SS mtb conversion

Graeme
I've been looking into this myself. Sheldon Brown's website has a lot
of good info.
Donga

dej said:

gday,
bought some bits to convert my old shogun mtb to SS the otherday..
was wondering tho, it has vertical dropouts and i had planned to use a
half-link to get the chain tension correct, but are these ok for off road
use? Would a tensioner be better if i was planning to still use the bike
offroad etc?

If tensioner is the way to go, which one? reviews ive read on the surly
singulator suggest its no good, but im not sure what else is available..

thanks,
graeme

There are a number of tensioners on the market that are similar to the surly but tend to be cheaper. Chain bounce off tends to be a bit of a problem in rough terrain and this is possibly where the bad rep comes from. I rode with a guy who solved this by using a cable tie and tensioning the chain up towards the frame, it was a little crude but did the job.

Personally I do not run a tensioner on my SS MTB and played with gear selection to get a good chain tension. This has resulted in me running a gear that isn't quite optimal (32-15) as I would prefer (32-16) but cannot get away with it reliably. I have also made a small chain device for the rear hub with 2 x 23T cassette rings with the teeth ground off. These are spaced either side of the 15T ring using a standard and a really slim cassette spacer on either side. I have found this has allowed pretty loose chain tension on other frames in the past.

I am considering a move to a tensioner to allow some different gear ratios for different areas around Brisbane. I guess then I will have to deal with some of the inherent problems.

"Donga" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Graeme
I've been looking into this myself. Sheldon Brown's website has a lot
of good info.
Donga

Yeah i couldnt find much (any) info on the half-links vs chain tensioner for
off-road use though..

be sure to use a 'downhill' chainring ie one without shifting ramps.
this'll negate the need to keep your FD on to keep chain in place...

On 2006-04-03, flyingdutch (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

be sure to use a 'downhill' chainring ie one without shifting ramps.
this'll negate the need to keep your FD on to keep chain in place...

Flyingdutches now come in little minature versions that can be put in
place to stop the chain from coming off? Where do we get them from?
How do they attach?

--
TimC
If it weren't for C, we'd be writing programs in BASI, PASAL, and OBOL.

TimC said:

Flyingdutches now come in little minature versions that can be put in
place to stop the chain from coming off? Where do we get them from?
How do they attach?

they attach with a death-like grip, as used by FD on muffin.

you attain them thru ascending to a 'higher place' or on the same shelf as Unobtanium.

I commute on my SS MTB, running 40/16 on 2.0 semi-slicks here in Melb.
The rear hub is just a standard 9speed cassette freewheel spaced out to take the 1x BMX cog (16t).
I found it impossible to get correct tension with dfferent gear combinations so I went the separate chain tensioner. Previously I had a DMR chain tensioner for 2yrs over 10,000kms commuting. It proved unreliable throwing the chain a few times , so I forked out for a big dollar Rohloff ($130) chain tensioner which looks & works very much like a standard rear derailleur.
Happy sailing now.

I suppose the advantage in a chain tensioner set up like the Rohloff is that you can vary your ratios & have the chain slack to take the large of smaller cogs without changing the chain length.
[IMG][img]cyclingforums.comDCP 2627.JPGOpen ↗[/img][/IMG]

On 2006-04-03, Marx SS (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

I suppose the advantage in a chain tensioner set up like the Rohloff is
that you can vary your ratios & have the chain slack to take the large
of smaller cogs without changing the chain length.
[image: [image:
http://www.cyclingforums.com/gallery/data/521/medium/DCP_2627.JPG]]

With all these complicated expensive *heavy* *unreliable* tensioners,
you might as well just get gears.

<gd&r>

--
TimC
Yesterday, after years of trying, I finally managed to take a photo of a
subway train that said "INSTRUCTION CAR" just so that someday I can caption
it "...but where's the DATA CDR?" when I'm ready to make a joke that's
nerdy even by the standards of jokes about LISP. -- James "Kibo" Perry

dej said:

gday,
bought some bits to convert my old shogun mtb to SS the otherday..
was wondering tho, it has vertical dropouts and i had planned to use a
half-link to get the chain tension correct, but are these ok for off road
use?

Half links are as strong and reliable as any other link, has nothing to
do with on/off road use.

Quoted message said:

Would a tensioner be better if i was planning to still use the bike
offroad etc?

No! Tensioners are a mono-buttocked kludge to make a singlespeed out
of a frame that is not really suited to it. They are almost as
fragile and easily damaged as derailers, and you are much more liable
to have chain skip if you use a spring-loaded tensioner.

If you can possibly get proper tension without a tensioner, that is a
MUCH better setup.

See: http://sheldonbrown.com/vertical

Sheldon "Straight Chains Are Best" Brown
+------------------------------------------+
| The lower your gear, the more of your |
| riding time will be spent going uphill. |
+------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

TimC said:

On 2006-04-03, Marx SS (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

I suppose the advantage in a chain tensioner set up like the Rohloff is
that you can vary your ratios & have the chain slack to take the large
of smaller cogs without changing the chain length.
[image: [image:
http://www.cyclingforums.com/gallery/data/521/medium/DCP_2627.JPG]]

With all these complicated expensive *heavy* *unreliable* tensioners,
you might as well just get gears.

