How should i tackle this SS conversion for my 95 A2R Barracuda? Parts, tips, tricks?
 

I ride a SE Single Speed road bike and love it. I Just picked up a 95 a2r Barracuda Mt bike and I would like to do a SS conversion on it and perform some maintenance to this older bike.

I ride mostly flat gravel trails at local city parks with occasional dirt road terrain. I feel as if I don't need top of the line parts but something decently priced and basic that will last for years with proper maintenance.

Can you guys post replys with a decently priced SS parts list and any tips that will help me with this project. If I can get the parts from one online source that would be helpful. My budget is 50-100 dollars.

BIke specs - http://www.bikepedia.com/QUICKBIKE/B...=A2R&Type=bike

FYI, I am a total newb to this but a quick learner so please not to many acronyms at once please.

buy an SS conversion kit from performance or wherever...should be cog(s?)/spacers/spring tensioner.

remove derailleurs/cassette/shifters/chainrings, install above...done. be sure to position the spacers so that the rear cog is directly inline with the middle chainring position and use that ring.

for true XC use, you will have chaindrops like crazy with this setup...but you said cheap/simple and on fire roads, and i think this will work well. if you see XC in your future, you will want a dedicated SS (no shift ramps) chainring and a fixed tensioner (or eno hub). i run an 1/8" drivetrain with an eno and matching freewheel.

you may need to adjust gearing. for XC i use 2:1 (34/17), but that is certainly too low for your purposes. what is your current middle ring? before you strip the gears, ride it locked in the middle ring and find the rear cog that feels 'right' (too high uphill and too low down), count the teeth, add 1, and that's where I'd start for the SS cog. a one tooth change in the rear is much more significant than in front and cogs are cheaper, so typically you replace the cog to adjust ratios. ideally, your conversion kit includes a couple cogs...not all do.

Since you have a Shimano Freehub, all you really need is an SS conversion kit like this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-SINGLE-SPEED...item231125b3bb

That's just an example. There are probably cheaper kits available. Basically you need spacers, an SS cog, and a chain tensioner if you don't want to try and find the magic ratio. If you do find the magic ratio you skip the tensioner, but then your gearing choices are quite limited.

As dookie suggested, a 2:1 ratio is ideal for XC, but for general riding and light offroading my SS MTB is geared 38/18. It's plenty fast for around town and still low enough for offroad use.