Drivetrain, Frame compatibility

Been reading the forum for a few days now along with other resources trying to gather information on a fixed-gear conversion and have a question so I thought I'd join and contribute or rather not contribute with my severe lack of knowledge.

I've mostly been looking at on-one.co.uk (who are sold out of almost everything for some reason) and hubjub.co.uk at parts to use for a fixed-gear conversion. I'm on a tight budget so I'll not really be wanting to use any premium parts. I'll most likley want a new rear wheel and drivetrain.

The thing I don't understand is sorting out the chain line. I'm assuming if I find a 10 speed then If I use a 120mm hub with a matching advertised chain line (42mm seems standard) crank they'll match up. If not how do I know before I buy parts.

Going on a 120mm spaced bike would these parts sort me out:

On-One CNC Alloy Screw-On Track Sprocket 1/8" 16T - £10.00
On-One Track Lock-Ring - £1.00
On-One Large Flange Track Hub (120mm, 42mm chainline) 32h rear Silver - £15.00
On-One Reetard Rim 32h - £12.50
Wheelbuild with Sapim Double butted spokes - £20.00
Sugino RD Messenger (1/8" 44T, 42mm chainline with supplied BB) - £60.00
KMC S10 Stainless Chain 1/8" - £10.00 (needed because the Messenger is 1/8")

Total - £128.50

The majority of these parts are out of stock at the moment but by the time I find a bike they'll probably all be back or suitable replacements will be available for similar prices. Am I right in assuming that old 10 speeds are 120mm spaced as are current track frames. Another thing I'd like to know is what the h means after the number of spokes in hub and rim specs.

I thought 5spd rears were spaced at 126mm. Ask Sheldon Brown, his number is 0879-http://www.google.com ;)

Nup, that's 6spd, 5spd IS 120mm: http://sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html

Aren't the Reetard rims xc rims?
Do you have a frame for the conversion already? No point worrying about chainline for a non-existant frame.

Brant and the boys are really sound, ask and they will see you right.

However, On One can seldom supply a full kit of anything. They seem to lurch from one container load of 'bargain offers" to the next.

It's all generic Taiwanese crap, usually available in a multitude of other brandnames. Lots of the MTB kit can be found under the DMR brand, fer example.

They have a useful forum, most of which seems to discuss quality issues with the bikes and/or components.

Of the small handfull of items I've bought from On-One, they've either been returned or replaced with a decent quality version.

kowalski It's all generic Taiwanese crap

I can see what you mean. Their prices, especially for hubs, are extremely low in comparison to other places. Maybe it's not such a good idea going for the cheap route.

hippy Aren't the Reetard rims xc rims?
Do you have a frame for the conversion already?

I haven't a clue about the rims. You're probably right. I haven't got a frame for the conversion yet and I'm really just trying to find out how much I'll need to spend to 'fix' up an old bike.

i would try and get some mavic rims if you can those retards are heavy.
on-one were doing suze hubs are these any good? (if they are still doing them?)
i would stick to the branded stuff they do as they are usually good prices, the own brand stuff if mostly just rebadged straight out of the parts catalogue

The Suzue pro-maxs On-one do are great bloody hubs for the money. Come in SB (sealed bearings - fixed/free) and NJS (loose ball - although only the 36hole is NJS approved - fixed/fixed). They also have the fancy carbon fibre hubs but probably not the best things to ride on the street.

I've got a rear NJS Pro-Max thats still going strong after 6 years of abuse.

Suzue stopped production of these hibs so this is the last significant supply of these hubs.

Word is, that the Dia Compe Gran Compes are made with the same tooling as the ProMax hubs. They're black, fixed/fixed, sealed bearing and available for the same price from Brixton Cycles.

I'm sure On-One was sold out of these..

hippy I'm sure On-One was sold out of these..

Nah they're still showing the NJS and Carbon ones as available

But if you don't want to deal with loose-balls, get the Gran Compes instead.

andy_leitch - my advice is always invest a little in your rear wheel. You can run anything in the front and upgrade it at your leisure. But a good rear wheel will see you proud and will have some resale value as well.

How wide is the Retard rim? It looks like it has a pretty wide cross-section for taking more mountain bike style tires. Is the use you had in mind? Or are you just going to be riding on the road? You may want something more suitable for road tires, I'd check with on-one what size tires you can run on those things.

Oh yeah, maybe I was looking for the 36H variant? Mmm.. 24H carbon.. ;)

I think it might be a good idea for you to get a frame before you start thinking about chainline etc. are you looking to buy a complete bike then strip off the gears etc and fit the fixed rear wheel? you'd save yourself a bit of money if you bought a bike with a decent bb/crankset on it already.

Lets hear it for Miche hubs!
£53 Clicky here.

I pointlessly advertise there stuff, they should pay me, or give me free stuff.

haha tommo you miche fan

asm I think it might be a good idea for you to get a frame before you start thinking about chainline etc. are you looking to buy a complete bike then strip off the gears etc and fit the fixed rear wheel? you'd save yourself a bit of money if you bought a bike with a decent bb/crankset on it already.

Are you suggesting that I just sort out the rear wheel and modify the standard 2 ring crank with spacers to sort the chain line out to something acceptable. I like the sound of this and it means that I can afford to spend more on the rear wheel and the crank because I can wait a while between them. This leads me onto another question. How do you modify a 2 ring crank to fit nicely with a hub.

You should be chainging a bottom braket to sort out the chain line idealy, spacer are a bodge and should only be used for minor adjustment. Even if you bought a new crank chances are you would need to buy a new bottom braket to sort out the chain line, also the new crank may not be compatible with your old bb. To convert a crank you just take off the chain ring you don't need and buy some short stack chainring bolts. Easy peasy.

You might be pleasantly surprised, spacers on the BB might not even be needed. but as tommy says only use them for minor adjustment. I'd say that you'd probably want to mount the chainring you want to use to the outermost mounting on the crank, I'd speculate that that would give you the best chance of lining it up with the rear hub. Be careful when choosing the chainring, i'd recommend smaller rather than bigger, and remember to compensate with the rear cog. you dont want to start fixed-gearing with a high ratio, or you may end up doing what i did and knock yourself unconscious! 42 x 16 or 48 x 18 are supposedly good ratios, I'm on 48 x 16 at the moment and i dnt like it... scary going down hills without the leg muscles to slow yourself down properly :S