Single Speed Conversion

[BikeCoasties]

Definitely like your explanation of the differences between mountain and road and how to tension the chain!

You inspired us to put together a 12-part series with a little more detail on how to convert a 10 speed to a single speed!

[Alex2960]

Sorry I'm a noob at this but what do you think I would have to do for a Shwinn Varsity 1960s-1970s bike?

[averyhdavis]

why do some need tensions , and on some there is not one, just chain and gears ?

[BleedingSunday]

50 bucks for a new crankset..

Or you just grind them off!

[tucorides]

@lentine1502 I think the Flite 100 is a track bike, which means it's a fixed gear single speed (and a really cool looking bike actually). I doubt it has a freewheel (some back wheels you can flip from one side to the other... and are fixed on one side and freewheel on the other).

If you want to be able to coast on the bike (i.e. if you don't like the fixed gear style) you'd probably need to take the back wheel to your local shop and ask for their advice.

[mikeawsome12]

Can you just leave the cogs and crankset and just add the tensioner? Will that work?. Can I just shorten the chain?

[tucorides]

@mikeawsome12 Well, to do what you're referring to can be done, but it's messy, you lose the chance to shed some weight off your bike, and you have to do it perfectly and hope that you never hit a bump and have the chain jump to another cog where it will probably end up getting tangled and maybe even crashing you off your bike. If you're choosing between adding the tensioner vs. shortening the chain, go with the tensioner. It's easier and safer.

[arjont]

@lentine1502 fixie usually refers to a single speed without the ability to coast so you constantly have to pedal (like the first prehistoric bikes lol) single speed refers to a single speed cog, such bmx bikes have or a single speed conversion for a freewheel instead of a cassette, or a coaster brake bike... if you can coast on your bike but it has only one cog, then u have a single speed not a fixie.

[arjont]

on your cannondale you couldve used a ghost ring, or a front tensioner, or weld the derailleur hanger back on (actually solder with special aluminum solder) or use a modified (old style) rear derailleur that hangs on the axle as a tensioner

[brydon10]

I am also in Canada, what is a good website for bike stuff for canadians? thanks

[tucorides]

@brydon10 Well, for parts etc, you're probably looking at the mountain equipment coop website (I don't think there's an equivalent to nashbar here in Canada).

for used bikes and random spare parts, try the Canadian Cyclist website (and look in the classifieds section).

[moto123456789101]

wines for poofs bro

[thenonamekid08]

or. u can just sell a bunch of junk. such as these bikes (no offense) and buy a REAL fixie. walmart has one for 150$ its a mongoose cachet

[arjont]

@thenonamekid08 right... a fixie from walmart, thats a REAL upgrade.. 

[XFry333X]

Basically, you buy a new bike lol.

[Jazzybreaks]

i have the SAME cannondale that i am converting to a fixie...

how did you convert the rear wheel/gear to be single/fixed?? how did u take off the rear cog and have it fixed??

also what gear out of the shimano cassette would u recommend to reuse for a fixed gear bike??

thanks.

[tucorides]

@makingmenudo

You have to take the whole cassette off, then separate out the one cog you want to use, and put it back on using spacers to make up the space that the rest of the cassette used to be occupying.

Check the park tool website for better info on this. They have a cassette removal page, that youtube doesn't seem to be allowing me to post the link to right here.

[makingmenudo]

my bike is a single speed but it still has all the cogs on it and i am only using the second. how do i take the unoccupied cogs off?

[The617Viet]

cheaper alternative for poor people like me- buy a new chain, shorten it.

even poorer, shorten chain

you will need a chain breaker

[fyiimaprettyswellguy]

thx a lot of good information

[AMMProd]

could you make a fixie but still be able to coast on it? like a bmx bike

[nilo2209]

@AMMProd yes. A flipflop hub will let you mount a fixed cog on one side and a freewheel casette on the other side. So you choose by flipping the wheel.

[experimental0000]

if I was going to go through all the trouble I'd probably just buy a fixie and be done with it based on what I'd want to have done to it during the conversion, however converting the bike is still a good idea if that's what you want to do :) I'd want to put a new rear wheel/hub in that had an internal brake so that if I wanted, i could run brakeless to cut down on the items that need maintenance.

[VJF9]

how do i convert an 18 gear road bike into a fixie?

[brocknoah]

@VJF9 Unless your rear rim is a flip flop hub, meaning it is threaded on both sides, you would have to buy a new rear rim. You could change it to a single speed by removing the derailers and using a chain breaker to shorten the chain.

[zazenzach]

that one bike with vert dropouts and no derailer hanger made me cry almost. that musta been a pain in the ass to even attempt.

