Single speed

[Tim Hart]

Thanks, I'll have a look later. What do the numbers 653 or 853 relate to?

[JohnG]

Indurain won his first tour on a Reynolds 653 steel-tubed frame but I don't think anything significant has been won on 853 (which is a more recent stronger tube set on the uncomfortable side of stiff).

[Martin Hayman]

Agree with Harry Adams, chainline is most important. Sheldon Brown's website has lots on the blacksmithing side of converting geared bikes for single speed. For new single-speed products, take a look at the On-One website.

[fungus]

if you have vertical dropouts you can use the white industries eno eccentric hub. these a flip flop hubs so you can have a 16t fixed one side and a 18t freewheel on the other. have a look on ebay for best prices i think the place was bens bikes.that's what i'm using to convert my old caad4 frame to a fixed/singlespeed.

[Martin Hayman]

It is a nice product, agreed, Fungus but an expensive solution if one does not need to introduce the problem (of vertical drop outs). The 100% route is to start with a bike that has 100mm spacing and horizontal drop-outs -- it doesn't matter if they face forwards road-style or backwards track-style. After that everything 'falls into place'.

[fungus]

they are expensive in the uk but not so bad of ebay from the states, no real difference between getting a new wheel built up and buying a new/2nd hand frame really. i've already got the rims & spokes on a spare wheel so just need to get a friend to build it.i do prefer the look of horizontal drop outs & proper fixed wheel frames though.

[harry adams]

Another possible difficulty with using a road frame is that if it's less than 10 years old the spacing between the rear dropouts is likely to be 130mm. If you are buying a fixed hub for building up or can get your hands on a ready built fixed wheel just check the over locknut distance on the hub to make sure it fits; you might have to put on a couple of spacing washers. This is one of the problems when you try to make use of old frames etc. I ran a fixed on a frame with vertical dropouts but had to use a half link on the chain and I played around with different sized chainwheels and back sprockets before getting the combination that would give me the right tension on the chain.

[harry adams]

I meant to add that my current fixed wheel training bike is an old Ribble 653 that I rode competitively in the early nineties. Frames like this are ideal, strong and fairly light. I believe the numbers refer to the proportion of other metals that are added to the mix when the steel is being manufactured. All bike steels are basically 95% iron with small amounts of alloying materials such as chrome, molybdenum, manganese, silicon and vanadium. these added bits can strengthen the metal and make it easier to braze or weld. The new Reynolds 953 is a stainless steel that aims to compete with carbon and aluminium.

[Bill Newton]

Harry I'm using a 1990's condor 653 as a single speed and I agree it is a perfect frame for the purpose. Tim if you can get an old frame cheap then I would spend on the wheels. There are some very nice hubs available (have a look at Phil Wood!!) and some with space on both sides for a cog so you can have one fixed one single speed or a 16T one side and 18T the other. You just undo the hub and turn the wheel round to use the other cog.

[Tim Hart]

Thanks for all the help. I am trying to find an old frame with horizontal dropouts. I've had a look on eBay but the frames are mostly vertical dropouts. From the advice I could go for one of these but I would rather do it properly and get horizontals. I guess it's just a case of being patient and waiting for one to come up for sale! Thanks again everyone.