"fixed" freewheel, variable gear?

I've been reading all the threads about fixed gear and am sold on the
benefits. Can't wait to try one.

But while thinking about it during a ride one day, I got to wondering if
anyone has tried fixing the freewheel (or freehub) but still having a
cassette and multiple gears? This would seem to provide many of the benefits
of a fixed gear while still offering the flexibility to maintain cadence
through gear changes. It also means that it might be possible to convert a
bike to "fixedwheel" or "fixedhub" with no other drivetrain changes.

So why is this a silly idea? Has anyone tried it? Suggestions for how to fix
the hub?

thanks,
byron

"Byron Sheppard" wrote in message
...

So why is this a silly idea? Has anyone tried it? Suggestions for how to
fix
the hub?


If you stop pedalling, the derailleur winds up and breaks off the derailleur
tab..not good.

Cheers,

Scott..

On Sun, 02 Nov 2003 06:51:49 GMT, Byron Sheppard
wrote:

I've been reading all the threads about fixed gear and am sold on the
benefits. Can't wait to try one.

But while thinking about it during a ride one day, I got to wondering if
anyone has tried fixing the freewheel (or freehub) but still having a
cassette and multiple gears? This would seem to provide many of the benefits
of a fixed gear while still offering the flexibility to maintain cadence
through gear changes. It also means that it might be possible to convert a
bike to "fixedwheel" or "fixedhub" with no other drivetrain changes.

So why is this a silly idea? Has anyone tried it? Suggestions for how to fix
the hub?

thanks,
byron

Apart from snapping off the derailleur, simply locking down the
freewheel doesn't get over the problem of reverse chain tension
unscrewing the freewheel from the hub. If you want a fixed wheel
without a new wheel, there's an expensive converter which puts fixed
cog and lockring threads on a shimano or compatible freehub, and a
similar product is also available for threaded freewheel hubs. If you
really want a multispeed fixed, you need to invest in some rare and
very expensive retro parts from Campag or Sturmey-Archer.

But why make life complex? Just rebuild your back wheel around a track
hub and learn to pedal fast!


Kinky Cowboy

*Your milage may vary
Batteries not included
May contain traces of nuts.

On Sun, 02 Nov 2003 06:51:49 GMT, Byron Sheppard
may have said:

I've been reading all the threads about fixed gear and am sold on the
benefits. Can't wait to try one.

But while thinking about it during a ride one day, I got to wondering if
anyone has tried fixing the freewheel (or freehub) but still having a
cassette and multiple gears? This would seem to provide many of the benefits
of a fixed gear while still offering the flexibility to maintain cadence
through gear changes. It also means that it might be possible to convert a
bike to "fixedwheel" or "fixedhub" with no other drivetrain changes.

So why is this a silly idea? Has anyone tried it? Suggestions for how to fix
the hub?

As noted, if there's no freewheel, within a few minutes there will be
no rear derailleur either. I suppose that someone with the requisite
machine tools and skills could create the world's most nukeproof rear
der to solve this particular problem, but I'm not sure I want to think
about the cost and/or weight.

If you want multiple speeds in a fixie, it's theoretically possible to
get them using a multi-speed gearhub, if you can find one or if you
have the skill to modify a freewheel-equipped unit.

--
My email address is antispammed;
pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Yes, I have a killfile. If I don't respond to something,
it's also possible that I'm busy.

In article ,
Byron Sheppard wrote:

I've been reading all the threads about fixed gear and am sold on the
benefits. Can't wait to try one.

But while thinking about it during a ride one day, I got to wondering if
anyone has tried fixing the freewheel (or freehub) but still having a
cassette and multiple gears? This would seem to provide many of the benefits
of a fixed gear while still offering the flexibility to maintain cadence
through gear changes. It also means that it might be possible to convert a
bike to "fixedwheel" or "fixedhub" with no other drivetrain changes.

So why is this a silly idea? Has anyone tried it? Suggestions for how to fix
the hub?

As another poster has pointed out, derailleurs can't work with fixies.
Sturmey-Archer did make a somewhat desirable 3-speed
fixed-gear-compatible hub shifter.

If you couldn't find one of those, another option would be the Schlumpf
two-speed "mountain drive" BB, which might work with a fixed gear:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/schlumpf.html

Of course, you already know about all the options involving rear hubs
threaded on both sides, so you can go fixed/free, fixed/multiple-speed
freewheel, or fixed/other-fixed by flipping over a wheel.

Ask Sheldon,
--
Ryan Cousineau, http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine
President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

On Sun, 02 Nov 2003 15:12:46 +0000, KinkyCowboy wrote:

So why is this a silly idea? Has anyone tried it? Suggestions for how to
fix the hub?

