I've had an idea in the back of my mind for awhile now, maybe I should just keep it there 8-).

I've been thinking of using a singleator chain tensioner and running just a front derailleur. Sort of a singlespeed with a hill gear. Has anyone done this? Any issues that you can think of?

Thanks for any specs, details, thoughts, links, pics,....

It won't work well, you'll always have a bad chainline and the singelator isn't designed to be used like that. I'm not sure that it can even take up that much slack. If you want to switch gears on the fly, than get an IG hub. If you want a bailout gear, use a flip-flop, double cog, or double-ring/double-cog set up.

You're a bit behind...

But try studying these guys, they already made it to 11.

And these guys do it with computers.

Trail/back road gearing


Road gearing


Paul Melvin tensioner


The only bike more functional than a SS is a 2 speed.

you should run white industries DOS ENO freewheel and call it a day.

Thanks Saddle_up, that's close to what I was looking for. The other inputs are appreciated as well

What about a 3-speed? Triple crank and you're so there!

Looks awesome, by the way.

Why not just run a rear deraileur and go 1x8?

Sounds kinky.

whats the point? manually changing gears rather than changing them on the fly seems rather unnecessary and a pain in the ass. if you have horizontal/vertical dropouts and all the braze-ons, why not add shifters and derailers as well?

If he was running a front derailleur, he could change them on the fly...

That's my thinking, simplify the bike, but keep the front derailleur to avoid the manual gear change.

The two-cog freewheel is interesting but I don't want to have to adjust the rear wheel to change gears. I've got a Fillmore and don't think I've flipped the wheel on it even once yet.

I've got a couple of old 10/12 speed roadbikes that I'm thinking of converting. If I get one converted and functional I'll probably flip the Fillmore wheel to the fixed side and leave it that way.

Just having fun playing with bikes and trying something a little different.

you should just run a 1 x 2. That way you only have a rear derailleur, instead of a rear tensioner and a front derailleur. Think about the clean lines here, not about being unique.

I've run a dérailleur-less double front on a couple homebuilt choppers. Changing gears is a snap. Would be nice to bomb out to the trails in high gear, flop the chain over and hit some singletrack. That Specialized looks fun.

Changing the front by hand isn't a big deal, though you do get your hands dirty.

I was wondering, is it possible to have multiple gears(like a 10-speed) without coasting? What would you call that? Because honestly coasting bikes are dangerous for me to ride now.

read the threads about the s3x hub. 3 speed fixed gear. that's the closest you'll get.


having a rear derallieur on a fixed gear is a recipe for disaster

Single idler tensioners like the Singleator won't take up much chain so your rings would have to be pretty similar in size. IIRC the limit is about 5-6t difference. The Melvin would wrap up more chain.

But IMHO it seems silly to have both a FD and a tensioner. You could be better off with just an older rear derailleur like a Huret Svelto which is no bulkier than a Melvin and has enough adjustment that you can limit travel to two cogs. I do this to add gears to Sturmey Archer hubs but you can just run two cogs on a freehub or FW with spacers.


Svelto, Sturmey 4 speed FM hub, KMC 1/8" chain, 18t Nexus cog and 24t HyperGlide cog.

2 cog setups shift great, much better than front shifts. Even with crappy cogs and chains from the '70s. With Hyperglide cogs and modern chain, shifting is amazing, even on the 22-34 I did for the wife. Chainline is great compared to a normal derailleur set-up.

Another possibility is that Sturmey is coming out with a modern 2 speed kickback hub w/coaster brake.

That's an interesting setup combining an internal gear with a derailleur set up. I've got a 700c wheel with a 7-speed IG hub but it takes a different type cog/sprocket.

I thought I might be stretching the envelope in the SS/FG section asking about 2-speeds, I'll head to a different sub-forum if I revisit the 7-speed hub use.

I've got some thinking to do, probably end up with three winter projects.

Awesome.

Next people are gonna ask for water bottle holders and a way to take off wheels without having to use a 15mm wrench.

You could always run a surly dingle: https://harriscyclery.net/itemdetails.cfm?ID=2466

running a surly dingle cog 17/19 with 32/34 up front.
saving my pennies for a dos eno freewheel from white ind.

flip flop wheel on my soma juice, so i can run the same ratios fixed or free, depending on mood.

i had it setup on my crosscheck prior... with a flop for a single ss.

New Yorker...figured as much...

more importantly TREEBOUND, what did you settle on for your 2-fer setup?

i'm confused....

what was wrong with this?

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...kilott_s3x.htm

How about a 2-speed coaster hub?



There's usually some on eBay:
https://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=ben..._dmd=1&_ipg=50