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Update SS HT MTB
Excellent for winter riding in the wet!
Front: bottle-mudguard in fluorescent pink for extreme visibility at night!
Gearing is 32:17 which is good on slight climbs, and out of the saddle workouts on longer climbs but still to low on flats or slight declines.
May drop down to 16 on the back...not sure how much difference that would make.
Considering going to 1/2 link bmx chain to lose the chain tensioner don't now if that would work either. Anyone?
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I added a half link on mine to stop the chain from slipping, but still needed the tensioner. Loosing the full link made the chain to short. I run 32:20 on tight singletrack. If road riding I would want to be using the big ring up front.
What brand do you use for the rear sprockets and where do you usually get them from? I've just converted my XTC 2 to a SS and curious to what gears people are running.
Cheers
Evan
Im a big fan of the Halo 1/8" cogs (compatible with 1/8" BMX/Track/SingleSpeed chains only)
I prefer 1/8" chains, There stronger and I havnt had one drop off the cog or chain ring yet.
A friend used a 9speed chain with 3/32" cogs and he had constant problems with the chain dropping of the cog and chain.
I have bought my Halo cogs from Charlie the Bikemonger You can buy direct from the site and he sometimes sells on ebay also.
Getting the right size cog can be a bit of a trial and error. Alot of people will say start with a 32:16 setup but I believe this is only good if your super fit or riding fire trails with small hills and small grade.
I race at Yellomundee with 32:20 and another rider uses 32:19. I tried 32:18 and found it far to difficult.
Hiya ChopStir,
Thanks for the info. It gives me a great starting point. The SS is more for fun and riding around the streets when he trails are wet.
Cheers
Evan
I assume that's for a 29er?
WTB cogs for the rear and surly chainrings are the go.
Steel chainrings tend to last longer. Also, remember that when you wear a chainring out, you can reverse it and start all over.
Re halflink chains and links. Essentially even if you use a halflink, chances are you will still need a tensioner at some point. Chain's stretch over time, cogs and chainrings wear, this leads to slack in the chain. Slack in the chain can lead to chain deralement which can lead to broken bones (Ask T). The only way to get past having a chain tensioner is to have an SS specific frame.
There is this thing called the "magic gear" this is the gear that fits perfectly with chain to create the perfect chain length. There will be just enough tension to not require a tensioner. Saying that, it only takes a few weeks (of solid riding) to get just enough stretch to require a tensioner.
SSers are remarkable complex and fiddly things. It isn't as simple as slapping some spacers, a cog and a chain on the bike.
Is it a fixed single speed? I met up with a bloke the other day when I was riding in the Brisbane Water National Park who was riding a fixed single speed, it looked like a lot of hard work to me but he seemed to be enjoying himself.
I don't think SS conversions are that fiddley and you don't need to get a SS specific frame to have it working without a derailleur. It's called an eccentric hub and it allows you to adjust the centre point of the crank to tension the chain. I chose to go with the tensioner because I believe that is less fiddley.
Hawkeye, i use 32:20 on my 69er(96er) Yukon 2002 model. I'm also very unfit and need the bigger cog or I'm walking
true. I forgot about the hub option. My point was that they are not "simple" it isn't as simple as slapping it together, they aren't difficult to build, just not simple