Moving back to London in the summer and want to be down with the kids with a singlespeed so just on the hunt for frames to build up into a tarty looking singlespeed to commute into work.

I have seen quite a few I like the look of but just with normal dropouts, I was wondering if anyone had managed to make it work with the right chainlength/chainring/SS cog and chainstay length that the tension was just right and if so is there any techniques to it? I just think a bike looks a bit poop with one of those little jockey wheel tensioners you attack to the mech hanger.

I tried it a long time ago as a kid with an old MTB and it sorrrt of worked but I had no idea what I was doing then.

Or am I more than likely going to have no luck with this?

This was brought up the other day and these look a neat solution if you get a frame with a bb30 bottom bracket

Not tried it myself though

Its easy. Buy a half link off ebay for a couple of quid, and dig out one of the old, stretched chains that for some reason everyone keeps (stored alongside your old tyres). Mix and match with a new unstretched chain and you’ll be very unlucky not to be able to get a fit.

Google magic ratio, you need a normal chain and some half links, never done it myself tho… Dolan track frame ftw

half links or you may just get lucky

one of my first SS got lucky but it was slack but never fell off.
Never tried half links but heard mixed results

Not sure why anyone cares much about having to use a tensioner tbh

Use an old rear mech as a tensioner

Thanks lads, looks like its possible then.

Nooooo the point is not to use a tensioner as it looks crap…

32:17 is a magic ratio for an Inbred 456. 34:18 worked on my old Rock Lobster too, although it was a tad tight.

This site will help you work it out – http://eehouse.org/fixin/fixmeup.php

EDIT – just tried the above link using the Inbred as an example and it shows that it shouldn’t quite work, but it did. I think if you’re close enough the chain stretch will help you get a little extra each way.

White Industries eno hub

Or just use a tensioner, they work, who cares if it looks poop.

Chains stretch so the magic ratio thing works for a while then your chain falls off.

I’ve been singlespeeding for many years on bikes with vertical dropouts so I know.

I’ve known a guy who used a BB mounted device which was OK but he had to keep kicking it back into position once or twice a ride.

If you use a tensioner in push up mode it doesn’t look too bad.

Chains stretch so the magic ratio thing works for a while then your chain falls off.

this. I think my magic ratio lasted about a month. Tensioners look rubbish but work well.

a tensioner as it looks crap…

Its a SS enough said 😉

Rear mechs are not pretty but they dont have help you change gear

Who cares what it looks like it does not break or fall off which is the point

I suspect lots of faffing from you to make it look pretty but i would rather have function or looks on a bike.
If you really care get a proper SS frame 😛

Magic ratio works fine, so long as you’re willing to buy a new chain and sell the old one as it stretches.

This worked fine for me on my Airborne for over 2 years.

I actually found that 9/10sp chains stretched less than BMX and we’re worth substantially more 2nd hand after a few hundred miles.

It alldepends on the chainstay length.
Thold,old standard 16 3/4″ stay is hopeless at any ratio. 16 5/8 has a few possibilities, particularly 36;18 or 33;17.
As long as the chainline is OK and cogs/ring/chain is in good nick it is possible to run a far slacker chain than you’d think.
play with this ; http://eehouse.org/fixin/formfmu.php

Gor Bliley guv’nor thats gonna cost ya 3 times a nifty fifty http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/mobile/trickstuff-excentriker-prod18255/

^ even with that they advise you might need a half link.

Anyone got a second hand one to.sell me????

A friend of mine used that^ White Industries hub on a mountain bike, worked fine

I have managed it on a Ti Pipedream using 32×16, and it may be for sale & I work in north London!
I’ll post a pick when I can get into flickr 🙂

Edit, if you look at MY FLICKR PAGE you will see I have managed it on a couple of frames.

Cheers.

Just get a tensioner- they’re not that bad.

The Surly one is good and comes with two dif springs. I used the push up one and it was great.

Remember some playing cards/sister’s jeans/checked shirt/headphones and you’ll fit right in.

Just buy a frame with sliding dropouts or an EBB.
I’ve been SS for a good few years now, & having faffed no end, adjustability is your friend.

I succeeded in SS’ing my old Handjob on a magic ratio..- for about 2 days.

Don’t bother trying it would be my advice, just stick a tensioner on.

You can file the dropouts a little wider or file the hub axle so there is a little back and forth movement.

Biting the bullet and buying a frame with horizontal dropouts is the best solution.

You can file the dropouts a little widerer

Has anyone actually done this? with success?

Get an old Raleigh road bike.
Forward facing dropouts.

APF

Works, but enjoy the death that follows the ring jumping out at the most inconvenient moment.

My SS needs a half-half link. I’ve got a half-link chain on it, but its JUST too tight to get on, or too loose depending if you have one extra link.

I have filed the axle on a shimano hub (standard QR!) and used the wheel on a commuter road bike for about a year. No probs so far. Gave me a mm+ of movement which is enough as I used a gear ratio worked out with the magic gear calc.

You weigh 7 stone wet through, have no hills on your commute and I claim my £5.

Front bottom roller/chain guide rotated up into the chain to take the slack.
Looks great imho and keeps your chain on.
Helps if you have iscg tabs.

No hills on my commute correct but 7 stone x2

EDIT: and I only commute 2 days a week- 12 mile round trip.

Magic ratio is the simplest way. A well lubricated quality chain will survive without adjustment for quite a while on a road bike, but on an mtb it will get slack quicker. Not a disaster, just try one more tooth on the rear or one more on the front. A halflink is also useful, but I don’t like using them on an old chain.

This bike is still on the same chain 2 years later, but it’s now pretty loose. It generally gets dry conditions only use.

There is a calculator online for Magic Ratio, but I prefer to do my own manual calculations.

It’s even possible with belt drive.

It helps if you have a few rear cogs of different sizes, and ditto for the chainring, because that gives more possibilities.

If you want to spend some money, there’s a couple of eccentric BBs available which give a small amount of adjustment, eg Exzentriker

I have a few of those sort of things, but never had to use them because Magic Ratio does the trick.

BTW you can adjust a fixed dropout slightly if you are prepared to risk borking a frame. Just peen the edges where you want a bit more metal and relieve the other side of the dropout by filing it. You need to be very precise with this, and can end up with a stuffed frame. It’s what I had to do with the belt drive because that is far more finicky about an exact c/s length and doesn’t tolerate a little slack like a chain.

I used to run these with a magic ratio but the slightest amount of wear on the chainrings/sprockets/chain or a combination of all three meant i was fiddling with them every week and replacing chains/sprockets/chainrings on the Soulcraft and my ugly mongrel road bike on a weekly basis but i was doing upwards of 500 miles a week at the time. I eventually got fed up with my facination for a magic ratio and succombed to using a chain tensioner

Not worth the hassle imho, i have 6 middleburn uno chainrings, a multitude of rear cassette sprockets ranging from 14t to 18t and a humoungous rack of ss chains, all imperceptibly worn but too worn to work with a magic ratio.

One more thing.

If you are using proper singlespeed cogs and chainrings AND you have your chainline straight, your chain can have quite a lot of slack in it before it becomes a problem.

As far as wear is concerned, I generally use steel chainrings – usually Surly or On-One. They wear slower than alloy in my experience.

Not sure why anyone cares much about having to use a tensioner tbh

They look a bit crap and add drag or whatever to your pedalling. I think the BB mounted ones look best.