Ok forgive my noobish ignorance, but i was wondering if anyone had any tips for converting a 10speed to either a fixy for singlespeed. Like cost, ease, have it done? do it myself? anything is helpful! Thanks! Peace
Anything can be done so no worries there. Cost can depend on a variety of factors. How many, if any, parts do you currently own, if you choose to do it yourself, etc. It is pretty easy to do it yourself if you have some general bike knowledge and some mechanical skills. I would go SS before fixie if you are not familiar with them yet, its just a little easier to ride an SS at first because it will still free wheel (the wheels keep spinning even if you stop pedaling). You converting a mountain or road bike? Show us some pics of what you got if you can.
Singlespeed conversion can be done very cheap! I did my schwinn for maybe 20 bucks. Really, it depends on your dropouts. If you have horizontal drops, it's pretty simple. Here's all you will ever need to know about singlespeed conversion: Singlespeed Bicycle Conversions by Sheldon Brown
That should be an easy one. Looks like it has horizontal drops which is a good thing when doing ss conversions. It allows you to move the wheel in the drops to take up chain slack rather than use some kind of chain tensioner or eccentric hub. The only parts you should need are a cog and spacers.
I have done five fixed gear/ss conversions and sold 4 of them on Craigslist. I like to do one brake on the fixed gear but if you go SS then I think you should provide to two brakes (front and rear, obviously). On the fixed gears, I get a Quandro wheel from my LBS for about $50, new tires, tubes, and grips, and try to recycle everything else. Nice thing, if you do an SS'er conversion, the older model rear wheels have screw on gearing so, once you take that off you generally can find a BMX styled SS cog to go on there and negate the necessity for a new wheel.
