All you need now on it, is a Swytch to help on the uphills, a front basket, a rear rack and a cupholder, and you have the ultimate hipster allaround bike 😀
Nice job! I purchased my Giant ATX 890 back in 1995. It’s a 3x7 but the Rapidfires are toast. I’ve been wanting to convert to single-speed for local greenways and exercise and your video inspired me to move ahead with the project. Thanks Gary!
Hey mate! this is Rich from Wales, UK - I have been watching your videos for a while now, this current one made me want to tell you how great the videos are mate. So much detail and great tips and information. Theses videos must take ages to do so just wanted to say how much I appreciate them. Excellent stuff! love the balcony bike space too. My last 2 builds have been retro road bikes but you have made me want to get a 90's wacky mountain bike 🚲 🍸 😄
Cheers Rich ! Thanks for taking time to pass on some kinds words , I really appreciate that! Hahah yes they take me way longer than I think it would take me to make 😅😅 the balcony is all I have for now so gotta make it work! Maybe a bigger space one day. I actually used to do vintage road bikes too, they are a lot of fun as well. I think with mtbs could are able to custom a bit more (especially with racks etc) and are a little better if you go off road. However saying that I might do a road bike again in the future for some speed! Cheers mate
This makes me want to buy back the Diamondback Intense I sold to my friend years ago. I bought it new and it's the same model and colour as this one. Really enjoy your work and the scenery when you're riding around inner Melbourne. Thank you
Looks sick! With the chain you can get a bit of wire coat hanger, bend two 90’s in the ends, and use it to hold the chain together whist you’re finding the length. That way you can break the chain to length in position. Anyway loving the channel and cheers from the U.K.
Ahhh nice! Great tip 👍I gotta make one of those things from an old spoke!! Maybe for the bike I’m working on now. Cheers for the support i appreciate that !
another great video of the process.. I'm in the last stages of a 95 trek 930 reworked to 27.5 disc brakes with a Manitou sx and ritchey sealed bearings.. passed all the original parts down to a 96 rocky mountain cardiac frame I found this spring abandoned. all STX STX RC and DEORE LX.. gonna go thru and clean everything up on that one once winter riding it is done. got any videos where you swap the carrier between a 7 and an 8 speed? 22:00 looks like useful stuff. 29:00 i also have the DEORE LX with that and some cheaper ones that have marking internally... they usually say V-C for V and Cantilevel. should adjust between 11mm and 15mm cable pull 32:00 I have the STX RC and each pad has a front and back marking as well as rotation. I happen to have my fronts on the back and backs on the front.. the bolt offset looked right the way I have it. only thing I'd have done different is the rear wheel would have gotten a bolt instead of QR.. but QR bolts are what I use anyhow, QR seem to slip with SS rigs in older drops.. those are modernish with a hanger so maybe not a concern
cheers mate , your bike sounds good here is a video where i change out a freehub body: th-cam.com/video/QIVGiibM65E/w-d-xo.htmlsi=gkeTKRBeisnTDIBB i havent had problems with slippage on QR on this single speed but i also dont ride super hard so that might be the case. if you run drop out chain tensioners it should help!
Your idea of using kitchen aluminum foil to clean up rusted wheel spokes is brilliant! Great idea! to use a readily available product to employ as a tool.
I gotta admit wasn’t my idea! I looked it up and seemed like a lot of the old school guys use foil on chrome parts , luckily it worked here too ! Cheers !
Looks killer ! Love it ! ...the simplicity of it really should stand the test of time....I dig the XT Brakes man ! Good brakes are a must ! .....love how you get so much accomplished with limited space...really says alot about your craftsman ship !....I have a ton of room and at least 100 bikes around this mess and it gets overwhelming to where you don't get ANYTHING done.....you drink a beer and contemplate what you're going to do to this one and want to do to that one ....before you know it..all your beer is gone and you got nothing done ! Thanx for the video AND inspiration man !
Thanks dude I appreciate that!! Haha yeah if you have a lot of projects can get a bit overwhelming! Start with one I think , probably hard to pick which one but starting is the hardest step , then should get easier !! Cheers man !
@@garysprojects do you guys have flea markets and garage sales over there ? The flea markets over here in California are filled with the vintage mtb stuff
Loved the horror theme throughout; it's a beautiful bike. Not sure about single speed with those tires. Looked like you had to pump hard up that hill. Really appreciate the great hacks that you accomplish with no fuss. Long live albatross bars!
I made something similar with a coaster brake wheel set and bmx handlebar. I used a neoprene tensioner roller from Baja Sports mini bike atvs, and 10mm bolt hardware, to construct a toothless roller tensioner.
