Going Single Speed

[jayfrizzo]

I'm kinda bored and need a project, so I'm going to paint my hardtail this month and turn it into a single speed.

I also kinda need a new rear wheel so am thinking about either building one up with a Woodman SS hub and some Halo Combats or Aircorps.

Or, to save a bunch of money I could jump on this. But it's got a full freehub thingy on it, and I'm not sure about converting it to SS.

So has anyone here converted a cassette to single speed? How'd it go? Did it stand up to riding street and dirt jumps?

J-

PS: Yeah, I'm going to go look on other forums for more info, but figured I'd post this here, too. Plus it gives me the opp to say I'm painting the Warlock the old SE blue, like on the PK Rippers. Siiiiick!

[SkiingBear]

I know my buddy built up his single on a cassette hub. He used spacers to fill the space and center the one cog. He later sandwiched the cog with two larger cogs to help keep the chain from jumping off (the initial crashes that resulted from the chain jumping were impressive). Not sure where he found the spacers, but if you're interested I could probably find out for ya.

[wintermittent]

Nice bikey. Looks like you've got horizontal dropouts, so this would probably be a worthwhile 20 or 30 buck experiment:

I've used Wheels Manufacturing spacers to convert a cassette hub down to a singlespeed and get your chainline right. NovaTech makes cheap singlespeed cogs (splined for Shimano freehub) and are easy to find at your LBS or mail order.

I've found trail durability to be OK, but for urban/DJ you'll be better off with a singlespeed wheel/hub that isn't as dished as a cassette hub. Less flexy and more... strongy.

I can snap a photo if you want to see what the spacers and cog look like.

[scoober]

since you already have horizontal drops, converting to SS wil be sickeningly easy. it's just a matter of converting your freehub, which is simple.

- go to an LBS that sells BMX stuff and buy the Shimano DX cassete cog of your choice.

- ask them if they have any cassette spacers you can buy.

- they will probably give you some for free, or you can bust your old cassette apart (given you dont want it anymore) and take them out.

- is that a single ring on the front? if so you are good to go obviously.

- if it's not a single ring on the front ask the same BMX shop for some shorter BMX crank bolts to go through the single ring that you pick.

You can do this all on your current rear wheel, besides for busting apart the cassette to cannibalize spacers there are no permanent changes to the freehub body or your drivetrain.

Sure a dedicated single speed freewheel wheel will be stronger, but you're riding the same stuff right now on a dished freehub wheel so what is the difference?

Basically the jist is that you can do this as expensively and as inexpensively as you want. The result of either conversion will work just fine.

It's been discussed a little here

[jayfrizzo]

Scoob,

Doh! Maybe I shoulda searched here first. Ah well.

I can't go the single cog route as my rear hub is a freewheel. Yah, that's right, an old Suntour 7-speed thread on freewheel on a Bullseye hub

But it seems I should be able to find a single-speed freewheel, and that it'll work out better than a single cog on a freehub body.

I wonder though if the spacing on the SS freewheel will be the same as the old Suntour.

[scoober]

Doh! on my part too, I shouldn't have assumed that you aren't currently running a freewheel.

I admittedly do not have nearly enough experience with threaded freewheels. So for your Bullseye hub to accept a 7spd freewheel are the threads on the hub pretty wide (like as wide as the splined section of a freehub will be?)

I am thinking you could just go the same route on your current rear hub. Get some spacers, but instead of a single cog get a threaded single freewheel and space it along the hub body where it gives you a good chainline.

[wintermittent]

Aha. Bullseye hub, 7 speed Suntour Alpha cassette/freewheel. I think I'm pickin' up what you're puttin' down.

Get some spacers, but instead of a single cog get a threaded single freewheel and space it along the hub body where it gives you a good chainline.

Hmm... How/why would you be able to "space" a threaded freewheel like a DX on a threaded hub body? I'm pretty sure his only option is to crank the BMX freewheel all the way onto the hub until it's tight.

