|
MountainBikeReview.com's Forum Archives - Singlespeed
|
|
Piece of junk singlespeed, is it worth building? (10 posts)
|  Piece of junk singlespeed, is it worth building? | bikerboy
May 27, 2003 7:36 PM | | Ok so Ive been wanting to dabble in the single speed thing for a while, it seems interesting. I dont want to spend a lot of money on one because Im poor and I dont want it going to waste if I dont like it. So, here are my plans and I would appreciate the feedback. My friend at work has a crappy old Huffy or Murray or something he had been riding to work. He is gettin a car now and wont need to bike. I have offered him $15 for it and I think he is willing to take it once he no longer needs it. The bike is your typical junk bike, but I see promise as a singlespeed. Its all scratched up and has no brakes. The frame is straight and has those magical horizontal dropouts. It also has a nice looking fatty rigid fork on it. My plans are to use some parts Ive got from upgrading my other bikes and buying what I need to complete it. Im going to try to reuse the rear wheel by respacing the hub and redishing the wheel so hopefully I can get a decent chainline once I put a SS freewheel on. Ive got some V-brakes I can use to make it stop, a nice seat, some handlebars, a few odds and ends. So, Im going to need a differnt crank (any that has replaceable chainrings), freewheel, new chain, and a seatpost to replace that horrible cheesy chrome 2 piece POS. I have a knack for hunting ebay and the discount online stores for parts, especially cheapo stuff. Im hoping to have less than $100 in the bike total. Later once I got the bike working, I would tear it back apart and repaint the frame and make it look nicer, probably using flat black krylon as my color.
Do this sound like a good project for someone who likes to tinker, or would I just be opening a can of worms trying to use a crappy old walmart bike? |
| I thought about doin my Huffy... | Sexly
May 27, 2003 7:50 PM | | But decided its NOT worth it! The thing is these bikes suck. The frames suck, the drivetrains suck, everything about them sucks! The best part on my Huffy is the Shimano Altus C-30 derailleur and Shimano Opti-Shift thumb shifters (think pre rapid fire). I imagine this bike is a lot like my Huffy and when I looked at all I woulld need to upgrade, and still be left with a heavy ugly poor quality ride, I decided it was a waste of money. Consider getting a cheap frame from Nashbar.com... they had (have?) steelies for $40, they aren't that light but its a heck of a lot better than a huffy. The frame would work perfect with a Kona Project 2 fork ($60). |
| totally do it ! | AmyTheWasp
May 27, 2003 7:53 PM | | Hey,
You found a cheap, steel frame with horizontal dropouts? Build it into a Single Speed. You will totally love it. Plus, riding a bike that you built with your own hands is the best. When you get addicted to the SS, then you can buy a better frame and pass those parts over. No loss, just fun.
If it was my frame, I would make sure that the new paint did not cover up the Huffy sticker. Maybe it is me, but some of these cheap frames have a certain charm.
ride like a girl,
amy |
| I'll second that | TrevorInSoCal
May 28, 2003 9:15 AM | | While I didn't go bargain-basement route for my first singlespeed, I sorta did with the fixie I just built up.
It's a crappy old steel Nishiki ($40) that I built up with some bargain-bin supergo parts, a set of cranks ordered from Sheldon Brown's site, and a sweet set of wheels that I sorta splurged on (Phil Wood hubs, Mavic Open Pro rims). If it wasn't for the wheels (we won't talk about what those cost) it'd be a sub-$200 project.
It's (mostly) a beater but I'm loving it so far.
Plus with a nice set of wheels and decent (though cheap 'cause they were mostly clearance items) parts I won't need to replace anything other than the front brake when I eventually upgrade the frame.
Thinking custom steel...soma, steelman, sycip, sofaking, something along those lines.
-Trevor |
| re: Piece of junk singlespeed, is it worth building? | Chump Bosner VII
May 27, 2003 8:07 PM | | That sounds like a cool project. I always have the most fun on the crappiest bikes anyway.
The only thing I would be worried about is frame/fork durability. In other words, that bike might be TOO crappy to beat the hell out of because you might be worried about breaking it (I would, at least). Do you have any old frames lying around? Even one with vertical dropouts. I don't think chain tensioners are as evil as some make them out to be, especially if you're just testing the water. You might also consider using a decent rear wheel with cassette spacers and a single cog. Personally, I just can't imagine having much fun if I was worried about my bike falling apart underneath me. It might even be worth it to buy a really cheap (but good) frame. You said you have the knack for buying cheap stuff, right?
My favorite bike is a singlespeed put together from old but durable parts including an old dented (but still structurally sound) steel frame, an ooold marzocchi z2 fork, and rediculously wide riser bars.
