How To Build A Single Speed Bike Cheap - Vintage Road Bike Conversion
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- I show to convert a vintage road bike to make a single speed bike. This is not a fixie, but a single speed bike with a singlespeed freewheel. I show the process of removing the derailleurs, freewheel, etc. Installing the new freewheel, adjusting the axle spacing to straighten the chainline, and re-dishing the wheel.
Yep, there is an editing mistake. See if you can spot it.
Often, I get asked why I didn't just leave the multi-speed freewheel on, and use one of the cogs. I wanted to build a single speed bike. Not a multi-speed bike crippled to one gearing combination.
Pros:
Simplicity: No shifting gears.
Maintenance: Less parts. Less complicated. Less things to go wrong.
Weight: Less parts, less weight.
Cons:
Versatility: Not as versatile as a geared bike. Best used on flat terrain.
If you want to know WHY a single speed bike, go ask people that ride single speed bikes.
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Once again, I go back to your video's. I thought my chain was out of line. I couldn't ride as fast as i used to. I measured it all up as per 14:17. The chain line was 2 mm out. What the helll ?!? 2 miller metres was to blame! I just needed as reason. And that explains it. Thanks RJ. I need any excuse to deny the fact that I am getting older and slower!
Just some food for thought for people that don't have the tools or ability to "dish" a wheel. Use a wheel that has a cassette freehub body. You can space the single ring wherever you need it to be on the freehub body.
Rich McNaughton That’s fax
mate of mine did that with a pair jubilee clips... looked pretty sketchy but worked fine
So I should basically buy an bmx rear wheel, remove the “bolt”(sorry dont know how it is called) and a sprocket, and insert it on the mountain bike wheel?
I like how you didn't chop off the derailleur hanger, as I see on too many single speed conversions.
You're a pro; careful to use an adjustable wrench properly, with the solid jaw taking the force. That was an excellent explanation of the myriad complexities of wheel/axle spacing, and chain line measurements- very concise and well-ordered! Thanks RJ!!
"You're a pro; careful to use an adjustable wrench properly, with the solid jaw taking the force."
That's funny. He was careful to use an improper tool properly? An adjustable wrench is supposed to be a last resort for when you don't have a socket or wrench that fits. Since he has wrenches and sockets that fit, he doesn't have an excuse for using an adjustable wrench aside from "can't be bothered to do so."
@@MaximRecoil Haha I have to say this is true!
Why remove the hanger? Maybe you need a chain tensioner. Maybe you want to convert it back. Either way it's frankly stupid to just remove mounts like that.
@@singletona082 I'd guess it's mostly for looks. Some people like a really clean look without extra unnecessary bits here and there.
Its good to know how to use the adjustable wrench properly, but I work in a bike shop and we never worry about it with low torque applications like this.
Good video, but the title should have been "Why converting a road bike to single speed is much harder than you think".
The clip show the wrong and hard way of doing it. The right way is with spacers on the back wheel, not taking apart all of the crack. Is obvious that he hasen't worked on many high ends MTB.
Blog
It's not difficult at all except the spokes centering job.
@Robert Trageser
I'm very bad with spokes, probably
It's at least $100 in various tools not to mention learning how to use them
I always keep the original cogs during conversions. When my customers come back next day and tell me they don't like the ratio I just place a chain on a different cog. And again. Until they 100% satisfied with a ratio. Sometimes they ride for a while and come to me saying "I changed my job and on my new route there are some moderate hills. Can you change my ratio again?" Boom. New ratio again. Easy.
It's a simplest and most rational form of single speed conversion and it's absolutely free.
And every time I cut those cables gives me an incredible pleasure. :) CUT CUT CUT Aaaaaaa.....
People actually pay for that? :'D
Oh yes. People are getting dumber and dumber each day thanks to smart technology. They can not do anything anymore themselves.
I had a lady the other day with a Giant Acapulco. She asked for a maintenance of her bike because it was too difficult to pedal. I tried it. It was fine. So I asked her why is using such a ratio for gears.
She was just starring at me. I asked which gears she usually using. Same effect.
Anyways, she got this bike used "In beautiful colour, with lots of gears", but she thought they will change themselves like on a car.
So...you know...whatever...I just do what they ask me.
For someone learning to be a bike mechanic your videos are excellent tutorials. By watching I can easily understand abstract things taught in the books. I can't imagine what kinds of people would downvote these videos. Keep the Great work RJ 👍
That was way more complicated than I expected. You know what your doing, very good!
It's much more difficult than i was thinking.
Matías Vidal del Valle
A few spacers would do the very same trick.