Sorry. It is a silly idea. Try to slow your legs down, once, and the
chain will end up wrapped around stuff, and badly jammed. The springs on
the derailleur that keep the chain from going slack will be stretched by
any pedaling slower than your speed would dictate (much less trying to
stop), and the chain would go slack on the top, dangling down into the
spokes.

Apart from snapping off the derailleur, simply locking down the freewheel
doesn't get over the problem of reverse chain tension unscrewing the
freewheel from the hub.

That is the least of your worries.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | What is objectionable, and what is dangerous about extremists is
_`\(,_ | not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant.
(_)/ (_) | --Robert F. Kennedy

KinkyCowboy wrote in message ws.com...
On Sun, 02 Nov 2003 06:51:49 GMT, Byron Sheppard
wrote:

I've been reading all the threads about fixed gear and am sold on the
benefits. Can't wait to try one.
cut
Apart from snapping off the derailleur, simply locking down the
freewheel doesn't get over the problem of reverse chain tension
unscrewing the freewheel from the hub. If you want a fixed wheel
without a new wheel, there's an expensive converter which puts fixed
cog and lockring threads on a shimano or compatible freehub, and a
similar product is also available for threaded freewheel hubs. If you
really want a multispeed fixed, you need to invest in some rare and
very expensive retro parts from Campag or Sturmey-Archer.


You can simply add a screw on sprocket to a standard freewheel hub and
ride. Lock ring not required, but, of course, re-spacing/dishing is.

Having more than one sprocket is possible simply by screwing another
on (never tried more than two), using bottom bracket lockrings as a
spacer, but prevents optimum chainline being used.

It is necessary to re-tension the chain on changin gear(by moving the
wheel fore/aft in the dropouts or).

As previous posters note, a derailleur is not an option.

Andrew Webster

Werehatrack wrote:

As noted, if there's no freewheel, within a few minutes there will be
no rear derailleur either. I suppose that someone with the requisite
machine tools and skills could create the world's most nukeproof rear
der to solve this particular problem, but I'm not sure I want to think
about the cost and/or weight.

Didn't one of the earliest shifting systems involve reaching back and
opening the QR, then using a fork sort of thing to push the chain on to
the next cog?

Wouldn't this work on a fixie? (My interest is purely theoretical, I
have no desire to actually try this, mind you.

-Dondo

--
What am I on?
I'm on my bike, o__
6 hours a day, busting my ass. ,/'_
What are you on? --Lance Armstrong (_)\(_)

Werehatrack wrote:
On Sun, 02 Nov 2003 06:51:49 GMT, Byron Sheppard
may have said:
I've been reading all the threads about fixed gear and am sold on the
benefits. Can't wait to try one.

But while thinking about it during a ride one day, I got to wondering
if anyone has tried fixing the freewheel (or freehub) but still having
a cassette and multiple gears? This would seem to provide many of the
benefits of a fixed gear while still offering the flexibility to
maintain cadence through gear changes. It also means that it might be
possible to convert a bike to "fixedwheel" or "fixedhub" with no other
drivetrain changes.

So why is this a silly idea? Has anyone tried it? Suggestions for how
to fix the hub?
As noted, if there's no freewheel, within a few minutes there will be no
rear derailleur either. I suppose that someone with the requisite
machine tools and skills could create the world's most nukeproof rear
der to solve this particular problem, but I'm not sure I want to think
about the cost and/or weight.
If you want multiple speeds in a fixie, it's theoretically possible to
get them using a multi-speed gearhub, if you can find one or if you have
the skill to modify a freewheel-equipped unit.
--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail. Yes,
I have a killfile. If I don't respond to something, it's also possible
that I'm busy.



I remember someone once reporting an internal gear hub failing in this
manner- had his gear selections, just no freewheeling.



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S. Anderson wrote:
"Byron Sheppard" wrote in message news:BBC9E98C.E2-
%byron@ches sman.com...

So why is this a silly idea? Has anyone tried it? Suggestions
for how to
fix
the hub?

If you stop pedalling, the derailleur winds up and breaks off the
derailleur tab..not good.
Cheers,
Scott..



How about using a front triple der mount fore and below the sprockets in
conjunction with a push-pull tensioner pair that takes the chain slack
out of the non-tensile sprocket-chainring run? Probably only gives you 3
speeds (9 if you have a front chainring triple;12 if you use a Schlumpf
with double chainrings up front).



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--------------------------
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http://www.cyclingforums.com