I bought a Giant Rapid 3 a couple of weeks ago and I am just getting into cycling for the first time. I am a life long athlete and decided to take up two wheels. When I first started looking for a bike the SS really interested me. But I was nudged by others to get a multi-geared bike. Now that I have ridden for a couple of weeks I have found my legs for cycling but still wish I had gone Single Gear. I want to convert my Rapid into a SS but don't know where to start. What parts should I get? I want quality parts for this conversion but I don't want to break the bank doing it. The Rapid is already a light and fast bike. Do I need a new rear hub or can I use the one I have. I know I'll have to change out the cassette and crank. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Here is the link to what I bought.
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-US/....3/7298/44052/

essentially, the most important aspect (mechanically) of a singlespeed drivetrain is is chain tension. the chain must be tensioned properly or it will derail, or fall off, the gears. if it's too tight, it will bind and cause excess friction and wear and the moving parts of the bike.

the problem with making this conversion is that most geared bikes now come with what are called 'vertical dropouts' which place the rear axle in a very defined and specific coordinate in the frame....

good for brake pad alignment and service... bad for tensioning a singlespeed drivetrain.

you could get a new rear wheel or relace the rear rim to a singlespeed hub, or you could take the gear cassette off and put a singlespeed freehub cog with spacers on, but either way you will be stuck with a cog that cannot be moved in relation to the chainring, cranks, and pedals.

this means you'll need either a specific gear ratio that will likely not be the ratio you want, or you'll need some kind of tensioning mechanism like a ss chain tensioner(either cheap and worthless or expensive and good but still added complexity to a system that is meant to be simple) or an eccentric rear hub(ex-****ing-xpensive!!!) and you'll basically have a bike that wants to have gears and doesn't.

the least you can spend on this would be about 35$ if you buy new parts, and that will allow you to buy a 30 dollar chain tensioner and cog kit that slides onto your freehub splines, plus a set of cheap single chainring bolts that will allow you to run one gear in the front instead of your three.

basically, you will be cutting the range and adaptability of your bike and effectively neutering it.

if you want a singlespeed i would test ride a fixed gear like a specialized langster steel, a globe roll, a trek district, giant bowery, or a raleigh rush hour. see if you like a more agressive bike with drop bars or a more aggressive road bike geometry.

if you do like the lighter, more rocket-ship feel of a long, stiff road bike that lays you out over it, you'll know that you would be better off selling your rapid and using that money to fund a new fixed gear singlespeed bike like the abovementioned.

if you're set on that bike with it's fun design and quick, light(ish) aluminum frame but really want a singlespeed... you can do it, but i'd hold on to ALL of the parts you take off of it, because no one in their right mind would want that bike as a singlespeed. you might as well have a singlespeed townie or beach cruiser iwth that bike's geometry and flat bars and tire clearance. it's a commuter, and it needs gears for the days you decide to take your briefcase or start loading up panniers.

I know you just bought a bike, but get ready to buy another, leave the rapid as is, and just buy a SS bike. that's my 2 cents. but before you dole out the $ you could single speed your current bike for free, by using the deraileur as a chain tensioner, and using the limit screws.

or you just keep in one gear. never touch the shifters. woila, singlespeed.

With a spacer kit on a freehub you can position the cog anywhere along the freehub body and get perfect chainline

you have a brand new technically advanced piece of engineering beauty, why bastardize it? buy a single speed, the novelty will wear off fast enough and you'll be back on the geared rig. https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...essenger_x.htm

Thanks for the replies. I didn't know I was so limited on this conversion. I guess it would look rather weird with a chain tensioner. I guess I will save a few bucks and buy a SS that is already set up or find an old road frame, without vertical drop-outs, and build my own. I see these SS bikes like Motobecane, Dawes, Ultegra, etc. on BikesDirect. How are these SS rated for quality? Or are these bikes that need tons of upgrades to keep them road worthy once you've bought one?
Thanks again for the replies!

+1 lol

Ultegra Isn't a ss it is a groupo from shimano.

The Singlespeeds on bikes direct arent horrible. They are actually pretty good for the price and for the use.

if your not expecting Extreme porformance then they are perfect for you.

Try the dawes AL sst or start with a cheaper option the motobecane track that way you can save some money to build it up to your needs.

One thing about Bikes directs bikes is that they come built kinda shabby

My 1st bike my chain ring's werent tightened and they clicked for months. 2nd bike i got from them my hubs where extrememly tight. 3rd bike i got from them my fork was rolling on the floor. And i lost the bearing cage.

But if you have some tools and experience you'll be fine.

i think it was obvious from the context that i was not talking about chainline, i was talking about chain tension.