Instead, if you pull the axle out of the hub, and shift the axle spacing so that you add more spacers to the non-drive side of the hub, you would effectively shift the hub further out to the drive side of the bike, setting up for a straight(er) singlespeed chainline.

Or is that what we're talking about here? Me thinks we're getting confused...

[wintermittent]

^^^^ Also, if you re-spaced the hub on the axle, you'd probably have to re-dish the wheel...

[scoober]

Hmm... How/why would you be able to "space" a threaded freewheel like a DX on a threaded hub body? I'm pretty sure his only option is to crank the BMX freewheel all the way onto the hub until it's tight.

You're right. I was smoking crack for a second and invented in my head a threaded freewheel hub that had a large length of threads (the width of the full cogset) so that a carrier wouldn't be needed.

Yeah, the single freewheel will just lock down on the freewheel hub, but the hub will have to be re-spaced for chainline.

[jayfrizzo]

The threads on the freewheel are normal-sized. They're as wide as a BMX freewheel.

Instead of respacing the hub I'm thinking I can adjust the spacing on my right crankarm and chainring (Profiles, baby!) to line up better with the rear cog.

I'm mainly concerned about the spacing on the teeth if I get a BMX freewheel. Will it fit whatever chain I have?

But, really, my back wheel is pretty mangled and could use a replacin'. In which case I'll just get a single-speed hub like the Woodman. But I think I'll start with the BMX freewheel.

I said "Woodman."

[wintermittent]

No worries, Scoob, this is tough shit to try to sort out over teh interweb... Taking the wheel to the favorite LBS with six pack of quality brew would yield a definitive answer to the problem. But Maggot advice is always top-shelf, too.

Frizzo, definitely try to run the chainring in the middle ring position on the crank, and like you said, you may be able to make some little crank spacing/bottom bracket spacing adjustments. But still I think the major deciding factor will be the hub spacing on the axle.

A typical freewheel cog like a Shimano DX or A.C. can run a standard multispeed chain (3/32") or singlespeed width chain (1/8"). Is that what you meant?

I have a Woodman headset *cough* mini keychain I got from Interbike, it's sweet.

[Arnold Babar]

White Industries makes a sweet siglespeep hub.

[jayfrizzo]

Dropped frame off to be powder coated on Monday: Azure Blue.

Ordered my wheel today: Halo Combats and a Woodman.

Stoked!!!

[mntlion]

White Industries makes a sweet siglespeep hub.

I'm building mine up this week.

Alpine star mega XT single speed

[jayfrizzo]

Just got the frame back from the powder coaters. They sandblasted, powder coated, and clear coated all for $80. SICK!

[Particle]

SIIIICK! Hard to believe that beat-up old thing can look that good now! You sure that's not just a new frame???

[bigtrubs]

it's sooooo purdy!

I ride a matte black bike of death named Speedy. You'd best come up with a hot name for that hot frame.

[CS]

pimpin frizzo, that baby looks good.

now your dj steez will be off the hook.

Edit:

Dude, you still going to run 24's on that?

[jayfrizzo]

Thanks for the props, y'all. I'm stoked.

now your dj steez will be off the hook.

Yeah, I'm going to have to step it up a bit with that thing. I can no longer play the Old Guy on a Beater card.

Going to still run 24". Got a Wodman SS hub on a Halo Combat 36 H rim. Or, I'll get it in a week. Can hardly wait.

[tuffy109]

quid pro quo. everyone's happy.

your bike no longer looks like a 5 year old's bedroom.

[phUnk]

your bike no longer looks like a 5 year old's bedroom.

now it looks like a 5 year old girl's bedroom.

[Tap]

bwa! nice pussy blue bike, dude.

that's a screaming deal on a repaint. have fun ss'ing.

[jayfrizzo]

nice pussy blue bike, dude.

I wear blue on the outside because blue is how I feel on the inside.

[onehotchili]

self-serving spam alert.... i have a single speed rear wheel for sale in Gear Swap if anyone is interested.

[phUnk]

I wear blue on the outside because blue is how I feel on the inside.

You think you're all that.