does anyone have any info. on how to go about this, or is it going to be mostly trial and error? People seem to get away with it alot, and I want to know if there is a way to try and determine what will and will not work for cog and chainring sizes, im working on a ss/fixed commuter mtb frame build (if I can get away with it) I hate chain tensioners/singleators, and will not use them. especially if I run this fixed.
pictures for. the bigger wordz.
done by owner. originally meant for gears
single speed model made by gt, still appears to have vertical drops?
etc
I have a fg w/ vertical drops. It’s a magic gear, obviously. It’s not as much fun as you seem to think… as the chain stretches you get play. I don’t mind too much but after a while, even despite massive luck with the chainstay length that fits my ratio perfectly to the tenth of a millimetre, plus some creative filing I’ve done on the axle and the dropout, I have to get a new chain because it starts to drop off the cog.
If there is a lot of space inside the chainstays, you could use a ghost chainring (GIS/Sheldon it). I can’t because my cog is too far out and it doesn’t really fit.
I used the magic gear method on my old Klein Pulse when I first got into SS/FG (yeah, FG offroad). I got about 200 miles out of a chain before it got loose enough to make me nervous. I never dropped one though. I used the cheap “Bell” brand chains at Wal-Mart so I wouldn’t feel too much pain replacing them often. At the time, they were $6 each, now they’re about $7. Pretty smooth and quiet for a cheap 1/8" chain.
I tried more expensive, tougher chains, but they didn’t last any longer than the Bell did.
this is true, but it isnt really all that worth it to me.
Im glad I got all this info, but I think im going to gear the GT and get a tomicog for the karate monkey if I ever want to try offroad fixed, since its already SS i’ll just lose the rotor and flip it over. sounds like too many precautions and constant upkeep and investment to make it worth it (especially on a $60 frame)
[quote=conor]you could always try filing the vertical dropouts. you know, to make them more horizontal.
clicky![/quote]
pretty sure that is just a frame without the derailleur hanger. the other side extends down farther. its also aluminum since its a gt triple tri road frame and has those ridiculous welds. and that sounds super sketchy.
I mean… you use a RD on a geared bike right? Pretty much the same thing minus the rise spring. I had a SS tensioner on a mountain bike, and moving it on over to a new MTB. Worked great and I am sure it will continue to work great.
Sure beats having to spend ~$160 for a eno hub (if you are running discs another $50 for a eno disc mount) or having to deal with chain stretch and magic gear ratios and half links.
People have been rocking tensioners on bikes that take far FAR more abuse then a commuter will ever see on BMX, Dirt Jump, Urban assault, freeride and downhill bikes with no problems. I’d say unless you really really HAD to have it fixed rock a tensioner.
At least in the offroad world, the folks who had the most problems with their SS were the ones using tensioners. The least troublesome were the track end equipped bikes and magic gears (once you accept the chain will stretch and you’ll replace it periodically).
