SS/FG gearing and building issues
 

Hello,

I recently bought a 1989 raleigh capri 12 speed off craigslist for an amazing price. My original goal was to just ride it and enjoy it then my rear derailleur broke so I decided to just turn it into a SS.

I first removed the front derailleur and shifters and chose a gearing. Then I put a new chain on and just decided to just use the stock crank and rear freewheel for right now. So basically, as of right now I am using the stock crank and the rear 6 speed freewheel. I also decided to try out a 53-16 gearing. After taking it out and running it for the first time today I decided 2 things.

1) I need to choose a lower gearing that works well for the occasional low grade hill, and long flats.

2) I need a rear wheel that was designed to be a SS and not just the original wheel with a 6 speed freewheel on it.

So basically, my questions are, what is a good gearing, and what is a better choice for a rear wheel? I would like the rear wheel to be 700c that can be both FG and SS.

I am also trying to keep the build as cheap as possible.

Cheapest way to do it that functions pretty well. Go to a bike shop and have them pull off the freewheel on your old wheel and put on the single speed freewheel of the size you want.

Since you want to go cheap, what chainrings do you have availible?

I have the tools to remove the freewheel myself. I actually replaced the front and rear wheels when I first got the bike because I had a set of 700c's that I had lying around that I picked up a yard sale.

As for the available chain rings, I only have a 53 tooth right now because I removed and (puts face in palm) tossed the smaller one when I built it up earlier this week. however, I also have the tools to pull the crank and replace it with a new one if I can find one for really cheap.

The issue I have with just putting on a single speed freewheel is will it line up properly? I currently am running what would be the 2 (larger chainring) on the crank, and the 4 (going from largest size wise to smallest) gear on the rear, and they seem to line up perfectly.

Kudos for learning that spinning is winning. 53-16 is mega grind.

Chainline may differ depending on the hub. A six speed freewheel, replaced with a single speed freewheel, may work well on the inside spider of the crank. Adjusting the spokes, of course.

If we going ghetto, we can always space out the freewheel to work with the outside chain ring for glam factor. Every bikes different and lines up differently, chainring-wise, so I can only speculate on your capri.

A new rear wheel, though not prudent, would be premier.

I ment 53-18, not 53-16..... either way it was way to hard. It was fine on the flats.... but every slight hill royally sucked. And of course my dumb self decided to make its maiden voyage a 32 mile run. I think i'm gonna try out the 20T gear on my current 6 speed setup with my 53 front chainring and see how that does for gearing and if it works out I'll buy a 20T single speed freewheel and go from there.


Can't I just adjust/add spacers on the axel to move the hub to where I need it on the axel to line it up? And if I do that would I need to adjust my spokes? If so how do you know the optimal spoke length/dish angle for the new hub placement?

53 anything is a lot of chainring to be pushing and pulling with the legs on a FG/SS.

Yeah, you can add spacers to the hub, and then redish the wheel. On a six speed, you'll most likey not be moving the hub over much, so you could adjust the original spokes. Dish angle depends on how much you adjust the hub. The spokes need to be adjusted to compensate for the shift.

Think like this, rim centered, hub shifted.

The exact angle, depends on the application.

So you would suggest I get maybe a 40-44 tooth crank chainring? I can probably just find one on ebay. All I need is the chainring seeing as I already have the crank and bolts to bolt it on as long as it is a 5 bolt (removable) chainring.

So basically all I have to do is make sure the rim is centered with the axle, or another way of looking at it is, the rim stays in the same location and adjusting the dish just makes up for the change in the hub location to keep the rim in the same location.

Got ya. Thanks for all your help. I've learned alot about rim location compared to the hub and axle and the spoke dish.

Your knees would thank you. As you have stated, it's time to gear down. It's much better to develop a spin. Yes, you could easily find a smaller chainring, on ebay or at your LBS or co-op.

There's a bit more than that. Essentially, yes. The rim is centered with the frame alignment. The hub can move, but the spokes compensate for the movement. Spoke tension is crucial for a solid wheel.

No, not really. Would 53/30 be too big?

I run 53/18 on the flats and 53/21 in hilly areas. Before deciding that the 53T is "too big" look at it by ratios. 53/19 is actually smaller than 42/15, for example.

If you want to do this on the cheap, it might be better to just get some spacers and take off all the cogs except the one you decide to use, keeping in mind chainline. If you were to put a single bmx-type freewheel on I could see some probably CL issues arising, mainly due to the dropout spacing in the rear. When I was younger and made my first 6 speed to SS conversion, I used spacers and it worked well.

That's exactly what I was thinking. It is a ratio, not just a front size thing. A 40/20 would be the same as 20/10 (if there is a such thing) because both are 2:1 ratios. I was thinking of trying out a 20T rear with my 53 front.

How do you remove cogs from a freewheel?

With two chain whips and lots of fighting. Too much work for me personally, since an SS freewheel should run you all of $15. But if you want to attempt, it is possible.