Erratum : some say washers , rings ,,,
Manuel Luis I lined them up with string . Simple
According to my skill, i will just remove both derailleurs and shifters then call it a one speed bike LOL.
its not
Many thanks. Watched this. Followed the process for a 1970's Olmo and it worked fine. Re-dishing the wheel wasn't too tricky and much quicker than I thought it would be. The bike now rides fine and smooth and the wheel has held up fine on gravel trails. Certainly cheaper than a new wheel set.
my repair skills are growing in leaps because of you and Park Tool . Thank you for sharing your knowledge !
Watched the video a few months ago and finally got round to dishing the singlespeed wheel to replace the gears on my bike. I always thought you needed to replace the spokes to dish the wheel by that much! Who knew you have that much available offset within a wheel as standard! Anyway I lined up the freewheel with the crank by eye and then dished the wheel so it was centred again between the brake blocks, didn't use a dishing tool as I don't have one. Everything looks ok...might have to add a bit more tension to the wheel but see how it goes after the test ride tomorrow. Thanks for the video, helped me make use of an otherwise wasted freewheel wheel. Have been running singlespeed with cassette conversion kits (MTB) which seem to wreck the splines of the cassette hub. Freewheels look stronger and cheaper to replace for singlespeed setup.
ua-cam.com/video/DaWZ_uoE9TY/v-deo.html
I know this has been up a while now but belated thanks for posting. You did a very thorough job, even down to the number of balls in the bearing race. I could have sworn I had 8 so went back and checked - all 9 present and correct ! Tomorrow I'll find out how out of line my sprockets are then tackle the dishing. Thanks again
Always helpful and useful videos to bike enthusiasts like myself. Could you possibly do a video on chain tension? Especially for fixed gear/single speed bikes
After watching 5 videos today on how to true a wheel and then stumbling across this, I'm surprised I actually understood some of what you did. Thanks for documenting this build, it was interesting to see how the wheel gets adjusted with spacers and dished to line up the chain.
ua-cam.com/video/f1SHmFBihKM/v-deo.html
Great video. Editing mistake though, you reassembled the axle twice lol.
Looking forward to more content
LOL
RJ The Bike Guy 19:22 then around 19:50 😉
Yep. I saw.
oh good. I'm not crazy.
Thank you. This is exactly what I need. I just bought an old bike off ebay that looks very similar and I want to turn it into a single speed. This video has all the information I need as an beginner. I wish I could give you more thumbs up!
Makes me want to convert my old peoguet into a single speed. I've a MEC single with a belt drive and it's great. Might be nice to have another single with a different gear ratio.
Great video..... thanks for posting
Love this guys videos. Dude owns every weird and wonderful bike tool you could dream of xD
Instructions unclear, turned it into a BMX somehow
😂😂😂👍
anonymous 712 get a granny basket on it with an ET and the moons your oyster! 😂😂😂
Hey RJ! I’m fixing up a vintage Nishiki bike for my gf as a present and i decided I wanted to convert it to a single speed. The video was very thorough and I’ll definitely watch it a couple more times as the process goes on!:)
Great job explaining. I thought this project was going to be much easier than it ended up being. Nice to see all the potential steps required to do it right.
I like your bike. It reminds me of a nice Centurion road bike I had in my 20s. I tried it with a fixed cog but naively used a multi speeed chain and wrecked it. Freewheel is a good choice.
I know this might be a little late, but you should always put thread locker on chainring bolts as they are pretty prone to coming loose.
Also Hurhur lubricated nipples hurhur
I tell you what pal im glad i found your channel. Realy enjoyed that video, looks like i going to go and buy myself a truing stand as it seems very useful, Big thanks again from Scotland
I love my truing stand! Makes life easier!
damn that looks awesome! I know I'm a year late but I was just thinking of building my own fixie this summer (riding a free wheel single currently, then a fat tire during the winter). I want to know the guts more so I can understand my bike more. This looks like a large investment on tools though which is a little discouraging.
they will always "be in a straight line" what you mean is that the line passing through the front and back gear thing is paralell to the line that passes through the front and back bar of the bike.
Yeah.
Your better off using a wheel with a cassette, easier install.
double lynx i have actually done this myself with a gusset ER single track conversion kit. No wheel redishing or axle nut and spacer juggling and a dream to get the chainline bob on dead centre with a bit of trial and error on the spacing shims. The only downside to this is that the wheel still remains dished to accommodate those other 7 or 8 freewheel sprockets that used to be on the freehub body and it is not as strong due to the unneeded amount of dish and flange offset. The good points are it is easily retrofittable and you usually get feed up with a single speed freewheel after a few months anyway. True fixie riders usually source a dedicated single speed hub with a lockable fixed sprocket thread on it but it is now becoming popular to bolt fixed sprockets onto the disc mount bosses and reverse the wheel in the frame.
