French SS Conversion Help
 

Hello, I'm looking to convert an old French bicycle (Hosteler - seems to be somewhat of a mystery bike) to a singlespeed. I was riding it with most original parts for a while, but I think it's time to get rid of the extra baggage. The shifting has never been all that smooth - I don't think I've attempted to change gears in a week. I replaced the front wheel not too long ago with an aluminum one after the steel one was swallowed up underneath an electric wheelchair (I don't want to talk about it), and the back wheel is so bent my rear brake is worthless.

Anywho, I would like to convert to a SS, but I've heard the French builds may make this difficult. I would like to try this on my own, but if you think it should definitely be left to a shop, let me know (I don't have much experience working on bikes, but I do have time and the internet).

SO, what should I/the mechanic know about this older French bike that may cause complications? Maybe it's not worth doing at all...

I'm pretty low on funds, so I'd like to keep the current bb/chainring/cranks, but I'll need to get a new rear hub/cog/wheel.

http://www.hmarcks.com/files/gimgs/8_hosteler01.jpg

http://www.hmarcks.com/files/gimgs/8_hosteler04.jpg

Thank you for any advice!

oh goodness.

really-- go to the classic and vintage forum. post this there and find out what it is.
i don't know sh.t about french stuff, but you may have something far more valuable than a conversion frame on your hands.
of course, i could be way off-- but look into it first. it certainly doesn't look like a typical bike boom machine...

What sp00ki said.

That bike is too nice to convert. Just take the time to get the shifters and derailers properly sorted out, and true your rear wheel so the front brake works.

Enjoy having a nice vintage road bike, there are plenty of garbage bikes out there to singlespeed.

good luck...had a successful french fixed gear before...but it was a headache. not worth the effort, but helped me learn a lot about bikes. and learned that i will not mess with french stuff anymore. keep the gears and save the headache.

Are the chainrings riveted together? That looks like the only hard part since you have all the rest of the components. Measure the chainline from the center of the bottom bracket shell to the chain ring you are going to use/keep. If it is close to 42-45mm you should be OK. Get a rear wheel with long enough axle and respace to the width of you rear dropouts plus keeping in mind what will give you a good chainline to match your front. If you are only going to make it a single speed then you can get away with it not being lined up perfectly more than if you are going fixed. Determine if you can do this before you remove the shifters and derailleurs.

If you are just going to replace the rear wheel like you said you are doing, then having a french frame isn't going to be a problem. With a cassette rear hub and a singlespeed kit, you should be able to get the chain to line up with whatever chainring you are using up front.

dont do it.

^^^It's his bike. I say go for it. If it allows him to breath new life into an older bike and entice him to ride it more then it's all good.

Looks like a generic entry-level French bike. I doubt the C&V crowd would object much to a conversion.

It shouldn't be too hard, although you might want to replace the crank with a cotterless model. Keep the cups, though -- just get a new spindle for the crank. Keep the headset as well, as it (and the bottom bracket cups) are likely to be French thread.

find out for sure first.
best case, it turns out to be something someone want to give OP money for, which lets him get something that'll make more sense to build ss.
worst case, he gets some non-speculative info about what the bike is and continues on his way.

Here's the easiest singlespeed conversion:

Find a gear you like.

Stop shifting.

Done.

Thanks for the replies!

I'll post it on the classic & vintage forum tomorrow once I get back to my place and can give more details about the frame. I don't think it will turn out to be anything too special as I've seen a few just like this selling for cheap, but yes, it wont hurt, and I'm curious if someone knows anything at all about it.

I understand people wanting to keep it vintage, but I just don't see the value when you don't have close to all original parts. Plus it's my main bike now and I need something dependable and that can actually stop when there's a little rain, which proves to be very difficult with the original brakes & wheels.

I do want to replace the cranks eventually, but I'm going to hold out for bit until I can justify the cost.

There really is no reason to do this

Shedding a little weight was my main reasoning, and would the current cranks work with a newer chainring?

I'm working with an old French bike myself (Gitane). The main pain aside from everything being an odd size (seat post, stem, handlebars, etc.) is that the bottom bracket is French threaded, so you pretty much need to keep it as is, at most switching out the spindle. This could make chainline difficult, but if you're keeping/redishing the rear wheel, that's a fixable problem, I think.

Assuming you could find a compatible chainring -- yes. But you'd still have the heavy steel arms and antiquated cottered attachment system.

Well I was wanting to get rid of the bent steel rear wheel, but maybe I'll just have to see if it can be trued. With the ring I have the chain on now, the front chainline is about 39mm. Do you think this will be too close for a new wheel?

Also, the drop-out spacing is 122mm

Yeah, did some research, not much info out there. I'd fix it up as is, you can get conversion frames for next to nothing. If you convert, don't hack it up. That is the nicest looking Hosteler I've ever seen... I'd trade one of my conversions plus a wad of cash for it.

Just swap out the rear wheel. Once you get into the bottom bracket and headset area, issues multiply, but aside from that, your bike will not be that hard to work on.

Switching out the spindle for the bottom bracket, for example, may also require switching out the bottom bracket cups, as the cups on many older European bikes are thinner walled than the later, more common cups from Asia. At that point, you have to begin looking for parts, and where five-ten years ago it was simple, it's become progressively harder to find french thread stuff.

If you're set on switching out the cranks I'd wait a couple months. Velo Orange is manufacturing a French thread cartridge bottom bracket; it is not available yet but should be soon.

if you really want to change the bottom bracket while spending a small bit of money...heres the trick i learned when i wwas converting my peugeot:
keep the stock french threaded cups and find an italian bottom bracket spindle. the french cups are thin, the italian spindle will make up for it. had one that was 68x110 and it worked perfectly.
or you can find a shimano un52 i think...or maybe 54. and replace the cups with phil wood french cups....a lil more expensive, but bomb proof.
or you can wait for velo orange like poguemahone suggested...but i was waiting for that to come out a year ago...by then i sold my french bike.

Clarification: You need a Japanese made spindle for an Italian bottom bracket. Slightly wider between the races. But, truth to tell, a nice set of Japanese made French thread cups is easier to find than such a spindle, and signifigantly widens your spindle choices...

The Shimano UN72 is the BB that works with the Phil cups. It's long out of production, although findable, but the Phil cups will likely cost more than the VO French thread BB.

thanks for the clarification. i was actually able to track down a un72 when i first got my peugeot. it ended up being like 20 dollars or so off the the husky bicycles website. you should be able to pick one up on ebay though. but i would just keep the stock cups and find a spindle.

I think I'm leaning more towards keeping it as is now.

Thanks for all of the tips, but I don't think this one is ideal for my first conversion. I'm sure this thread will be helpful to others looking to convert their old French frames.

Good call! That sure is a pretty bike. The detail paintwork is really cool.

That is a nice looking bike and I can't see why getting the shifters to work properly should be much of an issue as they are friction and the set up is pretty easy.

But if you want to go ss...

Remove the shifters and derailers, true up the back wheel, and swap the 5 speed freewheel for a 16 tooth single (with a 3/32 pitch) and run the chain on the the inner ring if it's a 42.

Your gearing will be 65-67 gear inches and this is a nice all around gearing.

Just remember not to do anything stupid to such a nice looking bike as it is worth far more as an original than a conversion.

I can do a job like this in 30-40 minutes.

If the bike is French threaded and you want to do more stuff it gets a little more complex.