The Singlespeed Freewheel Thread

[vindec]

broke a chain (SRAM PC7X) on a climb today - anybody suggest a better replacement please (SS 43x17)?

[LEE]

broke a chain (SRAM PC7X) on a climb today - anybody suggest a better replacement please (SS 43x17)?

How many miles had the chain done?  Was it slack? (possibly tried to de-rail itself or sufferd a big load as it took up the slack on a climb). Had you split/rejoined it t all?

I'd say it was a defective chain unless it had done mega miles as there's nothng wrong with SRAM chains that would be much better on another brand.

Chains are hugely strong in tension (which is all it should experience on a single speed) but, famously, only as strong as their weakest link which makes me think there was a defect.

[greenmeansgo]

What Lee said.

I've only ever snapped two chains. One repeatedly, and both were when riding MTB trials as a teenager. Maybe I hadn't joined it properly, or maybe they were just crap chains. Maybe it was just bad luck. Never snapped one since. *crosses fingers*

[vindec]

Thanks people. Now back from France (gears for that one) and fitting a half link chain. Lee, I think you may have been right about the chain going from a bit slack to full on. I'd just been cut up by a (very slow-moving) truck and had to stamp hard just to get rolling again. next time I'll get off instead of falling off!

[steadyaway]

Just bought a Genesis Flyer singlespeed in Reynolds 520 steel. With the help of my LBS I've put a Surly 48t stainless chainring and White Industries 20t freewheel on to give a 63" gear (a bit easier than the stock 67" it came with). I've now done about 250 miles in the Vale of York and over the rolling hills of the Yorkshire Wolds, Howardian Hills etc.

Still early days but what a revelation! After three years of faddling about with 27-30 speed bikes, it's so much simpler to ride and maintain - which is just what I hoped. I also find myself going faster up hills and burning fewer calories which has come as a real surprise.

The only downside is that I am finding that it seems to be placing a lot more strain on my lower back. I'm using pretty much the same position as on my other bikes (1-2cm shorter cockpit, but otherwise identical). I presume it's either a question of getting used to it or that I may be doing something wrong - possibly going too hard up hill too quickly or that shorter cockpit is changing my back position - anyone else had the same when they went to singlespeed?

Overall I'm delighted with the bike....at only nine and a half kilos with the mudguards it feels so light, very comfy and so responsive in steering and handling. For only £500 it's a bargain in smiles per quid! I look forward to meeting some of the other singlespeeders on the forum at some stage!

[PaulF]

The only downside is that I am finding that it seems to be placing a lot more strain on my lower back. I'm using pretty much the same position as on my other bikes (1-2cm shorter cockpit, but otherwise identical). I presume it's either a question of getting used to it or that I may be doing something wrong - possibly going too hard up hill too quickly or that shorter cockpit is changing my back position - anyone else had the same when they went to singlespeed?

You'll probably find yourself spending more time out of the saddle than you would have done with gears and be using your back muscles more. I certainly found that when I started single speed off road. After a few rides you'll develop strength there and won't notice it any more.

[LEE]

Who makes a good quality Freewheel? (1/8")

The £4 one I bought sounds like it uses gravel for bearings and freewheels with efficiency somewhere between a Single-Speed and  fixed.

[zigzag]

brick lane bikes have their own range of freewheels - with 30, 60 and 120 engagement points. iirc they cost £30, £40 and £50 respectively and come in either 3/32 or 1/8 width. the 120 one sounds a bit similar to chris king freehubs, lower end ones are quieter, but they all seem good quality.

[bumper]

I'm still running the sturmey archer one I got from eBay. Its much better than the dicta or shimano ones.

It's done 2406 miles so far according to the odo. all in crap weather. It still looks and sounds great. Every couple of hundred miles I've squeezed some blue park tools grease through the faceplate and fed it into the bearings. This is so good I've got a couple of spares. I doubt I'd buy white ind. freewheels again the way this is running.