Bike swaps are a great place to find parts for a singlespeed. Don't worry about the money so much because you'll like singlespeeding, I promise.
Chump Bosner VII |
| worthy as a concept demonstrator | club
May 28, 2003 5:19 AM | | bottom line is, how do you feel about riding a frame like that on real singletrack, knowing how much better a higher quality frame feels and handles?
that said, if it's your first SS project, it's well worth converting to learn how it's done. Then when you happen upon a better frame, you'll know what you need, what gearing works in your area, etc. Just don't put much money into it, you can't polish a turd. Build it, ride it, learn, then move on. |
| of course it is! | red-haze
May 28, 2003 7:56 AM | | this is the natural progression, you'll slowly upgrade all the parts, learn about SS handling and body english, what frame sizes will work for you better, and then you can get the frame you REALLY want and move all the parts over. then retire that huffy frame to hang in the garage as wall art after its all said and done with. Horizontal drop-outs are not to be over looked, if that frame is close to your size, NOT running a tensioner will be the most fun. I've run tensioners before, and they do nicely, but having a solid chainline...it does make a difference.
b DO
redish that wheel, I've severely bent non-redished axles from those cheapy huffy/magna (wallmart) wheels. Thats how I started.
Don't dump the nasty welded together cranks,
b yet.
mebbe grind down the outer ring teeth and use it as a bash guard. Paint it all flat black like you wanna paint your frame.
that rigid? fork is probably good for general hard trail use, but I'd shy away from drops bigger than a foot or so. if its a nasty suspension fork, see if you can get a rigid fork from an lbs for cheap. the sus forks on those bikes are dangerous to ride off of curbs with.
just my two cents,
bob
http://red-haze.com |
| some more info... | bikerboy
May 28, 2003 1:56 PM | | Well I appreciate all the feedback everybody has given me. Just to give yall a little more info...I want this to be as cheap as possible. That is why I like this bike for its horiz. dropouts because I wont have to plop down $40 on a singulator or other tensioner. Another thing is I dont do drops or other hard riding, just plunkin down the trail. Thats why it doesnt bother me having a rigid fork and a funky steel frame. I do like the idea of saving the crappy crank with the fixed rings. The only problem I might have is not being able to redish the rear wheel enough to give me a decent chainline with the middle ring perhaps making it necessary to find a different length bottom bracket. Once Ive done that I might as well get spend the extra $7 on a cheap suntour crank Ive found somewhere. I have figured that I would be able to do just as well if I found a little bit better bike from a garage sale or something for lets say $50 that would need much less parts. Is it worth saving myself a little money by getting a better used bike to use or do you think it to be more fun having a bike that I sweat over and cursed at myself? |
| a bike in hand is better than two in the garage sale... | red-haze
May 28, 2003 2:24 PM | | or something like that.
BUT! if'n ya wanna look around first before giving up even $15 to your buddy, mebbe hit some garage sales this weekend. but don't spend too much time on it, 'cause time spent garage saling is time lost singlespeeding.
oh, and ya should get an idear how much ya need to dish the wheel by sighting down the middle ring to the rear axle.
bob |
| go 4 it | Ziggy Stardust
May 29, 2003 9:26 AM | | I would think a steel clunker frame like that would be as tuff as nails and would be kewl to ride. I rode the C&O canal with a guy that had a cheesy steel dept store Murray, real heavy. Everyone laughed at him and his dorky, poorly adjusted/fitted bike, but by mile 75 they weren't laughing anymore. He was riding faster than most everyone else (conditioned from marching in the Army) on their fancy XT/XTR "boutique" bikes and sporty leotards. As usual, it's the rider NOT the bike, so don't be afraid to go with what you have.
Unless the bike has been hucked extensively and/or abused and/or ridden by a real lardo, and it doesn't have any factory defective welds...then it should be plenty strong and suitable for SS-ing. Heavy, but strong.
Depending on where you ride, you may want to make certain critical upgrades and perform certain critical preventative maintenance. If you ride in wet muddy conditions like I do alot, you can kiss the cheapass headset goodbye in no time. Buy a nice sealed one, or at the very least dissassemble the one on it, clean and grease it and continue to clean and grease on a weekly basis...because it will dry out and/or get gritty and FAIL. Same thing for the hubs. Get some good used XT's (you can pick them up for a song) and clean them out and repack (if necessary). Trust me I've been through these items alot. If you ride in dry climate mostly then these problems become much less of an issue.
There are tons of cheap but strong cranks to be had. Old STX-RC cranks are tough, look good and can be had for virtually nothing. Plus a new Shimano square BB is priced right.
Anyway have fun with it. It'll probably end up being a lot like a Redline. A friend of mine has one and its made of straight gage steel probably very similar to what you have....he loves it.
Good luck, Zig |
| |
|
|
