Frame Change?

[GIANTboy]

So very soon i hope to have an extra frame floating around (from a friend that wants to get rid of it) it is a road frame and i am wondering what i could turn it in to. a cross bike, single speed, track even? let me know what you think i could do with it.

[Nikki Alexander]

I hear fixies/single speeds are really fun to ride around campus

i am not sure a road bike frame would make a good cross frame? it's not as "beefy" and the sizing/fit is different. Just guessing, I could be wrong.

[Wrenchmeister]

To make a road frame into a single speed or track bike the frame needs to have horizontal dropouts to allow for chain tensioning. With vertical dropouts the best you can do is use a single speed freewheel with a chain tensioner. Most road frames do not have much tire clearance for cross use, and road geometry can be skittish when used off road. Substituting a cross fork for the original fork can help the steering, but you'll still have issues with rear tire clearance, and you'll still have to use a caliper brake in the rear.

[irish]

I can't remember off the top of my head who makes this, but there is a rear hub available for converting vertical dropout frames to single speed/fixed gear bikes. The axle is internally "adjustable" (on an eccentric) and is used to tension the chain. Seems like it was nearly $200 though.

[Wrenchmeister]

Good point Irish. The hub is the White Industries ENO, which you can see here: www.whiteind.com/ENO-hub-specs.html
It is a very cool item. Price is around $160. Unfortunately by the time you add in spokes, rim, and labor your wheel cost is over $250 which is a hefty price for part of a beater bike. Works with many frames, but not all as the eccentric moves the wheel around in relation to the frame and can potentially create issues with brake calipers. If I rode single speeds I would want one. I'm not sure why Irish doesn't have one yet...

[irish]

Poverty, my friend...