Wanting to go fixie, looking for advice

[Batch]

I’m looking for advice.

I snapped my rear derailleur clean in two this morning, it wasn’t pretty and I’m not too sure how it happened. I was out for a morning ride, the chain gear started making funny noises and then kaboom, everything locked up, my derailleur ended up in my spokes, my chain around my pedal and me carrying my bike home.

It’s an unfortunate situation but it has given me a thought that I might take this opportunity to make the switch to single speed gearing.

I’m hoping to get some tips, pointers or guides on making this happen. Any advice will be welcome - what sort of cost will I be looking at? Are fixies harder to ride? What sort of gearing should I be looking for?

I ride a Cannondale Bad Boy 07, I commute about 20 miles a day and have just started riding about 30 miles a day on the weekends in preparation for the C2C later in the year.

Thanks

 

[betty swollocks]

Several things to consider:-
i) you'll have to attach your cranks to a single chainring. Maybe the outer chainring you already have will do? You may need shorter chain ring bolts to do this. I'd suggest going for a gear of around 65 - 70 inches.
ii) to get the chainline right, you'll probably need to install a bottom bracket with a shorter axle.
iii) you then need to think about how you're going to keep the chain taut. I assume your Bad Boy has vertical rear drop outs. If it does, then you'll need some sort of chain tensioner. I know that Cannondale do single speed Bad Boys and I assume these have track ends....so maybe yours does too? If it does, you're sorted.
iv) you'll need a suitable hub built up into a suitable wheel.
As for costs in adapting your bike to fixed: don't know, bit it's reasonable to say that it depends on what bits you can use that you already have and the quality of the extra components you choose.
Riding fixed is different: I think it's easier and much more fun!

 

[simonali]

The Bad Boy SS has an eccentric bottom bracket and vertical drop outs.

Funnily enough, I was looking into buying one not half an hour ago and it turns out UK dealers are stilll waiting on stock. In other words, they've been advertising them since Sept '07 despite never actually having any!

That'll be why I can't find any reviews anywhere, coz no-one has one!

 

[betty swollocks]

The Bad Boy SS has an eccentric bottom bracket and vertical drop outs.

Well, that makes life easier!

 

[skwerl]

Well, that makes life easier!

not really, given that Batch rides a Bad Boy and not a Bad boy s/s.
So the whole vert dropout, no eccentric BB rules out fixed, unless you go down the ENO hub route

 

[simonali]

not really, given that Batch rides a Bad Boy and not a Bad boy s/s.
So the whole vert dropout, no eccentric BB rules out fixed, unless you go down the ENO hub route

Agreed. Only the SS model has the EBB and you can't buy one!

 

[betty swollocks]

So the geared one doesn't have an ebb then.
Ok, back to the chain tensioner or the ENO.

 

[Landslide]

Or the "magic gear"...

Try here for starters?
http://eehouse.org/fixin/fixmeup.php