Want a SS. I think?

[russ.will]

Hi,
I've been lurking around a few cycle forums for a while, but this one seems to be populated by helpful adults, so I've joined! The lurking was prompted by a single fact - I'm fat. Not fat, as inactive, but fat as in I need to do more and frankly, running is boring and killing my knees. They're knackered from having 'got off' too many moving motorcycles, so they don't like impact.

Being pretty much born and bred Cambridge, I'm a life long two wheeler and have had a motley collection of bikes over the years. A Bob Jackson 753 frame with Campag Comp C groupset was probably the peak back in the early 90s, with various Raleigh 'racers' and most recently, a Kona Blast MTB, having punctuated the intervening years.

The Kona has just been Fleabayed. All attempts to roadify it, still leave it feeling like cycling through treacle, so I want to just revert to the modus operandi I use most - Thanks to moving well out of town, this means Cambridgeshire's marvelously underbaked Misguided Busway. It's as flat as a fart and once you're on it, you find a gear and just stay in it.

This lead me to thinking about single speed bikes and more specifically, steel framed SS due to the softer ride. I've test ridden a couple, namely a Quella Trinity (nice, but didn't like the bullhorns or the gearing) and an SE Bikes Draft Lite, which I really liked. So I started Googling and, as any n00b would, confused myself. My question is and god knows, I've taken long enough to get round to it, is:

If you had a self imposed budget of £400, would you buy an off the peg, go second hand, or take this early 90s Raleigh and modify it into a SS? Bear in mind that I'm DIY competent in wood or metal, so the idea of grinding off outdated lugs, etc, is a non issue:

A penny for your thoughts!

Cheers,

Russell

 

[Andrew_Culture]

£400! You can pretty much build the most amazing SS ever with that budget and DIY skills. I shall watch this thread with interest!

 

[russ.will]

Blimey! That was a swift reply. Do you think the Raleigh frame from the back of the garage is worth a punt?

I should add that, surfing has shown me a proliferation of far eastern manufactured parts that, no doubt, offer value previously unhinted at when I last built a bike. By the same token, there seem to be so many manufacturers now, that I haven't got a blind Scooby what I'm looking at - Guidance in all aspects will be sought!

Cheers in advance,

Russell

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Blimey! That was a swift reply. Do you think the Raleigh frame from the back of the garage is worth a punt?
Cheers in advance,
Russell

If I'm honest I'd start with a road bike frame, but nuts to that, the whole joy of singlespeed is if it feels good do it. I bought my frame for fifty quid from eBay and most of the rest of the parts were bits being chucked out by friends.

 

[russ.will]

That's sort of what stuck me about the Raleigh frame. They might have called it an MTB, but it's clearly a road bike with chunky bits attached, nothing more. The top tube is horizontal and the reach to the bars comfortable. The 21.5" frame seems bang on in terms of the 56cm frames I've tried out, but I'm none the wiser as regards to modern frame developments - Are the frames on the likes of (for instance) a Quella One, better for some reason?

Russell

 

[HovR]

That Raleigh has horizontal dropouts, so it is definitely a candidate for single speed conversion, but you'll need to put work in to it.

You'll start by stripping off all the excess geared stuff, and then re-packing the bearings with grease.

Next you'd need to fit a single chainring rather than the triple up front, fit a single speed freewheel to the rear rather than the multispeed, then redish the rear wheel so the two line up. Now you can fit the chain and adjust the chain tension by moving the wheels backwards and forwards in the dropouts.

Now you could do all this very cheaply if you pick and choose your parts carefully, and you'll also learn a lot if you haven't tackled anything like this before.

Saying that, I doubt the bike will ride as nice as a new single speed built on a road frame, but it may possibly be worth it for the fun of the build (if you're in to restoring things) and to see on the cheap if you get along with single speed. It would also make a nice pub bike, or for when you don't want to take your nice bike out.

Alternatively you can get single speed frames from On-One very cheaply (around £100) such as the Pompino and the Macinato. These are good quality frames that will leave you with plenty of cash left over for things such as wheels, drivechain, bars, saddle, fork etc etc. You should be able to build up a very good bike for under £400 on to one of these frames if you are careful and buy good deals.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

I reckon someone will come along and ask what the beast weighs. Ignore that and bung some spacers and a singlespeed thingy on it and see how it feels.

I know very little about frames, but if it feels good to ride then go nuts

 

[Boris Bajic]

Building can be cheap, but there are hidden costs (or can be).

First, if the frame you have in mind doesn't have horizontal dropouts, it gets tricky. So you need to buy or salvage an old frame... and as buyers learn that there is a demand for these from fixie-builders, prices can be high.

Secondly, you will be buying a new rear wheel, sprocket and (if you are re-commissioning a bike unused for years) quite a few cables and cable outers and so on. Not hugely expensive, but it does add up in little dribs and drabs.

Buying new is attractive if you don't have a frame kicking about. I had one, so i built... but might have bought had I not.

If you like riding that Raleigh frame you have and find the frame geometry pleasant and usable, then it would be a fun place to start.

I left the lugs on mine, although I did have the rear end squashed to 120mm so I didn't need spacers.

I have a passionate hatred of cantilever brakes, but I see your frame looks as if it might accept other types.

Like others, I'm looking forward to seeing what you choose to do. i imagine you'll go for the Raleigh and I think you'll enjoy the result.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Alternatively you can get single speed frames from On-One very cheaply (around £100) such as the Pompino and the Macinato. These are good quality frames that will leave you with plenty of cash left over for things such as wheels, drivechain, bars, saddle, fork etc etc. You should be able to build up a very good bike for under £400 on to one of these frames if you are careful and buy good deals.

Oooh, lovely link - I've been thinking of replacing my frame!

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Oh shoot, now I'm thinking of building a whole new bike...

 

[apb]

£400 you could buy a charge plug, they're cool bikes but do you want something more unique? As they're also popular. That frame is pretty unique (they don't make them like that anymore). I would go for the conversion.

Are they 26" wheels? If so that would be a negative for me as 700c wheels with skinny slick tyres will have less rolling resistance.

 

[russ.will]

Chaps, this is fantastic info. I was assuming that I'd dump every single last bit of the doner bike except the frame and forks. I was assuming that I'd grind off the bits that history has rendered irrelevant and get a re-spray, although I will keep the mudguard lugs - This year won't be the last wet year and although I don't mind the rain, a wet bum is a pain in the....

Russell

 

[russ.will]

Oh s***, now I'm thinking of building a whole new bike...

Do NOT hang this round my neck!

Russell

 

[russ.will]

£400 you could buy a charge plug, they're cool bikes but do you want something more unique? As they're also popular. That frame is pretty unique (they don't make them like that anymore). I would go for the conversion.

Are they 26" wheels? If so that would be a negative for me as 700c wheels with skinny slick tyres will have less rolling resistance.

I will double check - Like I say, this is all new to me. I think I measured 35cm clearance from the centre of the rear drop outs to the rear brake mounting and a little less to the underside of the fork tube - please excuse terminological inexactitude. I'm happy to dump the forks, if and ONLY if, the frame is worth keeping.

interesting that you mention the Charge Plug - It was on my radar, but much like my hi-fi and scopes, I'm always interested in a solution that delivers more bang for my colonial pound, with a bit of free time expenditure, if it works.

Russell

 

[jim55]

talking of macianato ,i just built this very recently