could get away with not using one. We got a bunch of cassette spacers from a mechanic at the local shop and spaced out the rear cassette with a 16 tooth cog. We set up the front with a 36. According to most people that is a little tall for offroad, but Jon planned on using it to commute. Altogether it took us about an hour and a half to set his bike up, and that included stripping off the derailleurs, cables, spacing out the rear cassette, and reconfiguring the crank. Have fun with your conversion, however you decide to do it.

with a Trek 930 I acquired through a coworker. Been riding ss ever since (helps that it's my only useable bike right now). I used the middle ring (32) and a cog from the original cassette before buying a Shimano DX Bmx cog for the back. I broke apart a couple of cassettes to get the spacers. I'm also using a cheap Bell-branded KMC BMX chain from Walmart. Seems to be holding up fine. I'm now in the process of converting my old Miele roadie into an ss and most likely fixed later on. riderx's link is great!!

James

This looks great, thanks.