Single-speed Trek

My first from-scratch bike project is getting ready.

I converted a geared Trek hybrid into a singlespeed with the help of a friend who had already built one similar bike.

Here's a short photo-diary, some pics from me and some from my friend.

Getting started...

Here's how the bike looked in the beginning

Old crankset and chainrings had to go. We also washed the bike pretty thoroughly after this...

Getting rid of the gears. So long.

First version...

Chain tensioner and a 12T cog (which was way too small). There's a Surly ss spacer kit and the tensioner is the Surly singleator.

Second version...

No chain tensioner! With a bigger cog the tension is just about right. Hard to believe with the vertical dropouts but it's true.

It's starting to look like an actual bicycle. After this pic I took the first ride. Both the bike and the cyclist survived without casualties. The gear ratio felt pretty good. Also, meet little Mr. Curiosity.

Wrapping it up

There's still some stuff left to do. The suspended seatpost has to go and the rear brake needs some fixing.

Altogether it was a really fun project which also demystified my approach to bicycle mechanics a lot.

Now to get some riding done with this and see if any problems arise. I'm already pretty adjusted to the idea that sooner or later I'm going to need the chain tensioner back, but let's see.

at 22:31 in /cycling | 10 comments