I'm looking forward to it lasting for ages yet

[Gog yn y De]

Who makes a good quality Freewheel? (1/8")

The £4 one I bought sounds like it uses gravel for bearings and freewheels with efficiency somewhere between a Single-Speed and  fixed.

http://www.whiteind.com/singlespeedgearing/freewheels.html 

[steveh]

The only downside is that I am finding that it seems to be placing a lot more strain on my lower back. I'm using pretty much the same position as on my other bikes (1-2cm shorter cockpit, but otherwise identical). I presume it's either a question of getting used to it or that I may be doing something wrong - possibly going too hard up hill too quickly or that shorter cockpit is changing my back position - anyone else had the same when they went to singlespeed?

Couple of things spring to mind here, both mechanical
First is you're working your legs a lot harder on just one gear, especially uphill. That will most likely tighten your hamstrings unless you're very good at stretching.
Tight hamstrings tend to lead to lower back pain as it changes the shape of your lower back - a physio will no doubt be happy to show you how to sort that out.
The other point is that the muscle that starts the push down stroke on the pedal is the psoas - it anchors to the lower / middle spine, goes through the pelvis and connects to the femur. If you're pushing bigger gears uphill on SS that will work that muscle HARD.
Hamstring stretch is easy, psoas is harder.
Sit with your hips on the edge of the mattress - lie back so your torso is flat, pull your left knee up to your chest and let your right foot hang down. After 30s lift it and let it drop again, this will stretch the psoas out. Do the same on the other side (right knee up, left foot down).
Steve

[PaulF]

Who makes a good quality Freewheel? (1/8")

The £4 one I bought sounds like it uses gravel for bearings and freewheels with efficiency somewhere between a Single-Speed and  fixed.

Another vote for White Industries here. It feels a quality piece of kit as soon as you open the box and is easily serviced. Plus it's available in a wider range of sizes than other makes.

[rogerzilla]

The main thing is to get a freewheel that takes a decent splined removal tool.  The 4-prong ones have a nasty habit of becoming a permanent fixture on the hub, because the tool or freewheel dogs just break when you attempt to remove the thing.

[LEE]

I got a Sturmey Archer one in the end.

4-prong removal tool required (I'll make sure the tool is securely forced against freewheel)

I suppose you could always get someone to weld-up a seized one, and use the pedals/chain to spin it off.

[mzjo]

The solution to removing single freewheels is simple: take them apart, remove the pawls and springs and you have two "flats" that you can grip in a vice. If it is knackered you don't even have to bother about putting it back together afterwards. Don't have a vice? Make friends with someone who does!!

[PaulF]

I got a Sturmey Archer one in the end.

4-prong removal tool required (I'll make sure the tool is securely forced against freewheel)

I suppose you could always get someone to weld-up a seized one, and use the pedals/chain to spin it off.

Take it along to Just Bikes - they have been great at removing seized freewheels and bottom brackets for me.

Alternatively, if your trying a nondestructive removal yourself use the quick release or axle bolt to loosely attach the freewheel removal tool to stop it jumping out.

[LEE]

Who makes a good quality Freewheel? (1/8")

The £4 one I bought sounds like it uses gravel for bearings and freewheels with efficiency somewhere between a Single-Speed and  fixed.

Good grief..I now have a White Industries freewheel (as part of a bike I bought from RevRob of this parish).  It's a different class.

It's so......round.  No tight spots, engagement is immediate, QUALITY!!!  as mentioned above. (3/32 but that's fine).

You do get what you pay for in this case.

I also got a White Industries ENO hub with the bike.  It's not that essential on a bike with horizontal drop outs, a bit too fussy actually, but it does open up a lot of frame possibilities now.

[PaulF]

Good grief..I now have a White Industries freewheel (as part of a bike I bought from RevRob of this parish).  It's a different class.

It's so......round.  No tight spots, engagement is immediate, QUALITY!!!  as mentioned above. (3/32 but that's fine).

You do get what you pay for in this case.

I also got a White Industries ENO hub with the bike.  It's not that essential on a bike with horizontal drop outs, a bit too fussy actually, but it does open up a lot of frame possibilities now.

They're a nice piece of kit aren't they?

