The boss has said she'll treat me to an new frame for Christmas and theres not much in Calgary unless you go to the big mountains,so was thinking of getting a singlespeed for playing around in the city and keeping fit,now never thinking I'd go for nicheness I've never looked at things singlespeed,so

what wheels,don't need to be too fancy{as in cost an arm and a leg} and would like something that I can fit slim tyres on whilst in the city but would still take 2.1 nobbly,like a 717 or something

I'm getting an on-one slotted inbred with a carbon fork by the way and sticking to 26" wheels

I got a set of Chris King single speed wheels from Calgary Cycle, and got a very good deal off them, much cheaper tham the UK.

I have found wheels really expensive over here{just browsing}got a great deal from crc on my downhill wheels as I don't have to pay vat or owt,but I'll give them a call and see what they say

what about what rear hub then there's lots of singlespeeders on here must be some advice

I use a phil wood kiss-off disc hub laced to a 717 rim. Lovely ss hub!

http://www.cheapbikeparts360.com/products/phil-wood-kiss-off-single-speed-disc-hub/

Mine are Hope Pro II trials / SS rear and matching front. Lots of choice on the fronts of course and they're practically service-free (famous last words).

Dunno about sourcing them in your neck of the woods though, but I got mine built by Lifecycles in Bolton – and, as all their wheels have been – they're superb.

HTH

Pro 11 trails/ss hub (which have steel freehub bodies) on a 717 would be about ideal I'd have thought (stand pro 11 on 717 the front). Mine are on DT Swiss 4.2s but I think 717s are generally regarded as a better rim – and much easier to take tyres on and off!

They should be good value when you factor in the good build quality the easy maintainence (i.e. replacing the bearings yourself). Plus, you can get pretty colours!

240s if you can stretch to them are awesome

Another vote for CK. Only for the rear though. Pro2 front.

I have Surly hubs with DT 415 rims. Running a White Ind freewheel, which is relatively pricey (in UK could be cheaper for you on the west side of the pond) but is totally rebuild able. Rear hubs needed new bearings after about 30 months. Mainly cos I didn't realise that they are angualr contact so there is a degree of slack take up in them.

ah I was wondering if the pro 11 trials would do the job,what does the 48 engagements mean in real life compared to a normal hub?

Just use any regular hub, and get a spacer pack, best of both worlds. You can get the chain line "Just so" and in all other respects it's just a regular hub, screw on hubs are dismal.

does it work just aswell,the advantage of that would be I could use the wheel set on another bike then,would be worth investing more,any other rims well thought of as I fancy a change,don't really fancy dt swiss

Had my hope 6 months and needed new pawls and axle bearings, will not buy another again, sticking with king for SS and royce for geary

ive ran a few sets of dedicated ss wheels and now only run normal hubs with spacer kits its easy top swap and change cogs they are cheap too and like you say can be used on other bikes 😉

do me a favour and show me a good kit for turning a normal hub into a ss hub then,I think I'll be better going with a normal hub,prefer the idea of a spare set of wheels

thanks for the advice,never looked at anything ss at all before so its appreciated

is it only hope front hubs that are convertable to 20mm,qr etc or do other manufacturers do the same?

im on phone at the min so not sure how to link but google charlie the bike monger he will sort you with all you need 🙂 as for front hub not sure i run pro2 and its spot on ive had it qr 20mm and now 9mm bolt thru 🙂

On-one do spacer kits, I'd get one from them at the same time as the frame.

Agree with running 'normal' wheels but 2 suggestions. 1 – make sure the freehub body is steel no Alu or the cog will chew into it (also worth getting a good cog with a double width base – groove armada from on-one again is excellent) 2 – single speeding can wreck cheap freehubs. I've recently killed a second freehub on a wtb laser disc hub in 18 months/2 years…..had the freehubs on that wheel run for over 4 years on geared bikes. Hope frehubs will cope though. Or if you want something less common but equally good (better in my view possibly) try a goldtech draco from BETD.