Very cool! Love the paint. Looks kinda like those dawn dish soap paint jobs but with bigger streaks. FYI, I bought a pc830 chain the other day and saw the REI product description said they come pre-lubed with some fancy dirt/friction resistant lube called Gleitmo. I'm gonna run it as is!
Thank you! I love the paint too, def don’t see it much these days. For sure, if the chain says it comes pre lubed def run it as is! Some factory chains like the one in this vid only have a rust prevention grease and its usually thicker and quite sticky. If you don’t clean this one, after the first ride so much stuff sticks to it haha! Cheers!
Thanks for video. Bike looks very nice. Your work is perfect. I have only one suggestion, if I may - chain SRAM 830 is crapp (without hardened pins). Much better idea is use 850. The cost twice more but live of chain more than 10 times more (especially in the single). In my opinion the best solution is use a single speed chain. Best Michał.
Nice conversion! I also recently picked up a bike from the early 200's that had the swept back handlebars I was wanting to try + had a rack too....I might swap out my mtb and hybrid handlebars on my other 2 bikes to this style, or the more traditional European style handlebars too, who knows hehe...
Cheers man!! Haha yeah xt pretty wild for this bike , just incase I want to get buck 😂! Awesome man melbourne still going strong, chill lifestyle over here !
Just picked up DB today and it's currently all taken apart. Its a 93 DB Traverse with similar paint scheme but the crankset is 1 piece entry level but I will swap it out. Also made in China but I dont mind.
You spend a lot of quality time on your builds Gary. I like the voice over afterwards especially when you add little tips and tricks. Also you should've bought stock in WD40 with how much of that stuff you use. 😆 Cheers homie!
Thank you ! I contemplated the voice over when I first started videos and decide to do it haha, I think other ppl don’t really do it but it’s interesting for me to explain it! Yes hahah actually a can of wd40 lasts me a while so not too bad! Cheers
Awesome video as always. Great inspiration for me as well on an upcoming build of mine. Just curious, why did you go with an 8 speed chain vs. a single speed chain? I suppose it doesn’t matter?
cheers Ian i appreciate that! i used a 8 speed chain because it 3/32 width which is the same as my rear cog and chainring. you could use a single speed chain which is 1/8th wide but will have a bit of play. fyi 6/7/8 speed chains are all the same width!
Fantastic build! 😍 Do you mind if I ask what size is the frame and what height are you? (Trying to work out what size frame I can use for my own project...and yours looks like it rides like a much bigger frame with those bars.)
Cheers..new bottom bracket first..then my bars...bicycles are how I get to work to do my odd jobs...so hopefully it turns out to be a nice riding bike.cheers...and thanks for the encouragement and happy new year, steve
There are a lot of vidoes of people converting mountain bikes to single speed and I have 1 question. Why? Unless you live in Florida where there are no hills there is no ideal gear ratio. You need to change with the hills.
Another 90s MTB saved for last…well done again🔧😎Think for Season 2023 it’s time for me to get some Evaporust as well to make restoring rusted parts much easier😃Cheers, mate👋🏻
All you need now on it, is a Swytch to help on the uphills, a front basket, a rear rack and a cupholder, and you have the ultimate hipster allaround bike 😀
Hahah seems like you know exactly what you like in a bike!! 👍😊
Beer rack
Singlespeed builds are my favorite. So simple and clean! Also that saddle looks sick on that bike!!!
Cheers man!! Happy with how the seat turned out thank you ! Yeah something about single speed just makes them so fun!
Nice job! I purchased my Giant ATX 890 back in 1995. It’s a 3x7 but the Rapidfires are toast. I’ve been wanting to convert to single-speed for local greenways and exercise and your video inspired me to move ahead with the project. Thanks Gary!
hell ya dude sounds great ! that would make a great single speed! enjoy cheers!
I have been watching your videos for a wile and what I see you very good bike mechanic. Congrats!
thank you my dude I just try my best! works out most for the time haha
Hey mate! this is Rich from Wales, UK - I have been watching your videos for a while now, this current one made me want to tell you how great the videos are mate. So much detail and great tips and information. Theses videos must take ages to do so just wanted to say how much I appreciate them. Excellent stuff! love the balcony bike space too. My last 2 builds have been retro road bikes but you have made me want to get a 90's wacky mountain bike 🚲 🍸 😄
Cheers Rich ! Thanks for taking time to pass on some kinds words , I really appreciate that! Hahah yes they take me way longer than I think it would take me to make 😅😅 the balcony is all I have for now so gotta make it work! Maybe a bigger space one day. I actually used to do vintage road bikes too, they are a lot of fun as well. I think with mtbs could are able to custom a bit more (especially with racks etc) and are a little better if you go off road. However saying that I might do a road bike again in the future for some speed! Cheers mate
This makes me want to buy back the Diamondback Intense I sold to my friend years ago.
