Single Speed

Having relied on a single front chainwheel and only 7 gears, I decided
to try the commute home in a single gear and it went surprisingly
well. Anyone who knows Nottingham will confirm how hilly the outskirts
of the town can be (Mapperley, Carlton, etc.).

Anyway, I'd like to build a single speed for commuting. Would an old
racer with horizontal dropouts be the ticket? If so, where's the best
place to get one. I've looked on Ebay but they're often expensive.

Is it just a matter of looking in the local papers for 2nd hand ones?

Any advice on building a single speed most appreciated.

Thanks.

in article , Ed_Zep at
wrote on 2/7/07 16:18:

Anyway, I'd like to build a single speed for commuting. Would an old
racer with horizontal dropouts be the ticket? If so, where's the best
place to get one. I've looked on Ebay but they're often expensive.

A horizontal-forward facing drop-out will be easy to find on old frames. A
rear-facing track-end would look more fashionable, and would also lack a
mech hanger. If you only want single speed, not fixed, you could just use a
chain tensioner mounted where the mech normally goes, though this does spoil
the minimalist looks, and adds maintenance as it is an extra pulley to
clean, etc. For a rear cog, you can either buy a cassette adapter- a couple
of big spacers with a cog in the middle to convert a normal cassette hub, or
you can get a single speed hub that can be built into a less/un-dished
wheel which will be stronger.

Here in Oxford their is a bicycle recycling project that gets old bikes and
frames from the dump and ones from the council that have been found
abandoned, or stolen and not reported, then dumped, etc. You might want to
ask your council what they do with such bikes- you may have a similar
project in Nottingham. The project in Oxford sells old steel lugged road
frames for £20.

in message . com, Ed_Zep
') wrote:

Having relied on a single front chainwheel and only 7 gears, I decided
to try the commute home in a single gear and it went surprisingly
well. Anyone who knows Nottingham will confirm how hilly the outskirts
of the town can be (Mapperley, Carlton, etc.).

Anyway, I'd like to build a single speed for commuting. Would an old
racer with horizontal dropouts be the ticket? If so, where's the best
place to get one. I've looked on Ebay but they're often expensive.

Is it just a matter of looking in the local papers for 2nd hand ones?

Check your local council tip. Very often quite good old bikes get thrown
out. You may need to slip the man on duty a fiver. Also check the adverts
in your local supermarket.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; Conservatives are not necessarily stupid,
;; but most stupid people are conservatives -- J S Mill

"Ed_Zep" wrote in message
ups.com...
Having relied on a single front chainwheel and only 7 gears, I decided
to try the commute home in a single gear and it went surprisingly
well. Anyone who knows Nottingham will confirm how hilly the outskirts
of the town can be (Mapperley, Carlton, etc.).

Anyway, I'd like to build a single speed for commuting. Would an old
racer with horizontal dropouts be the ticket? If so, where's the best
place to get one. I've looked on Ebay but they're often expensive.

Is it just a matter of looking in the local papers for 2nd hand ones?

Any advice on building a single speed most appreciated.

Thanks.


I'm having the same idea, but I want the bike for Scotland and accessing
their mountains on Land Rover tracks. I want a "keep it simple and light"
bike. The bike I have recently bought however, has verticle dropouts so a
tensioner might be the answer for me.

This website might be of interest.

http://sheldonbrown.com/singlespeed.html

There's also a product on ebay called A2Z mountain bike single speed
conversion kit. I think Woolyhat sells them.

Single gear users seem to be split between fixed and the freewheel camps.
Although some bikes have both due to a flip-flop system.


Jhimmy

In article . com,
says...


Anyway, I'd like to build a single speed for commuting. Would an old
racer with horizontal dropouts be the ticket? If so, where's the best
place to get one. I've looked on Ebay but they're often expensive.

Is it just a matter of looking in the local papers for 2nd hand ones?



You could try keeping an eye on your local freecycle group
(http://uk.freecycle.org) - I have just collected a 531 tubed 30 year
old Dawes with horizontal dropouts with the very same idea as you - to
make a single speed (or possibly fixed), as time and funds permit.

--
Colin

Coincidence is the alibi of the Gods

(remove FOOT to reply)

Thanks for the replies. Notts CC doesn't have a recyling/repair scheme
for bikes, unfortunately, though Leics. does.

Will give the other suggestions a go.

Ed.

Ed
Try the council tips in the Nottingham area. There used to be a good one on
the road from Gedling to Mapperley Top. I've had loads of decent bikes from
there for not a lot of money. You have got it right about the type of bike
to get - an old 'racer' with jorizontal-ish dropouts. Actually, these are
better than track bikes with horizontal, rear-facing dropouts because its
easier to remove the back wheel if you've got mudguards fitted. What size
frame are you looking for, by the way, as I might have something suitable in
the shed (and I only live in Lincoln).
Regards
Dave

"Ed_Zep" wrote in message
ups.com...
Having relied on a single front chainwheel and only 7 gears, I decided
to try the commute home in a single gear and it went surprisingly
well. Anyone who knows Nottingham will confirm how hilly the outskirts
of the town can be (Mapperley, Carlton, etc.).

Anyway, I'd like to build a single speed for commuting. Would an old
racer with horizontal dropouts be the ticket? If so, where's the best
place to get one. I've looked on Ebay but they're often expensive.

Is it just a matter of looking in the local papers for 2nd hand ones?

Any advice on building a single speed most appreciated.

Thanks.

On Jul 4, 8:37 pm, "dave kennedy" wrote:
Ed
Try the council tips in the Nottingham area. There used to be a good one on
the road from Gedling to Mapperley Top. I've had loads of decent bikes from
there for not a lot of money. You have got it right about the type of bike
to get - an old 'racer' with jorizontal-ish dropouts. Actually, these are
better than track bikes with horizontal, rear-facing dropouts because its
easier to remove the back wheel if you've got mudguards fitted. What size
frame are you looking for, by the way, as I might have something suitable in
the shed (and I only live in Lincoln).
Regards
Dave

"Ed_Zep" wrote in message

ups.com...

Having relied on a single front chainwheel and only 7 gears, I decided
to try the commute home in a single gear and it went surprisingly
well. Anyone who knows Nottingham will confirm how hilly the outskirts
of the town can be (Mapperley, Carlton, etc.).

Anyway, I'd like to build a single speed for commuting. Would an old
racer with horizontal dropouts be the ticket? If so, where's the best
place to get one. I've looked on Ebay but they're often expensive.

Is it just a matter of looking in the local papers for 2nd hand ones?

Any advice on building a single speed most appreciated.

Thanks.

Thanks a lot, Dave. I'm 5' 11" so I think it's a 58cm racing bike,
hopefully a Reynolds one, something I can get sprayed if the paint
work's not too great.
I was going to get a mountain bike frame but putting a chain tensioner
on there seems a shame, when the whole point is near zero-maintenance.
If I could get a mountain/bike hybrid frame with horizontal-ish
dropouts that would also be fine.

Cheers,
Ed.