Origin 8 SS conversion kit - thoughts?
 

Got a quick question, hoping for some help. I'm converting a 70's Kabuki Submariner to SS. The old wheels are shot, but I have a wheelset laying around w/ a 7-speed Shimano rear hub. I found an Origin 8 conversion kit for $20 that will do the job. Any have any experience with these? Did it work for you?

I know there is a better way to do this, but I don't have the cash to get a new crankset, BB, wheels, etc right now. Plus this bike isn't worth that much investment. The conversion kit looks like it will let me keep a lot of that stuff and use spacers to adjust the chainline.

Thanks in advance for your knowledge.

it works, but it isn't as nice as the others. I got it because its cheap and it works... but if you are serious about using a tensioner, this one won't last forever

I actually don't need the tensioner, I have horizontal dropouts. Other than that, is it durable? Thanks.

In my experience they work great. I'm not familiar with the Origin 8 model but they're all basically of the same design.

When I bought my first SS it had that kit installed and it worked great. The only reason I got away from it is that the wheels had paired spokes and I wanted sturdier rims. I figured i might as well get a track wheelset while I was replacing wheels anyway. I say use the Origin 8 kit. It won't disappoint.

If it's a 7 speed freehub wheel, it won't fit in the dropouts, or at least not with some cold setting (120mm frame spacing vs. anything from 126-135mm for the wheel and hub.) You'd be far better off picking up a cheap SS or 5-speed wheel with freewheel threading.

wait, you just want the spacers and the cog? I have to say they seem very cheap for what they are, I would definitely assume there are far better spacers and single cog out there... That being said, if you are on a budget, go for it!

Thanks guys! The wheel does fit in the dropouts. I don't know the history of this frame, it may have been cold-set before. I'm going to try out the pick up the kit - it lets me get the bike on the road til I have more cash. Appreciate the advice.

As long as it's a cassette freehub, and NOT a freewheel, you'll be fine. $20 is probably the best you'll do for a cog and spacers. SS cogs are only about $7, but for some reason the stupid spacers sell for about $10-15. If you have old cassettes laying around, you can take them apart and just stack up those spacers too.

Picked up the conversion kit yesterday and put it all together. Seems to work really well! It took a while to figure out exactly how to stack the various sized spacers to get my chainline just right, but now that it's dialed it in she spins like a dream.

To get your chainline perfect, it's best to measure: http://sheldonbrown.com/chainline.html

I used to just eyeball it but my eyes give me bad results. Now I always measure.