I bought it new and it's the same model and colour as this one.
Really enjoy your work and the scenery when you're riding around inner Melbourne. Thank you
Cheers mate glad you like it ! It’s a great bike! They don’t make paint like this one too much these days 💕💕
Looks sick! With the chain you can get a bit of wire coat hanger, bend two 90’s in the ends, and use it to hold the chain together whist you’re finding the length. That way you can break the chain to length in position. Anyway loving the channel and cheers from the U.K.
Ahhh nice! Great tip 👍I gotta make one of those things from an old spoke!! Maybe for the bike I’m working on now. Cheers for the support i appreciate that !
another great video of the process.. I'm in the last stages of a 95 trek 930 reworked to 27.5 disc brakes with a Manitou sx and ritchey sealed bearings.. passed all the original parts down to a 96 rocky mountain cardiac frame I found this spring abandoned. all STX STX RC and DEORE LX.. gonna go thru and clean everything up on that one once winter riding it is done.
got any videos where you swap the carrier between a 7 and an 8 speed? 22:00 looks like useful stuff.
29:00 i also have the DEORE LX with that and some cheaper ones that have marking internally... they usually say V-C for V and Cantilevel. should adjust between 11mm and 15mm cable pull
32:00 I have the STX RC and each pad has a front and back marking as well as rotation. I happen to have my fronts on the back and backs on the front.. the bolt offset looked right the way I have it.
only thing I'd have done different is the rear wheel would have gotten a bolt instead of QR.. but QR bolts are what I use anyhow,
QR seem to slip with SS rigs in older drops.. those are modernish with a hanger so maybe not a concern
cheers mate , your bike sounds good
here is a video where i change out a freehub body:
th-cam.com/video/QIVGiibM65E/w-d-xo.htmlsi=gkeTKRBeisnTDIBB
i havent had problems with slippage on QR on this single speed but i also dont ride super hard so that might be the case. if you run drop out chain tensioners it should help!
Your idea of using kitchen aluminum foil to clean up rusted wheel spokes is brilliant! Great idea! to use a readily available product to employ as a tool.
I gotta admit wasn’t my idea! I looked it up and seemed like a lot of the old school guys use foil on chrome parts , luckily it worked here too ! Cheers !
Looks killer ! Love it ! ...the simplicity of it really should stand the test of time....I dig the XT Brakes man ! Good brakes are a must ! .....love how you get so much accomplished with limited space...really says alot about your craftsman ship !....I have a ton of room and at least 100 bikes around this mess and it gets overwhelming to where you don't get ANYTHING done.....you drink a beer and contemplate what you're going to do to this one and want to do to that one ....before you know it..all your beer is gone and you got nothing done ! Thanx for the video AND inspiration man !
Thanks dude I appreciate that!! Haha yeah if you have a lot of projects can get a bit overwhelming! Start with one I think , probably hard to pick which one but starting is the hardest step , then should get easier !! Cheers man !
@@garysprojects do you guys have flea markets and garage sales over there ? The flea markets over here in California are filled with the vintage mtb stuff
We do but not as common , more rare for just bike stuff too!
Loved the horror theme throughout; it's a beautiful bike. Not sure about single speed with those tires. Looked like you had to pump hard up that hill. Really appreciate the great hacks that you accomplish with no fuss. Long live albatross bars!
Cheers Peter! Glad you enjoyed it!!
Very relaxing and educational to watch. Thanks for posting these videos.🚲
Thank you I appreciate that
You are welcome.
really clean build, I want to try those handlebars. they look so comfy.
Cheers man they are quite comfy and light 👍
I made something similar with a coaster brake wheel set and bmx handlebar. I used a neoprene tensioner roller from Baja Sports mini bike atvs, and 10mm bolt hardware, to construct a toothless roller tensioner.
Sounds cool!
Always like an old MTB single speed. They're great for bombing around town.
Hell ya so handy to have! Great fun just to goto the shops or quick trail jam
Love how this one came out!
Thank you mate!
Very cool! Love the paint. Looks kinda like those dawn dish soap paint jobs but with bigger streaks. FYI, I bought a pc830 chain the other day and saw the REI product description said they come pre-lubed with some fancy dirt/friction resistant lube called Gleitmo. I'm gonna run it as is!
Thank you! I love the paint too, def don’t see it much these days. For sure, if the chain says it comes pre lubed def run it as is!
Some factory chains like the one in this vid only have a rust prevention grease and its usually thicker and quite sticky. If you don’t clean this one, after the first ride so much stuff sticks to it haha! Cheers!
The paint on that frame is killer! SS always a win for me, I always overthink every option I have so removing some is always welcome!