[Degr8n8]

Tensioner-40 bucks + New Bolts- 10 bucks + New chain-20 bucks = 70 bucks. Who would have guessed that it would be so expensive to "remove" gears from a bike?

[SalvadorLosAngeles]

Cool video. Thanks. Go Canada!

[atlantis408]

seriously useful vid, thanks for the real world application. keep them coming

[epohnopulse]

YES! AN OLD HIPSTER! WOOT!

[SamFordBB]

can you buy a 16t freewheel and put that on instead of using spacers and your original cogs, then just shorten the chain?

[MrBlackFela]

can u turn a bmx bike into a single speed to

[tucorides]

@MrBlackFela - aren't they already singlespeeds?

[PandaStaber]

@tucorides yes

[MrMrPaparazzi]

@tucorides they are hahah

[coolEO54]

@tucorides no they care costers but i think you can do that im not shor maby ask your local bike shop maby they can help you:)

[FriskyPr0ductionZ]

@tucorides

I think he means into a fixed gear. Cause I would love to do that too.

[carfreak213]

@MrBlackFela dont u mean fixed gear not single speed

[bonya666]

@MrBlackFela bmx bikes are single speed

[boomkingg]

@MrBlackFela no offence that was kinda dumb

[08DRender]

@MrBlackFela bmx alreadd comes in single speed douche

[petelikesgirls]

If I'm converting my bike into a singlespeed, will I need a whole new back wheel or to just take off the back cog and replace it with spacers?

[tucorides]

@petelikesgirls - You should be able to save the wheel. Just remove the cassette, and use spacers and a new cog. Most of the bikes in this video though are low end (and older) mountain bikes. A wheel upgrade on bikes like these makes a huge difference - you wouldn't believe how much faster you go switching from a crappy old mountain bike wheel to a modern $150 or $200 dollar wheel (even if you only replace the back one and keep the front wheel the same).

[experimental0000]

@tucorides very true, but I would only upgrade the wheels if the bike itself is in good enough condition for it. i.e. ot rusted through, broken or bent piece of junk. my bike would work but I can't afford that much for just one wheel since that's almost twice what I paid for my entire ride. damn economy

[mizukisegewa]

@petelikesgirls just got to your loal bike shop and ask for a single speed conversion kit, the brand of the kit that i got was forte and so far it works well. very well

[tguillory5432]

y cant i get my sprockets off of my rim i took all the bolts off and everything

[tucorides]

@tguillory5432 - @tguillory5432 - You probably have an older wheel and the cassette won't come off with a normal cassette tool.

Check the CASSETTE AND FREEWHEEL REMOVAL page on the Park Tools website, it should get you started.

[jingiisman]

I have 7geard bike and i want to turn it into single gear can i just remove the gear house?

[tucorides]

@jingiisman - honestly haven't heard the term "gear house" before. Do you mean the rear derailleur?

If this is like an old cruiser bike, with one ring up front, and then 7 cogs on the cassette on the rear wheel, then I guess you could just remove the rear derailleur and try your luck - you run serious risk though of a loose chain slipping from your preferred cog onto some other cog, and having the chain break and crashing. Better to do a proper job and go with one single cog and a tight chain.

[edumanga789]

thanks man, really usefull video.

[snappycapz]

why cant i just pop all the gear shit off and remove some of the links outa my chain?

[tucorides]

@snappycapz - yeah you can do that. What you lose is the nice clean look of a single ring and a single cog, and you lose some weight savings as well.

You may still need to use either a chain tensioner or a half-link... getting the chain tension right will remain the big problem.

[MsPerfectsquare]

Thanks for the info! Appreciated.

[findsugar]

to avoid puting a tensioner on the mountain bike, why not just shorten the chain??

[findsugar]

@findsugar nvm, question answered

[sIMane666]

@MrGraff... Yes.

[redl1ghtdistrikt]

mad obv u got weed down there

[duckgeezer]

why would anyone convert a geared bike into a single speed?

don't you have hills there?

[420witchdoctor]

How about a two-sprocket crank from a ten speed with a single speed hub and a chain tensioner? Would that be cool or what?

[06DRender]

nice video but your bikes are fucking shite

[MsPerfectsquare]

@06DRender nice left handed compliment. You don't need to be such a rude wanker.

[elemently]

can u still have quick release with single speed

[MrGraffReviews]

instead of buying all of the other things couldn't you just buy a new chain?

[tucorides]

Which bike are you talking about? The dismantled Norco being shown at the end of the video? A new chain would have done nothing for that bike - it was either new parts or the dumpster.

[MrGraffReviews]

@tucorides the silver road bike-if i wanted to turn a bike into a fixie/single speed. i could bike a new crank/cog and not have to worry about all of this. correct?

