Single Speed Mechanical Principles

[tubenachos]

Thanks Charlie great tutorial on SS newbies or veterans alike.

[Xcokedav096]

If I like my 52:17 then could I use it as a single speed configuration? Yes, I know it's a bit of a hard gear but I'm comfortable with it. Is there any equivelent to 52:17 too? Thanks.

[charliethebikemonger]

@Xcokedav096 yeah that gear will be fine.

[oOoDaEnGoOo]

thank god, someone riding a singlespeed who's not a hipster dickhead

[charliethebikemonger]

@oOoDaEnGoOo

Try it... and you will have a slack chain. And if you dont have a slack chain, you eill after a few miles.

[PRmonsterenergyKONA]

poof

[charliethebikemonger]

@PRmonsterenergyKONA

really... I invite you to visit me at the shop and we can discuss this.

Insulting people from the safety of a keyboard makes you nothing more than a cowardly sloppy emulator at best.

But really I would welcome the opportunity to meet you ;-)

[o0smokescreen0o]

I'm new to this but can u still free wheel with a single speed?

[charliethebikemonger]

@o0smokescreen0o

yes you can freewheel.

Fixed wheel is when you cant freewheel

[Vascillate]

Hi, I'm converting my MTB to SS and wondered if I could recycle the old shimano 6speed freewheel and turn it into a single freewheel or would you recommend getting a new rear wheel with a freehub then using a cog plus spacers? Cheers. Great vids btw any more in the offing?

[jeffchen]

HE IS THE JAMIE OLIVER OF BIKES!

[TheKing4Life56]

Hey, I'm wondering if I will need a chain tensioner if I have a single gear at the front (I have a triple speed at the front but I will get rid of gear 1 and 3 and just use gear 2 with no derailleur at the front) and a 8 gear at the back?

Thanks, Great Video :)

[charliethebikemonger]

If you are keeping the 8 at the back, then you wont. But if you are leaving one cog at the rear, then a tensioner is the best way forward.

[davas843]

great stuff. cheers.

[IAMpersonality]

Im assuming the same principals go for SS dj's and urban bikes, great video.

[charliethebikemonger]

Yeah, its all much the same. I used a crosser as that is what i had to hand, but Dirt Jump etc its all the same. Maybe go gnarlier on your tensioner, something like a gusset bachelor, its better at taking hits.

[peterahughes]

Liking your Frank Zappa T-Shirt Charlie!!

[charliethebikemonger]

Cheers, its a bad fit, but a great "Zappa for president" shirt.

[Bicyclethief02]

This is terrible advice

[charliethebikemonger]

Mmmmm? What the hell do you know? Are you really a bicycle theif as your user name suggests... or are you an agent of shimaNO? ;-)

[IamDanBrov]

how much would i pay u to single speed my bike ?? i got a GT Chucker ? ?

[charliethebikemonger]

HI,

About £50 for parts, around £50 labour, plus shipping. This is a service we are looking into. getvin touch if you are interested.

Cheers

C

[ge1org1e]

Hey Charlie

Im taking an old Raleigh from the 80's down to single speed. Ive checked your vids out and I just wandered the main gear im going to need is a tensioner and spacers? and new 'gear wheels' ( i dont know what they are called things with teeth :'s) I live in a valley so i have some hils so whats the best idea for gear widths?

Cheers man

[charliethebikemonger]

Yeah, tensioner, chain, spacers and a rear cog. You may be able to recycle your front chainring, and if you have semi horizontals dropouts, you may be able to slide the hub back in the frame to get tension... so maybe no tensioner is needed.

48:18 or 42:16 is a good gear to start with (on road, 700c wheels)

[FXC316]

Nice video, how right is the chain suppose to be. Mine is without a chain tensioner and when i try to push the chain towards the frame, it only budges like 1mm or 2 mm. Is that too tight or good.

[charliethebikemonger]

1 or 2mm is good, but the chain will stretch over time, so do keep an eye on it.

[SpecializedHR316]

What cog did you use for the rear?

Thanks

[charliethebikemonger]

I recall that was a gusset spacer kit: two big black spacers and a steel gusset cog.

On my own bikes I prefer the Surly CNCd cogs and Wheels Manufacturing spacers (lots of small spacers)

[charliethebikemonger]

Cheers Kenny, I do actually have a corduroy jacket and a collection of jazz. I also have a suit with zip off utility bits... But dont pigeon hole me,  I do many things. I span the genres - they call me the genre spanner.

[kennny1234]

this guy reminds me of julian barratt, aka howard moon, from the mighty boosh

[capricious71]

You forgot the beer in this one.

[wayoutjake]

man... cool stuff.

Now take that stupid tensioner off and make the chain the right length!

[singlespeedhec66]

How else are you meant to tension the chain ?

[charliethebikemonger]

Good point. I will do a "magic gear" conversion on it soon and youtube it.

The biggest problem with just using chainlength and cog size to get perfect tension is that it wont stay that tight, as the chain will stretch over time, meaning you need to adjust again, and maybe again.

[ConorDawson]

chain tensioners are stupid. just get a frame with horizontal drop-outs

[iopioppoi]

Good video.

You should put a link to your website in the video description