I’ve only been in the cycling game for a year now and I’ve done many things with bikes that are “vintage” the only newish bike I have is a 2008 trek touring bike. I wasn’t aware of dishing a freewheel and adjusting the spacers. Imma do that next time now :) thanks RJ! This is very helpful since I just built up a SS from a sekai 2000 frame.
You can "re-dish" and true a rim while in the frame. Just pull the axel back on BOTH sides all the way in the drop outs, then start turning spokes. Eye the center of the rim on the brake mount hole, or cut/positioned zip-ties on the seat stays near rim. Works good enough.
Not as accurate.
@@RJTheBikeGuy Accurate enough, unless your a Tour De France rider.
Very good demonstration! Actually, it's the wheel dishing that takes most of the time for this conversion.
Great video.I really like your single speed conversions.Very simple and efficient bike,pure fun.
Glad you lowered the stem. It was ready too SNAP off . I could see it.
Looks real nice . Good job
Thank you ao much for this video, I just finished minutes ago my single speed off an old motobecane that my cousin gave me, it was cheap and it looks awesome, now I have a great looking ride to work (about 4 miles each way). Great video Thanks.
I'm going to have to try this on one of those cheap Walmart mountain bikes because the derailers or shifters are always the first to go on them, and the kids rarely shift them out of high gear/low range
First time I have watched one RJs videos. Really helpful and very well done!
it is a solution for Wobble
in freewheel ...and if you increase the diameter of front gear it will be better...good job and God bless you
Nice job! This is just the video I havae been looking for.
Did anybody notice, outside of his endless supply of bike tools that I have never heard of- the amount of Diet Pepsi at the beginning of the video, and the supply of Diet Pepsi at the end of the video?
Glad to see you back posting videos!
Nice. I didn't think you could pull so much dish out if it without running out of adjustment.
Muy bien explicada la forma de mantener la línea de cadena. Gracias por el trabajo bien hecho
Great video and I am so glad I watched this before I took my vintage road bike apart. I am definitely leaving the conversion to the pros at PlayTri Ft Worth.
Amazing video! Thank you so much.
Its funny i just watched ur other video that u mad a fixed gear to geared bike n now a geared to fixed one.
Your videos are awesome
This is a single speed. Not fixed gear.
@@RJTheBikeGuy thanks for info .
I learned a lot from ur videos thanks RJ
@@RJTheBikeGuy
I buy bikes for $10 to 40 fix and resale for more and most credits goes to you.
It's a perfectly good bike!!!! Why would you cripple it by reducing it to one speed??? WHY?
Are you aware that there are other people in this world who like different things than you?
@@RJTheBikeGuy my argument would be that the loss in versatility of this bike isn't worth the reduction in maintenance :) but yes, sometimes you don't need all the tech. Good video in any case! Easy to follow and good shots.
@@Humming3ird I live in a hilly area and it wouldn't be practical here. For people who live in a places that are pancake flat, it might be useful.
Singlespeeds are #actually good. More efficient, lighter, more efficient chainline. Not good for professional racing, but who cares. Get where you're going, stand up on the hills. It's good.
Yes this is great. A bit too much time spent on the wheel dishing thing (SURELY there must be an easier way) but really clear. THANKS!
You know you can use the caliper to measure inside distances more precisely, the two things on the upper side are used for this.
I love this vid, learned to so many! Subbed!
I converted my Klein Quantum to a single speed just to do it guess. However I don't recall doing all the work you did on the rear spacing. A 63 inch gear is what I ended up with.
Damn I didn't know I was watching a math word problem walk-through. This is honestly the first real-life application of math I've seen outside of college.
I use math all the time.
@naomisfine Arithmetic is a branch of mathematics.
No entendí mucho no se Inglés, pero ahy un lenguaje universal,los ademanes del ser humano,así k supe k tenía k acer por sus manos,gracias desde Puerto Rico isla del encanto,
I called a bikeshop and asked about single speed conversion. They told me for $25 they can do the conversion using the existing gear clusters. You'll just be limited to one gear without the derailleurs. I might just change the sprocket to a single and keep it as a 5-speed. It's only the front one that jams up my chain.
That is a bike handicapped to a single speed. I wanted to build a single speed bike.