<gd&r>

--
TimC
Yesterday, after years of trying, I finally managed to take a photo of a
subway train that said "INSTRUCTION CAR" just so that someday I can caption
it "...but where's the DATA CDR?" when I'm ready to make a joke that's
nerdy even by the standards of jokes about LISP. -- James "Kibo" Perry

Or you could always go the phantom cog routine.. No idea how well it works offroad (altho a lot of trials ppl seem to use it, so it must be fairly solid), but looks funky enough...

webspace4me.netsingletranny2.jpgOpen ↗

Marx SS said:

I suppose the advantage in a chain tensioner set up like the Rohloff is
that you can vary your ratios & have the chain slack to take the large
of smaller cogs without changing the chain length.
[image: [image:
http://www.cyclingforums.com/gallery/data/521/medium/DCP_2627.JPG]]

Speaking of Rohloff, you could always go for one of these frames from St
John Street Cycle (UK) to set up as SS. Vertical dropouts, with an oversize
BB to give you the chain adjustment.

Me, I'd be happy with the 14 speed hub setup. Now I'm dreeeammminnng!!

--
Cheers
Peter

~~~ ~ _@
~~ ~ _- \,
~~ (*)/ (*)

"Peter Signorini" wrote:

<dumb things>

Now to include the link (d'oh!):
http://www.sjscycles.com/thornwebsite/enlargeravensporttour.html

--
Cheers
Peter

~~~ ~ _@
~~ ~ _- \,
~~ (*)/ (*)

It’s funny.
When it comes to having to old MTB or roadie in the shed & the desire comes over you to make it into a SS, there are those out there who reckon that tensioners shouldn’t be used & offer a long list of frames that have horizontal dropouts as a worthwhile option for your project.
Following this advice, at the end of the day when you’ve finished your project, you still have that old MTB or roadie in the shed, it’s just that it’s a frame only now & you have all this old gear bolted to that new steel frame you picked up from the LBS with the horizontal drops or adjustable b/b.

It’s kind of like getting your girlfriend to dress up in your grandmother’s clobber.

Peter Signorini said:

Now to include the link (d'oh!):
http://www.sjscycles.com/thornwebsite/enlargeravensporttour.html

Doesn't come with pedals?

Theo

"Theo Bekkers" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Peter Signorini said:

Now to include the link (d'oh!):
http://www.sjscycles.com/thornwebsite/enlargeravensporttour.html

Doesn't come with pedals?

Hehe! I can only guess they leave it up to you - toe-clips, SPD, rat-trap,
or rubber.

--
Cheers
Peter

~~~ ~ _@
~~ ~ _- \,
~~ (*)/ (*)

Peter Signorini said:

"Theo Bekkers"wrote

Quoted message said:

Peter Signorini wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Now to include the link (d'oh!):
http://www.sjscycles.com/thornwebsite/enlargeravensporttour.html

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Doesn't come with pedals?

Quoted message said:

Hehe! I can only guess they leave it up to you - toe-clips, SPD,
rat-trap, or rubber.

Nah, it's a photo/marketing technique. Some idiot marketing guru and
photographer got together and decided that a bicycle looks somehow "sleeker"
without pedals. I've seen it many times before.

Theo

dej said:

gday,
bought some bits to convert my old shogun mtb to SS the otherday..
was wondering tho, it has vertical dropouts and i had planned to use a
half-link to get the chain tension correct, but are these ok for off road
use? Would a tensioner be better if i was planning to still use the bike
offroad etc?

If tensioner is the way to go, which one? reviews ive read on the surly
singulator suggest its no good, but im not sure what else is available..

thanks,
graeme

My 2 cents...

I just had a set of track drop outs put in my steel frame by Peter Morre, about $70.00 problem solved.

"phamcam" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

dej said:

gday,
bought some bits to convert my old shogun mtb to SS the otherday..
was wondering tho, it has vertical dropouts and i had planned to use a
half-link to get the chain tension correct, but are these ok for off
road
use? Would a tensioner be better if i was planning to still use the
bike
offroad etc?

If tensioner is the way to go, which one? reviews ive read on the
surly
singulator suggest its no good, but im not sure what else is
available..

thanks,
graeme

My 2 cents...

I just had a set of track drop outs put in my steel frame by Peter
Morre, about $70.00 problem solved.

--
phamcam

$70 to have trackends brazed in? I think the fixie's due an upgrade!

On 2006-04-03, phamcam (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

dej said:

If tensioner is the way to go, which one? reviews ive read on the
surly
singulator suggest its no good, but im not sure what else is
available..

My 2 cents...

I just had a set of track drop outs put in my steel frame by Peter
Morre, about $70.00 problem solved.

Wow! Inflation! 2cents becomes $70!

;P

Neat solution though. Steel is real, I guess.

--
TimC
My other car is a cdr