Conversion Question

[shanehodson]

I am thinking about converting an old Raleigh 400 road bike into a single speed. For now I wanted to try it for cheap, maybe using a conversion kit. Does anyone know anything about either of these, or maybe a better one:

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=23062&PID=1204522

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/CS611B00-Gusset+Single+Speed+Conversion+Kit.aspx

Also, is it possible to remove the freewheel from a bike with a cassette? Will this setup be safe?

[Biscuit]

The one from performance has a tensioner (the black thing with a cog that say's "forte" on it). That is for.. er.. tensioning your chain. When you switch gears, the length of chain needed changes, that's why deraillers are spring loaded to take up the slack.

When you convert to SS, you will most likely need to tension the chain (unless you get lucky and your chainstay/gearing choice works out) (or unless you have horizontal adjustable dropouts).

The performance kit also has single cogs, and spacers (similar to what the Jenson kit is). This replaces the cassette and can be adjusted back and forth to line up with the crank.

When you say "remove the freewheel" do you mean removing the cassette, or modifying the hub so it won't freewheel (i.e. "fixie"). Either way, yes, it's possible. I personally don't feel fixies are smart or safe, but fire away.


"The Man" can answer all your questions: http://sheldonbrown.com/singlespeed.html

[shanehodson]

"The Man" says I will probably need to re-dish my wheel. Is this necessary?

Also, is there a chance the cog will break loose if too much backwards pressure is applied?

Anyone else have an opinion on which set is better?

Thanks

[pinkshirtphotos]

is it a freehub that you screw the cassette you cant use that if it is

[shanehodson]

is it a freehub that you screw the cassette you cant use that if it is

Most average road bikes are, right?

[Biscuit]

If you currently have gears, when you take off the cassette your hub would look something like this:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml05/05239b.jpg
This can only be converted to fixie by modifying the hub.

That silver splined part is: a) where the cassette slips on; or b) where the SS adapter kit you originally asked about goes.


A single speed or "freewheel" hub looks like this:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/images/phil-mtfix.jpg
Notice the way the end is threaded to accept a freewheel (the opposite end accepts a fixed cog. A fixed cog is threaded on, so if you backpedal really hard, it can unscrew and leaf you royally f*'d. I don't understand the trend for riding fixies with no brakes.


The only thing that would require re-dishing your rear wheel is if you flipped it around or changed the spacing. The Phil hub above is flippable - fixie on one, ss on the other. That could require you to re-dish your wheel. But probably not.

If sheldon says something contrary to this, please quote it.

[shanehodson]

Is there any way to take the freewheel out of a cassette hub?

[Old_Dude]

Is there any way to take the freewheel out of a cassette hub?

I had my FABS build me two 29" wheels - they used Surly disc-ready SS hubs:

http://www.webcyclery.com/product.php?productid=16566&cat=403&page=1

Then they used one of these:

http://www.webcyclery.com/product.php?productid=17719&cat=424&page=1

This combo is strong, really works great & was really inexpensive.