Conversion plan

An old friend I've lost contact with shares your name, and had become a photographer. Was pre-empting a bit of Six Degrees of Separation!

i'd just re-dish then run a sucide hub for a while. don't go brakeless though.
if you like it, then fork out for wheel with a proper track hub. or wait for a good deal on a s/h one to come up.
re: flip-flop hubs. if you've got the choice, go for fixed/fixed rather than fixed/free. you can still put a freewheel on a fixed thread, so it gives you a bit more flexibility.

Thats a coincidence! Well i'm assuming it's not me.. photography is only on the side. I'm doing a PhD in engineering as my main entertainment.

Yes, think re-dishing and a suicide hub would be best.. I've got the spare wheel to work with so if it all goes to pot I can just return to my old wheel chain etc...

re-dishing ain't too hard. just loosen one side then tighten the other. the worst damage you could do is knocking it out of true which is easily fixed.

An old friend I've lost contact with shares your name, and had become a photographer. Was pre-empting a bit of Six Degrees of Separation!

I'm Brian! And so's my wife!

I went for a Shimano single speed 15 tooth.. with 70mm cranks and 27" wheel and a 46 on the front that should be ok.. I'm going to try the alignment when it arrives, and then redish and organise spacing.. exciting.

Can always swap to a fixed at some point...

good lad, that's exactly what I did. then when I got used to the one gear, I swapped the freewheel for a cog and BB lockring. there's nothing wrong with running a suicide hub to dip your toe into fixed, as long as you have brakes that is!

whatever you do, DO NOT USE LOCKTITE!!! just grease the threads, you'll get the cog and ring on tighter and it will be easier to take off when you upgrade to a fixed hub.

My chainline is dead straight, thats without re-dishing or anything, just stuck a singlespeed onto my hub, runs really smoothly. I'm going to check out i've got the right size before getting a fixed, and putting it onto my other identicle wheel and hub... then i'll have two options!

Now, slight issue is whether my singlespeed alignment will translate to fixed alignment, as the singlespeed mechanism puts the sprocket a good cm out from the hub side, just hopeing I can space a fixed properly...

Still, very pleased it lined up so easily!

track cogs are usually assymetrical so simply flipping it over can adjust the line slightly. if you need more movement you can get a freewheel spacer from your lbs for pennies, or if you need even more spacing, you can you another BB lockring.

Excellent, I went with a 15T steel fixed cyclo sprocket. Cheap and cheerful, but I figure if i'm just having a go with my spare wheel and i've got breaks it shouldn't be a problem, i'll avoid the roads until I decide whether to get a proper fixed flip flop hub.

I'll also see if I need more clearance for the cranks.. If I do then it'll be abit pricey I expect, as I'd also need a new BB cranks and chainring (mine is a cotter pin style attachement) Any ideas how much a soild set would cost me?

Cheers

Toby

£60 up to whatever you can afford

I've now sorted out my two identicle back wheels with different setups.. One has a 16T freewheel which rides wonderfully smoothly, and feels like 4 gears in one on the hills/flat.

Then today i recieved a 15T fixed and put it on the other wheel, with a bottom bracket screwed up with it.. It seems pretty tight.

Riding home was very strange, lots of moments of half panic, you never realise how you coast whenever you sense you might need to stop or slow.. Haven't managed skids, but with bone dry roads it might not be easiest time to learn... after getting off my legs feel like they want to be turning.. very strange.

Anyway, i'll post some pictures of it soon..

great! welcome to the club! just dont try skidding that thing until u get a proper track hub done up properly. a cog coming loose in the middle of traffic never feels nice i assure you.

track cogs are usually assymetrical so simply flipping it over can adjust the line slightly.

hang on a sec... you sure you tried that before recommending it? unless you want to break your spokes. i dont think there's even enough clearance to put the chain on either that way.