Its worth getting the White Industries extractor for when you come to remove it, moreso as you've got the eccentric hub as it has an eccentric hole for a skewer. Normally I shy away from the part specific tools but this fits much better than my generic tool and I'm likely to be running White Industries free wheels for a while it's worth it. 

[steveh]

I still find myself saying "It's just a freewheel" when people who aren't looking too closely at my drivetrain ask if I'm riding fixed. Don't know why.
[/quote]

I know what you mean - it's only singlespeed, is what I say if asked.
Can't quite think why I do that. These people look shocked when they see it's only got one gear, or say "how far?" when you tell them you're riding 100k+ today.
Steve

[RecordAce]

Perhaps we should come out of the closet and be proud to be free? To be honest, anything that would set me aside from the fixie bell-ends that proliferate our city centres is a good thing imho.

[nightrider]

There's nothing wrong with riding singlespeed,it makes a lot of sense.I prefer fixed it's more fun.Just ignore the nobsters in town and enjoy riding your bike.

[LEE]

I jumped on the fixed bandwagon a few years ago.  I didn't really like it and fitted a freewheel.  I love it (I now have two single-speeds).
I ride what I like, I'm not pretending to ride fixed, I like coasting down hills...so I do.

If you are not sure about riding fixed then try a single-speed, they make ultra reliable winter bikes and offer similar training benefits to fixed (and you get to coast downhill).

Basically I'm  not a Single-Speed apologist. Single-Speed is different to Fixed and I personally enjoy that difference (I wouldn't mind a bit of flywheel effect on some climbs but not at the expense of spinning 200rpm on the descents).

[Rhys W]

I'm the same, I wanted to like the idea but a city like Cardiff is just too stop-start (junctions, lights, cars pulling out of side roads) and I was spending too much time worrying about where my left crank was in preparation to unclip. It just showed me how much I used freewheeling to regulate my speed and go with the varying flow of traffic.

[PaulF]

Perhaps we should come out of the closet and be proud to be free? To be honest, anything that would set me aside from the fixie bell-ends that proliferate our city centres is a good thing imho.

May use that as a sig line

[zigzag]

my first ever bike was with a fixed wheel, i was about four years old when i learned riding it, first with stabilisers (doh..), then without. i would look at other kids' freewheel bikes with envy as the only way i could "coast" downhill was with legs apart . not cool. i didn't use that bike a lot - besides fixed wheel it had other horrible "features" like solid tyres, squeaky drivetrain and slippery pedals; and i've grown out of it pretty quickly.

my next bike (when i was 8-9yo) had a sachs/velosteel coaster brake hub - i quite enjoyed that bike, only it was very upright and hard work to keep up with my mates on their singlespeed "racer" type bikes. i was able to service that bike myself and also figured out how to reassemble coaster brake hub (no internet in those days!). i've ridden it for a year or two until i lost interest in bikes and found other hobbies.

fast forward fifteen years, i thought it's a good idea to start cycling again. i've got myself a bso which i broke after few months, then another one which i promptly sold (as it was sh1te) and bought a raleigh racer converted to singlespeed. i had enjoyed riding that bike, and used it daily to get to work, shops etc. this bike has turned me from non-cyclist into cycling enthusiast. i have even signed up for london-brighton charity ride - that seemed like a big challenge then! not only i rode to brighton, but, feeling strong rode back as well - that was a big confidence booster. (and then i came across l-e-l website - don't ask.. )

anyway, i thought i'll try converting it to fixed - why not? i rode it for couple of weeks, but didn't like the experience, and reverted the bike back to ss. couple of years later i thought maybe i didn't give t'cog enough time to win me over and tried again for few months, but didn't like the lack of freedom (what cycling should be about!) and that the bike tells me to obey it rather than the other way around. i can perfectly understand why some cyclist like riding fixed - in the right conditions it's good fun (e.g. in a velodrome or gently rolling hills)!

so yes, you can see i have a special place in my heart for ss bikes, and mainly because of that old-heavy-bendy-steel raleigh that opened new horizons for me.