Building a Single Speed

enoonan

Lo All,
I have been offered an old Raleigh Triumph(80s??) racer by a friend of mine to take away and do what I would like with. I am thinking of building it into a single speed bike(don't fancy a fixie as too new to bikes yet) to try in improve my fitness.

Can anyone tell me what exactly is involved?

I know there is Shimano running gear(10 spd) on the bike and 27" wheels and tires, and the frame is 22"(so it fits me) but other than that I'm unsure.

Would I be better off getting new wheels or can old wheels like that be still repaired(Alot of spokes bent & broken) and tires found?

Any help or info would be greatly appreciated.

Eoin

Morgan

Pretty much all you need to know:

http://sheldonbrown.com/fixed-conversion.html
http://sheldonbrown.com/deakins/how-to-fixed-conversion.html

Bluefoam

Single speed bikes mostly have horizontal dropouts (as on a track bike) as opposed to verticle on most geared bikes. You can get around this by using a chain tensioner or by using an eccentric bottom bracket.

Harrybelafonte

Bluefoam wrote: »

Single speed bikes mostly have horizontal dropouts (as on a track bike) as opposed to verticle on most geared bikes. You can get around this by using a chain tensioner or by using an eccentric bottom bracket.

Track bikes don't have horizontal dropouts, they use track ends.

If the bike is from the 80s it'll more than likely have horizontal dropouts. Stick with Sheldon OP, he'll show you the way.

enoonan

Thanks for the info lads.

Any advice on the wheels? Would a new set of 700c wheels actually fit on that old a frame or would I have to look for new 27" ones if the old ones cannot be repaired?

FergusF

enoonan wrote: »

Thanks for the info lads.

Any advice on the wheels? Would a new set of 700c wheels actually fit on that old a frame or would I have to look for new 27" ones if the old ones cannot be repaired?

I have done this conversion a few times on old racer frames, well worth it especially if your old 27" wheels have steel rims and you are changing to alloy rims.

The only problem you might run into is with the brake blocks rubbing the tyres. You'll need to drop the brake blocks down in their slots about 4mm if you change from 27" to 700c. Lots of old bikes have fairly long reach brakes that allow this adjustment. You could also file the slots with a thin round file to get the necessary clearance (have done this a few times with no problems).

I've never had to actually change out the brakes to 'long reach' calipers but this is another solution.

goldencleric

I bought this for my singlespeed/fixed conversion for the front ... bit of a bargain I think and its holding up well

... I got my back wheel used off a courier on www.dublinfgss.com so it might be worth posting on that to see if anyone has one going.

Otherwise humphries cycles in finglas quoted me 70 quid for a double sided fixhub on a mavic rim (you can use it for a singlespeed cog, its just threaded for a lockring on both sides) ... friend has one and recommends it

If you're new to cycling (like I still am) I would probably buy a new wheel as you'll have to redish your existing wheel and all that for a single speed conversion

... two of the most important things about singlespeeds are chain line and chain tension

PS Sheldon is the best

enoonan

Thanks again for all the info lads.

Most appreciated

Eoin

kumate_champ07

you can buy a single speed converter kit with cog and spacers for putting on a multispeed hub. If its a 5/6 speed hub from the 80's you could prob screw on a bmx freewheel.

you dont need a chain tensioner if you get the chain link numbers right