multiple speed to single speed conversion

i read this and it looks like i have to build a back wheel, amirite? cuz that's cheaper than buying one yaknow.
has anyone actually done this? pointers?

i herd it's not worth it. maybe cheaper but it will take you a long time and you will do it rong.

so you think just get a cheaper fix bike then

oh i was talking about building your own wheel. assembling bikes in general is not that bad but you might need to shell out $$$ for a few tools. i would want to have tools anyway though

yea i was totally thinking about doing this in stages the most important of which would be xmas gifts that would be tools: chain breaker, chainwhip hmm what else??

also
this

if its the only wheel you're likely ever to build, id say don't do it. ive built many wheels because when i was racing, wheels weren't pre-built like now. i still love to build/rebuild wheels, but nowadays, its not much of a skill to have.

that said, dishless wheels are pretty damn easy. rear wheels are little trickier. my first 3 or 4 wheels were acceptable, but i didnt get really good until maybe my 10th or so.

so what yr saying is buy a rear wheel then?

i dont wanna turn anyone off learning a fun thing.

still probly better off buying unless you have inclination, and esp access to truing stand.

do you own a truing stand then hunt3r? i mean i was thinking that it would be fun to do and could earn my household a few extra bucks by constantly fixing up shitty bikes and selling them. perhaps this is an "investment" i should think about? also bike stands: necessary?

Yeah.

if its the only wheel you're likely ever to build, id say don't do it.

i mean i was thinking that it would be fun to do and could earn my household a few extra bucks by constantly fixing up shitty bikes and selling them.

well...

theres a lot to unpack here. yeah, if youre gonna do a lot of bike work, you'll want both kinds of stands.

id HIGHLY recommend working in a shop for a little bit

jdchurchill, you are in chicago, yes?

Is JD about to get the hookup?

kinda the opposite: if yr living in chicago, then do not even entertain the idea of buying shitty bikes and flipping them as singlespeeds. i know personally like ten people that have done this at times, and they all actually know what they're doing (are or have been mechanics or are serious home enthusiasts)

if you want to do it for your own edification, then awesome, go for it: i built the rear wheel on my track bike, it was a good way to kill an afternoon and a couple beers. in the end, i got it tensioned by a local shop because i didn't have a truing stand. cost about half of what it would have had they done the whole thing themselves.

also, three words: WEST TOWN BIKES

gbx thanks i didnt want to smash enthusiasm.

but now u got me started so lemme say if u dont tension ur not building. its not like surgery where you just let someone else close but get credit for the procedure.

I true by eyeballing at the brakes. Probably not a professional job I'm doing.

ps I do not build wheels I am a noob.

sometimes if it clears the brakes u just call it all good and roll on.

I push the brake pad one way and eyeball, and then the other way and eyeball on the other side, and I repeat and pinch a the spokes a couple at a time until I'm satisfied.

delete the word a before the the

but now u got me started so lemme say if u dont tension ur not building. its not like surgery where you just let someone else close but get credit for the procedure.

― bitter about emo (Hunt3r), Wednesday, November 11, 2009 2:37 PM (6 minutes ago) [IP: 67.132.3.242] Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

oh totally. i realized this once it became clear that there was no way i was gonna get the thing true. it was a fun proj anyway

i want a truing stand someday because watching the brakes doesn't work for me. great frustration.

"id HIGHLY recommend working in a shop for a little bit"

i've been going to working bikes for months, and feel really confident about my ability as a mechanic. i don't have experience building wheels yet, but i've replaced spokes and trued many.

has anyone built they own bike stand? i was also thinking about that

and i guess single speed is vague, i really wanna try the fixed gear thing
this looks close to what i wanna do

joeks on being the wheel nazi gbx :)

dunno about building stands but know u will enjoy wrenching a lot more with one

xpost

i use them at wb, but at home i just deal
they have a couple of home-made looking ones i should just study them and come up with my own solution. the clamp part seems like the only tough component

i say again: hie thee to west town bikes

what is it i will find there gbx? or is it a secret
or do you work there and just want a chum?

*google it*

:D

ah yr so damn tight lipped gbx! perhaps i will sign up for the wheelbuilding class . . .

are saturdays there just fuckin nuts with people taking up the stations and shit or what?

yeah they can be. I usually went tuesdays

bamcquern and harbl: dig this dudes. build yr own precision truing stand for the crib!

gbx how militant are they about throwing cash in the can? i mean i guess i will just start to find out myself by GOING there, currently i go to dorking bikes on tuesdays tho

xpost truing stands again:
http://bikehacks.com/5-diy-truing-stands/

gbx how militant are they about throwing cash in the can? i mean i guess i will just start to find out myself by GOING there, currently i go to dorking bikes on tuesdays tho
--slowcoreenactsfrustrationdoubtandevenfearofneverbeingfulfilled (jdchurchill)

I see you are familiar with the argot.

pay what you can afford imo. it deserves yr support

dudes
should i just buy a pair of these wheelz?

sure why not? get the white ones, imo. if you put them on an old road bike you will have the cycling world's version of a havanan taxi

"havanan taxi"?
http://www.chocolate-fish.net/albums/Cuba/Havana/Havana-coco-taxi-3869.jpg
but i was thinking the black ones, cuz i am def. more into black