General Question: How difficult to take a modern commuter/touring bicycle and make it Single Speed?

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.

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?
This to me would be the best of both worlds. I have ton a ton of
research but am still a newb. I've looked at custom bicycle solutions
but their seems to be a 3:1 ratio of single speed mountain bikes to
street bikes - and nothing for touring. And that's what I need for
plus a slightly meatier tire.

The commute/touring bicycle would likely be more comfortable on the
long haul.

Any ideas or help would be appreciated!

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



Any ideas or help would be appreciated!

You have probably found these already, but just in case-

http://www.bontrager.com/keith/rants.asp?id=8

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed/index.html

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

(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...

A handlebar bag would do the trick.

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?

Breezer "Range" bikes and Trek touring bikes have vertical dropouts.
You'd be better off with horizontal dropouts, to avoid having to use a
chain tensioner. A Breezer Town bike would be a great starting point,
if you can get it as a frameset.

Another option would be to get something like a Surly Cross-Check
(which takes really fat tires and has all the customary braze-ons) and
roll your own. The chainstays are not as long as a true touring
bike's, but it has most of the other virtues of the breed.

Yet another option would be to visit your local used bike peddler and
buy an old, comfy road bike or MTB for a pittance, subtract the
multi-speed gear, and add as many updates as you like. When you start
with a decent bike for double-digit dollars, you can afford a lot of
personalized touches.

Chalo Colina

(Lobo Tommy) wrote in message om...
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.

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?
This to me would be the best of both worlds. I have ton a ton of
research but am still a newb. I've looked at custom bicycle solutions
but their seems to be a 3:1 ratio of single speed mountain bikes to
street bikes - and nothing for touring. And that's what I need for
plus a slightly meatier tire.

The commute/touring bicycle would likely be more comfortable on the
long haul.

Any ideas or help would be appreciated!

See http://commutebike.com

Forget about a touring bicycle, since you're the only person in the
world that wants a single speed touring bicycle the manufacturers
don't make them!

There are several internal rear hub bicycles that you could convert to
single speed with a new rear wheel with a single cog. There are custom
single speed bicycles for $400 that perfectly match what you are
looking for. But you're looking more and more like a troll, so I think
this is the last post for me on this subject.

Lobo Tommy wrote:

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?
This to me would be the best of both worlds. I have ton a ton of
research but am still a newb. I've looked at custom bicycle solutions
but their seems to be a 3:1 ratio of single speed mountain bikes to
street bikes - and nothing for touring. And that's what I need for
plus a slightly meatier tire.

The typical 70's-80's horizontal dropout road
frame that gets built into a singlespeed/fixie has
plenty of tire clearence. If everything is
optimal you can build one _cheap_, like $60 in
parts cheap (including the bike). If you end up
having to rebuild the rear wheel, buy a different
seatpost, replace the tires, etc. you can end up
around $150 or more.

--
Scott Johnson / scottjohnson at kc dot rr dot com