Haha yes ! can get quite overwhelming thinking about how to build it up. Sometimes simple is better ! Cheers
This is an awesome build! 👍
thank you my dude !
Thanks for video. Bike looks very nice. Your work is perfect. I have only one suggestion, if I may - chain SRAM 830 is crapp (without hardened pins). Much better idea is use 850. The cost twice more but live of chain more than 10 times more (especially in the single). In my opinion the best solution is use a single speed chain. Best Michał.
Cheers man i appreciate that ! I’ll look into it 👍
One more time man, super congrats!
Thank you Yon I appreciate that !
As far as I remember hi-ten/cr-mo tubing means that rear triangle is made of hi-ten steel and main triangle is cr-mo also forks may be hi-ten.
Ahhh nice !! Good to know thank you 🙏
@@garysprojects Chromoly is essentially Hi-Tensile steel's bigger, more advanced brother.
@@CharlieMetcalf hahaha niceee
Sheldon Browns favorite touring bicycle is the Peugeot OU-8. All French hi-ten.
I love putting high end parts on low end frames. My latest build is a Shogun Metro with an M950 XTR rear mech and Ultegra cranks.
Hell ya ! How does it ride ?
@garysprojects Still waiting for a few more parts to arrive then I'll let you know.
Good looking results. Pretty cool looking bike. 🍻
Ayyy cheers homie i appreciate that!!
Nice conversion! I also recently picked up a bike from the early 200's that had the swept back handlebars I was wanting to try + had a rack too....I might swap out my mtb and hybrid handlebars on my other 2 bikes to this style, or the more traditional European style handlebars too, who knows hehe...
Cheers Ashley! That sounds fun !! You should do it , nothing like swapping some parts around to fresh up some bikes 👍
@@garysprojects yeah thanks! Esp since some of the handlebars are cheap, like less than $30.....
Great and simple build 😎
Cheers man I appreciate that! Sick car
Ficou muito legal! Abraços do Brasil! 🇧🇷
cheers mate!! greetings from australia! :D
Dude, you did an amazing job here! Bike come to life again. I dont like those handlebars in this bikes but its just my point of view
Cheers man I appreciate that ! All good, it’s good to know what you like! 👍
Amazing Job!
Thank you!
That came up really nice. The xt v-brakes probably overkill but really nice. Lived in Clayton for a year back in the 90's while I worked at Monash!
Cheers man!! Haha yeah xt pretty wild for this bike , just incase I want to get buck 😂! Awesome man melbourne still going strong, chill lifestyle over here !
Great job. I was thinking of converting my rockhopper into a single speed.
Ayyy cheers mate! Do it up , I def recommend it it’s very fun to ride around on 👍
Yeah those grips are the coolest I've ever seen🤣
😂😂😂😂 very good
❤
Not ready but ready
@@toastyrides cheers man thanks for joining!
Just picked up DB today and it's currently all taken apart. Its a 93 DB Traverse with similar paint scheme but the crankset is 1 piece entry level but I will swap it out. Also made in China but I dont mind.
Hell ya still a solid frame , designed in usa ! Honestly most bikes are made in China & Taiwan, pretty sure they got their shit locked in
You spend a lot of quality time on your builds Gary. I like the voice over afterwards especially when you add little tips and tricks. Also you should've bought stock in WD40 with how much of that stuff you use. 😆 Cheers homie!
Thank you ! I contemplated the voice over when I first started videos and decide to do it haha, I think other ppl don’t really do it but it’s interesting for me to explain it! Yes hahah actually a can of wd40 lasts me a while so not too bad! Cheers
The mix of cromo and high tensile is almost certainly just the seat post being cromo, the rest hi-tensile.
What's the seatpost size? Congratulations killer content
Ahhh I can’t remember exactly, I think it was 25.4 🧐 Cheers mate!
@@garysprojects thanks man. Keep it up
Why didn't you service the rear hub drum?
It spun pretty well so left it
@@garysprojects ok )
I like it. Maybe my next build will be something similar. I have my eyes on something that would make for a nice single speed conversion.
Cheers! Yes single speeds I’ve been liking a lot , can just grab the bike and go, nothing to worry about !
Awesome video as always. Great inspiration for me as well on an upcoming build of mine. Just curious, why did you go with an 8 speed chain vs. a single speed chain? I suppose it doesn’t matter?
cheers Ian i appreciate that! i used a 8 speed chain because it 3/32 width which is the same as my rear cog and chainring. you could use a single speed chain which is 1/8th wide but will have a bit of play. fyi 6/7/8 speed chains are all the same width!
That’s what I thought, just wanted to make sure. Thanks so much keep up the great work.!
@@iklein81 no worries cheers! 👍
sick paint scheme 👍🏽
Cheers man ! