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  • Come to think of it, rear end spacing is only half the battle...

    With the Day One frame I used to have, in order to run it fixed I had to choose between running a spaced out 'track' wheel with circa 42mm chainline or using a disc rear hub flipped round with a bolt on cog which had a wider chainline.

    I don't think I had chainstay clearance to do the former (it'd have also meant finding a longer axle for an unbranded sealed bearing hub, not easy) and the latter gave a rear chainline that was wider than the outer chainring position on the GXP road crank I was using.

    I opted for the latter and had to fit washers between my crankarm and chainring to correct the chainline.

    Either option was sub par for a bike which was to be set up fixed for the forseeable future, neither would have made for a quickly or easily swappable setup.

    The hub I was using was a trials hub so it had a freewheel thread on the other side but the chainline on that was different again. A disc compatible cassette hub could be set up to give the same chainline fixed and free but to go from that to a geared set up would require changing the front chainline.

    On the other hand, it'd take around a minute to swap a flip flop fix/free track hub in my Pompino. Had I not cut the brake posts off of mine*, a further minute or two and I could fit/remove the rear brake as appropriate. Infact, I even have a 120mm spaced hub that takes a 5 speed screw on freewheel and a DMR hanger tug should I ever want to run gears on my Pomp.

    *I've only cut the post part off, I intend to drill and tap the bases of the brake mounts so I can have removable brake posts on my sub £100 frame.

  • Same issue with my day one, wanted the option to switch between fixed and free and it was always a pain. Ended up running an SS DMR revolver with a track cog and an old BB lockring or the standard SS wheel. Quickly came to the conclusion that its 135mm with gears or 120mm SS/fixed, any other combo is just too much hassle.

    My prediction for the Pompino V5 is 40c tyre clearance and small tweaks to the geo (steeper seat tube and longer top tube), they know their audience and wont make any dramatic changes. Basically a Bombtrack Arise 1 but 120mm spaced and blue.

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