Have fun

is this the puppy,can see how it would damage a free hub if so

on-one conversion kit

so if the on-one jobby will chew a pro 11,what options do I have?

another hub obviously but which one has a steel free hub body and well recommended?

or does someone do a conversion kit with a fat gear to give more contact area?

cheers

That's the puppy for the spacer kit yep. The sprocket is narrow though (compared to a full cassette especially) and with Alu freehub bodies like the pro II it will chew into the splines badly, even cheaper (below xt) cassettes do it but a single sprocket will make a right mess. The cheapo pressed sprocket in the kit isn't up to much anyway, it will get yu started but will wear very quickly. You'll want a decent sprocket such as http://www.on-one-shop.co.uk/acatalog/info_SKOOSSGA16.html the groove armada. Much tougher, taller teeth and it is double width at its base to protect the freehub….you still need a steel freehub body though.

You can get a pro II steel freehub but only as an after market swap so it costs more. this http://www.mountainbikecomponents.co.uk/items.asp?CategoryID=37&Name=Goldtec+Draco+Rear+Hub is the other hub I suggested. Goldtec/betd stuff is good and their hubs are excellent. The draco is their beefy DH hub….its strong. It's not that heavy either if compared to other steel freehub bodied hubs. I have a set of draco hubs and they are just as good as Hope in my view (I also have hope hubs and they too are good) and the price is the same as the hopes. I had betd biuld me some wheels, they have been good for a few years of All mountain abuse with 8 to 10 foot drops ….they cope fine.

Oh yes, the other way to space the cog out on the freehub is to dismantle a couple of old cassettes and get the spacers from between the cogs. Also HT II BB spacers will fit on a freehub and do the job I'm told. You can even do it with some old plastic sink waste pipe but you need to cut it perfectly square. If you have an old length left over from some diy and you have a mitre saw to cut it perfectly square then give it a try….the on one spacers look nice though :oD

the only thing that puts me off the betd hubs is I can get a cracking deal from crc as I don't pay vat with not being in the UK,this means wheels from there are much cheaper so I could do with a hub that they sell

one more question,whats the best way to mount the rear wheel on an On-one,10mm bolt through?

Give BETD a phone call and see what they can do re VAT?

Slotted/fork track end on-one….errr will it tack a bolt through? I'm not sure it will. If you fit it with a normal qr you'll need a set of chain tugs to stop it sliding forward under load. Chain tugs are easily found. Oh hang on, you probably mean the slotted/slidy drop outs like gonetothehills…just fit a normal qr as he has done.

I'm getting one of these

slotted inbred

will a 10mm axle not fit?
and will a chaintug fit?

thanks by the way

Ah right, track fork ends/slotted drop out, got it. Chain tugs will fit fine I should think. Surly do nice ones….or on-one again http://www.on-one-shop.co.uk/acatalog/info_FSOOCT.html You could ask on-one if they will fit the frame okay before you buy.

If you mean 10mm bolt-IN hub like http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=17387 then yes, It will fit. Bolt-THROUGH is differnt – that's where the axle slides out to remove the wheel …think of Maxle forks – bolt through….or Saint rear hubs?? I've lost track of the differnt standards…not sure if a rear 10mm bolt through exists so you proably mean bolt in.

You might get away with no chain tugs if you go bolt in…..but if you are a bit bigger/big legged then you'll probably want tugs.

Velo solo do the nicest looking spacer kits.

http://www.velosolo.co.uk/shopsingle.html

i went with a Hope XC wheel and spacers, on purpose, so i had the option of putting gears in there at a later date.
fine on a hope hub, as there are 4 bearings along its width, so no problem with side loads.
i wouldnt even think about it on a cheaper hub, you'll bend the axel.

i chose an XC over a pro2, as a normal pro2 would require a 50 quid steel freehub body as an extra purchase.

the hope Pro2 single speed hubs will accept 5 cogs of a 9spd cassette if it comes to it (i believe)

48 pickups, makes a massive difference.
24 pickups makes a massive difference too.

compared to 11 in a normal deore hub.

thanks people you have been a big help