Converting to a Single Speed

I decided to write this post for anyone who is interested in working on their bicycle and glean some pointers from my experience converting a bicycle to a single speed.

Last summer I purchased a janky 1970's Huffy bicycle in hopes of fixing it up to be a commuter.  Here's the starting condition and after stripping off all the logos I started painting the bike red.

I'd advise wearing a mask, especially on these older bikes... lead paint.  I replaced the Huffy logo with an Om symbol.  I just used regular ol' red spray paint with a rust resistant base.  The paint looks spotted because I tried using this reflective paint in hopes that at night my bike would really stand out to cars.  However, the reflective particulates don't come out evenly so in hind sight I'd recommend against this.  I still need to put a clear coat over all this (perhaps next summer)... maybe some sort of an automobile clear paint to seal everything in and make the frame less likely to attract dirt.  I'd appreciate any suggestions if anyone knows of good paint for a bicycle.

Some other pretty committee changes...

And here's the final product from last summer.

Given the decals I painted and color scheme, my coworkers have dubbed this as 'Buddha Bike'.  So this summer this name got me thinking... if this is going to be a 'buddha' bike it'd better be true to its name.  One of the beautiful things about buddhism is simplicity.  So what better way to honor this name than to convert it to a single speed.  Remove the gear hub... remove any attachments (pun intended).  So now onto the process of converting to a single speed!

I chose to keep the brakes since I do have a few hills and, how shall I say this... 'slightly less aware' pedestrians and car drivers in my neighborhood.  I also decided to go with a free wheel since I'm not quite ready to go to a fixed gear (resistive pedaling to slow down).  That's another great thing about buddha bike... nothing is permanent and its always changing.  If you are interested you can buy a wheel hub that lets you easily switch between fixed and free.  I also ordered new rims since the old ones were pretty warped and I don't have a truing stand (yet)... although in this case I think it might have been a futile effort.

REMOVAL OF ATTACHMENTS: I removed all the cables, shifter, derailleur, and old brakes.  Really, nothing special to note here... except that if you are not familiar with bicycles or this is your first endeavor into bicycle maintenance (like it was for me) I'd take pictures or notes so you can remember how things are attached.  And keep a pile of parts for each 'system' that you are removing.

BRAKES: The new brakes I ordered were essentially the same type, but just slightly more advanced, more powerful, and lighter.  The key I noticed to installing brakes is to have the self tightening washer. 

Also, for these new brakes there is a little screw on the top (see picture) that lets you adjust the brakes left/right when viewing from the front.  This is a fine tuning adjustment with only a small turn necessary to make a large movement in the brakes... but very handy.

Since, I was replacing the brakes I also went ahead a replaced the brake cables and cable housing.  You'll need a special cable cutter for this since the cable housing is not just plastic but has a metal inner, hollow core.  These cutters are about $40.  When replacing the cables before you cut the new ones measure the length of the old cables so you don't cut them too short.








REAR WHEEL: Since I ordered new wheels I didn't need to worry about removing the old wheel's hub.  If you are doing this it requires a special tool and from the online tutorials I've read doesn't seem like a complicated process.  You just need to prevent the wheel from rotating about the spindle so you can loosen the hub.  I ordered a 16 for the rear wheel single speed gear ($15).  I'm told this is a bit high in resistance for a typical single speed but I'd rather not max out on 'comfortable' rpms and have extra torque.  Once you remove your rear gear hub, you just need to screw on your single speed gear on the rear wheel by hand.

Above, is the before and after picture.  Looks so much simpler and its quieter!

CHAIN: I still had the original chain on this bike so I decided to replace it.  Something you may want to consider, is using a single speed chain.  They are much more robust than a standard road chain.  This type of chain has a special link (golden in picture below) that snaps on (by hand).  These chains are pretty inexpensive... I paid about $12.

A caveat to this type of a chain, is that once you snap the final link on its really difficult (even with a chain tool), if not impossible to remove without damaging the chain.  The 'regular' links are not really designed to be added.  So be sure you remove links slowly until you are certain you find the correct length of the chain.  This may require you to move the rear wheel forward or back to have the proper chain tension.  I don't think it is necessary to have a dynamic chain tensioner on the rear wheel... although some people use them.  I feel this way for two reasons: 1. its a single speed... its supposed to have less parts :) and 2. if you put the chain at the right tension when putting on the wheel this additional part isn't necessary.  One handy tip for putting a chain on is to have your chain tool and use an old wire/hangar to help link the two ends together so you can use your hands for putting the rivet into the two open ends.  Plus its cost is great... $0!

That's about it! Pretty simple huh? I did some other pretty committee touch ups too, like adding a new seat...

and I did order new pedals to match the paint and seat, but turns out the crank is so old that the thread diameter is not the common size used today.  So I'd recommend measuring this yourself.

In this process I've learned to not trust a local bike shop mechanic's word 100% and its a good place to start with anything but sometimes its just better to do it yourself!  Plus when you're out riding, you won't have a mechanic to help you out!

Hope this helps you or at least perks an interest in working on your bicycle.  Feel free to ask me questions.

Happy Riding!