Nice conversion. We learn a lot with these kind of videos. Thanks.
Great video and explained very well. I have one concern. By adjusting spokes with the tire and tube still on, there is no way of knowing if a spoke is going to push through the rim tape and eventually cause a puncture. Just wondering...
Chain shortening? Cool. Getting rid of the shifter, cable, guides, no sweat. respacing and re dishing a wheel? ...oh dear... I was able to get with a 2.5 mil spacer behind the freewheel (My bike thankfully has like... a shocking amount of thread for the freewheel to screw onto) and put spacers on the freewheel after disassembly. Had trouble finding the chainline before that point but now that I have my line dialed in it seems to all be sorted and it's been a few weeks with no trouble.
Then again I am a very casual rider so like.... your way is objectivly better and safer. They even make an extender to screw a single speed freewheel onto (it's like thirty bucks) which is objectivly a good option (though not the best.)
However what i've done is getting me by til my situation changes. My bike is rideable I'm having a good time. All the parts are there tucked away for when I want to reverse everything assuming I don't go single speed full time. Plus with the extra chain length I essentially can make a DIY chain whip.
I loved how cut and dry this video was.
The changing spacers on both sides of hub lead that tire will be off center line. If i would convert vintage bike to single speed I would prefer to use original 5/6 speed freewheel. And instead of moving tire would use 16 or 18 tooth cog. Front cog should be 50/48/46. It depends from who are gonna use bike (weight, sex, age ...)
It's much cheaper and easy - no need to remove rear wheel at all.
Thank you for showing of the right towels for the job
LOL!
Great stuff, very much informative
That's a good looking bike! Great job!
Great video. Surely it would have been easier to get a 10mm spacer/adapter spacer and put the in between the inside of the hub and cassette that would save you all the hassle of rebuilding the wheel and re-dishing.
Nope. Then there would be hardly any threads for the freewheel to screw on to. It would likely rip right off when you came to the first hill, if now before that.
Ah see what you mean. Just seems a lot of work for what you get lol. Maybe quick release wheels you would be able to do that on?
You could just replace the wheel. But then it wouldn't be as cheap.
this was super useful! it would be nice to get a list of tools used for this conversion though if we do want to commit to doing this at home and we can know what we have/need to get
Truly appreciate you sharing the knowledge. Thank you!
Thank you very much!
When I was in Japan I noticed that they had a different longer freewheel on their bikes instead of the one that you’re using in this video. It looked similar in design to a 12t BMX freewheel but longer. The threading is the same as a regular freewheel. But I can’t seem to find it here in America. I think if you were to use the same the Japanese freewheel you Wouldn’t have to adjust the spacing on the axle or redish the wheel.
Also I have pictures of the freewheel if you’re interested.
I have no idea what you are talking about? Longer? Shimano is Japanese. You can post photos on my facebook page if you want.
Nice work and nice technique. Thanks for posting
This is pretty good...l am waiting for a Raleigh just like this one to arrive...was going to give it s nice cleaning up but now I might attempt this single speed idea...
Many thanks .great vid..
Great video man! Rock on!
Incredibly instructive. Many thanks.
You are amazing. This what have been looking for. Thaaaaaaaaank you boss.
thanks! in practical terms: unless you are very sentimental about the frame, this is way too much time/work/money
No damage to the frame, can always be returned to gears
not all back wheels are like that, nonetheless, you do an exceptional job every time
I'd either put a new fork so I could use a threadless stem or just get a quill to threadless conversion so I can use riser bars.
I did a similar job, I started dishing the wheel then my wife distracted me and i forgot which spoke i was tweaking !!! Ive had to stick 700c's on it for now but i really want the original 27inchers back on, guess ill have to take the wheel to the shop as I have no dishing tool.
Adjust it in the frame, works for me
I was hoping this was going to require less specialized tools. I bet it will be cheaper to have a local bike mechanic do the conversion for me than to buy truing stands and every specialty part
I use the bike frame as a reference, no need for the special tools. Just need to check the frame is assymetrical and make allowances if it isn't. A bike mechanic can justify special tools whereas I may only do this a few times in my lifetime!
I love this video, these are my favorite projects, I was hoping u were gonna use the 52t but wen u brought out the 46t I was Def on board but 46x16 is great gear ratio
You could’ve just bought freewheel spacers and quickly solved this problem. Way too much work for chain line adjustment. But I guess if you have time it’s nice to know these old tricks.
Love the work to do. Where are the millions of milia being released. I felt so bad for that poor patent. Is there any way you can notify when the later sessions will be available.
