Scott Vail Single Speed conversion

My 12 year old mtb needed a facelift after several years languishing in the shed. So i decided, as i was in a bike tinkering mood, to give it a single speed conversion.

Above is how it looked after i had stripped off the gear mech and derrailier (spelling?). A strangely satisfying experience, especially snipping the wires.
I cut off the old grips as they were worn out, and it made getting the shifters off easier.

With this toolkit, a shimano specific one according to the ad when i got it, i was able to remove the cassette and front chainrings. This left the bike looking clean and ready for a re-fit. I also removed the rusty old pedals. This bike did have SPDs for a while until i got sick of falling off on steep hills.

I did some research into single speed cogs and front chainrings, deciding that what i needed was a 104bcd 4 arm chainring with about 40T and a rear cog with 16T with spacers. I went for the Gusset Tribal R chainring up front and a Gusset 1er cog on the rear with a set of Halo spacers. The chain was originally for my commuter but wasn't quite long enough for that and seemed to suit the chunky mtb better. I used a Gusset 1/2 link 1/8" slinky chain.

I'm really happy with the look of the new components on the bike. As Gusset seemed to do well out of my conversion i thought it only right to get a sheet of stickers to give the frame a little character. You can also see i have put chrome bars on, i put the Scott bars on my commuter, and the grips that i got when i bought my commuter originally.

It took a fair bit of fiddling with the spacers but in the end i got a perfect chain line, which i am pretty chuffed with. When i gave the bike a test run it was really smooth, the 40/16 ratio is just right for cruising around and hopping up and down curbs.

This angle makes the chain look a little loose, but it isn't really. The pedals are Diamondback platforms. Glad i went for them and not the green plastic Wellgo ones next to them in the shop.

Next stage is to get rigid front forks, a more comfy seat, different grips, the brakes work well so no need to change unless for cosmetic reasons. I'm happy with it so far.

Oh, and different tires too.

Pretty neat! I would consider using a normal chain with just a single half link though, it'll stretch much less and you won't have any surprises while mashing hard. It looks pretty loose as is already.

Also, if you're only using it for street duty, some skinny slicks like the Conti Contact Sports are wonderful, fast but still have enough volume to deal with curbs.

Pretty neat! I would consider using a normal chain with just a single half link though, it'll stretch much less and you won't have any surprises while mashing hard. It looks pretty loose as is already.

Also, if you're only using it for street duty, some skinny slicks like the Conti Contact Sports are wonderful, fast but still have enough volume to deal with curbs.

Cheers. I'm not decided on tyres yet, i'd still like a bit of grip for damp days.

Pretty neat! I would consider using a normal chain with just a single half link though, it'll stretch much less and you won't have any surprises while mashing hard. It looks pretty loose as is already.

Also, if you're only using it for street duty, some skinny slicks like the Conti Contact Sports are wonderful, fast but still have enough volume to deal with curbs.

I might get a tensioner instead of changing the chain again.

I noticed that Gusset do a nice rigid mtb fork that would suit this bike perfectly, on sale at £62 at the moment. I had a 1hr plus ride on the bike today and felt the suspension was okay but fairly useless in a city environment. We have plenty of countryside around here (Cambridge), but even that is fairly flat.

I decided to swap the cantilevers with some funky red ones off a neglected Concept BMX i had lying around. I have also got a DMR Wingbar and stem coming to me from Matt (cambridge) tomorrow. Pics to follow when all attached.

The DMR wingbar and gusset stem on the scott, sorry the pic is a bit rubbish. Better pics to follow when i get new grips to go on. Looks good though.

Here is the finished article ( for the time being). Intermediate tyres, Specialized Nimbus are a recent addition and make a real difference to the ride. Just need to get better lights for early morning and late night commutes. Love this bike.

The mtb gets a re-fit after many miles to and from work.

New forks from Planet X. Goodbye bouncy suspension. Hello rigidness.

Forks on. Managed to retrieve a crown race from a deceased BMX that just happened to fit snugly on these forks. Just need to cut the steerer and get a new star nut to fix it all in. Other parts might get replaced as i build the bike back up, money allowing.