[v4mpir33d]

Isn't the chain in the red bike too short? The tensioner won't be hitting frame while riding over a bump?

[tucorides]

Haven't had any problems with my red Kona as a singlespeed. Works great. I actually had the chain too long initially and it skipped and I took a few links out to get it to the length it works nicely at now.

[p3wnzor]

a have a cassette on my rear wheel and if i turn it into a fixed gear will i still be able to coast and if so how do i make it so i cant?

[tucorides]

Going fixed is a whole different thing. Fixed basically means no-coasting allowed. In order to go fixed you kind of have to tear your wheel apart and install a fixed hub.

There are probably some good fixed gear videos on youtube... take a look.

[olliet24]

why would you just through away those cranks and chain rings just keep the chain rings

[chrispacheco89]

if you have horizontal dropouts, its not just about sizing up cogs and chainrings for chain tension. u need a proper gear ratio as well. you need to think how fast your pedals will move vs. how fast your back wheel will move. so always know proper gear ratios first. then worry bout chain slack or tension after. you dont want super loose pedals and no speed, and you dont wana haul ass either just to get your bike to take off. great vid btw. tensioners work great if all else fails.

[SirBubbaGumb0]

Re the chainring bolts being too long; you can use plain old BMX chainring bolts.

Good video.

[fuzzydizzle]

i just used a HACKSAW on my crankset, it was free

[phatfish78]

Not very good frame to make a single off though...

[v4mpir33d]

@phatfish78  Why not?

[tucorides]

I think he just meant that old crappy mountain bikes aren't very sexy as singlespeeds (i.e. compared to a nicer/sleeker road bike frame).

[chuckyeahx]

Cool video, thanks I have been riding single speed since I blew out the deraiuler in my Trek , all though there has been some setbacks due to chain inncidents if you know what I mean. lol you bring forward a good point that there is no one singlespeed conversion because bike are always just a litle different...

[pinpinerik]

Nice video :) I ride single speed too. You have A LOT of damn bikes in your house lol. Keep it up.

[lilmetisboi]

can you keep the smallest ring on the crank, or buy a differant smaller crank?

[tucorides]

Is the small ring the one you think you're going to be using all the time? Yeah, I guess you could leave the small ring on there, and then put the back cog in line with it using the spacers, but I think you'll find that it is way too small a gear to use for everyday riding.

At good bike shops you can get rings of just about any size, so you could try to get a small - but not stupidly small - ring... like maybe a 30 tooth ring instead of a 22 tooth ring.

[desertvox1]

Good stuff! And, it looks like we're neighbours!

[NickyS182]

with the rear cassette. could you just replace it with a bmx cassette?

[tucorides]

Hey Nicky - I have no idea, I've never even touched a BMX bike. My guess would be that the sizings are different and you can't do it. I'd google around for some bmx discussion forums, I'm sure someone somewhere has asked this before on a forum.

[Aletifer]

As long as the BMX cassette is compatible with your hub threads, you're good to go.

In fact, BMX cogs are a better pick because they have longer teeth. Longer teeth means less chain slippage.

[charliethebikemonger]

Single speed specific cogs which are supplied with one speed spacers have nice tall one speed teeth just like BMX freewheels.

[charliethebikemonger]

BMXs use a screw on all-in-one freewheel which wont work on a cassette hub. Spacers and a cog are the way to go on slide on cassette hubs. Hope thsi helps... Charlie The Bikemonger

[rugscrub]

you didnt have to cover the camera while going down stairs were cool with Canadians growing pot

[rrobhughes]

Awsome comment

[punkrockalter7]

@rugscrub where was there any indication of him growing pot?

[perunatic]

That was really helpful. I have a MTB with riveted chainrings, could you just change the hub and keep the chain in centre chainring. The gears are non-functional and I just want a cheap hack bike for short rides. Looking forward to more vids. Nice to see someone who knows what he's talking about without the whole bike guru palaver.

PS can't you get a tensioner that mounts on the chainstays?

Thanks!

[tucorides]

Hey Perunatic - thanks for the comment. I've seen, but never used, tensioners that mount on the chainstay, I'm sure it'd work fine.

For sure you can leave your riveted chainrings alone and just use the middle one, I kind of did that with a touring bike.

The reason you might want to go through the hassle of changing the chainrings though is that the teeth on your rings are probably worn down, and if you go to the single ring, it'll be lighter and a much nicer look.

[charliethebikemonger]

Chainstay mounted tensioners are fairly rubbish, and dont work well in a one speed application (I tried this before surly singleators were available). Also why bother with these when ss specific tensioners are cheap and work well. Hope this helps... Charlie The Bikemonger.