Thanks for all,
Ellen D
Later sessions? Well you can subscribe to my channel and click the bell so you get notified of new videos.
RJ has every tool you can name for a bike lol .
"three thirty seconds".....America man you guys crack me up haha
Nice job. A lot more work than I thought. Always great information though.
Great video and I definitely learned from you, but Why go through the trouble of installing a single speed freewheel if you're still going to use a missing link? A master link has to be stronger than those flimsy missing link things. Granted, master links start coming on 1/8 and you're probably using a 3/32. It's 1/32 diff and that freewheel is probably already meant for 1/8 anyway.
The missing link IS a master link. I have used them on a lot of bikes and never had a problem with them. And that includes mountain bike and gravel riding on some brutal trails.
Nice but a little long video (the advantage of that is that everyone can understand it).
The 10mm extra clearly takes the most time and tools to adjust. I feel like 10mm is not that much, the bike would have been fine with the chain not perfectly straight; what do you think ?
I didn't think so. And I didn't want the chain to become derailled from the chain ring.
Awesome video RJ 👍🏼🚴🏽♂️💨❗️
I learned a lot watching this video! thanks mate :)
Awesome! Learned so much!
Another great video!
Thanks for the video man!!!👍👍👍
single speed bikes are not much use to me, a lazy mid aged man who lives up the top of a big hill. so was going to change the rear wheels single sprocket with a 5 speed one till i saw what that meant.( hats off to you sir. you know your stuff and im shore you could have gided me though it but i dont have all the tools like u do. i have minimal tools so am now thinking of going with the 3 gear crank set i tuck off my mtb but the things a load smaller.. 40t vrs 54t. looks like ill havr to order a mulit speed sprocket thats the same width so i wont need to change the the rotaion of the plqnet earth to make it work...did you plan this out or was it cross that brige as you come to it kind of thing.. i realy do injoy wtching your posts as you do make it look (most of the time) easy and understandable...
I knew pretty much everything that needed to be done before hand.
thanks man, this was super informative for what i'm trying to do!
Impressive video! Really informative. Why would someone change the 12gear to single gear? Mine is 12 gear and I'm not convinced for changing to single. What is the benefit of single gear?
Lighter, simpler. They are not for everyone. Find someone who rides a single speed and ask them why they like it.
great tutorial - could you do the same thing on a MTB frame? Would the 135mm spacing on the MTB end up being too big of a difference to make up with dishing the wheel once you go down to to the one chain ring and freewheel?
It would be easier with a cassette. One cog and a lot of spacers. Move it where you like.
I was lucky when building my single speed. The freewheel had a lock ring on the smallest cog which allowed me to take the lock ring off and remove all of the cogs and only put in the one I actually wanted (the 14t in my case). I made a makeshift spacer to go in the place of the old cogs but it's a lot less work than dishing the wheel and cutting down the spacers after putting on a single speed freewheel. Admittedly the real single speed freewheel does look better though. Here's an example of what I mean: /watch?v=0hhbn0IYKcU
Taking the crank arm off is an unnecessary step right? I've never taken crank arm off to change chainring. Also, some larger chainrings may not fit on the inside chainring spot because it may hit the frame. I've also had a chainring that does not fit on the outside ring because the chainring hit the crank arm. I would've dremeled the chainring if I had to but that one barely fit on the inside.
impressive. looking to try this soon.
At 8:35 Notice the weird concave dots on each arm of that Crank under each CR Bolt Hole. These Sakae Cranks are the ONLY ones I'm aware of that have 74 BCD 'starter holes' stamped into the cranks. I ended up drilling and tapping those holes out to convert this double crank into a triple. I think these Cranks are DESIGNED like that. REALLY Seems Weird they didn't JUST already drill and tap those holes and install rubber plugs in them or something. Why go through the half asked process that requires bringing the crank into a machine shop to convert it to a triple?
I just noticed this bike was a Raleigh. Why is it that the majority of conversion I've ever came across has been a Raleigh?
Thank you RJ
Question on fixed gear ratios. I am doing a similar conversion on a Raleigh Super Record with 27 inch wheels. It has the original crank with a 42 and 52 tooth gears. It seems like the common gear ratio used on other fixed gear bikes is 44:16 (not sure what tire size they are running)...I am building this for my son going to college in flat land florida and he will be starting and stopping alot. (top speed is less important)..I would like to use the 42 thats on it because i am not sure how easy it will be to find options that fit the original raleigh crank set. Would a 42:17 or maybe a 42:18 work? Or will the 42 just not be good idea.
Hello dear thank you for your advice 😊😅
Great Work