26 Mar 2004 08:44:14 -0800,
,
(Lobo Tommy) wrote:

In general, I am thinking a lot of purchasing a Bianchi SASS for
riding in parks and bike trails in excess of 5 miles for fitness. I
am having second thoughts because I am uncertain whether or not I can
carry stuff on it like water, tire patch kit, pump, food, cell phone,
tools, etc... I'm not talking frivilous stuff here - basically
necessities that any beginners faq would recommend bringing along.

A small "under seat" bag or a large "saddle bag" fit SS bikes the same
as any other bike. A rack for carrying light loads can be clamped to
the seat post. Lacking eyelets and bosses, a real rack can be fitted
with special clips and creativity. The SASS frame has braze-ons for
mounting two bottle holders. Mounting full fenders could be
problematic because the back wheel enters from the rear.

Or to preserve the purity you can stuff everything into a "camelback"
type pack.

So it got me thinking - how difficult would it be to take a Trek 520
or Breezer or any other touring bike and make it a single speed?

Depends on the frame. Vertical dropouts will restrict the placement of
the rear wheel which affects chain tension and gear choices. Other
factors are the extraneous cable stops, wheel dish and axle length.

This to me would be the best of both worlds.

I've built all my own SS bikes from old frames with horizontal
dropouts for less than half the cost of the Redline.

Do read - http://www.sheldonbrown.com/singlespeed.html
--
zk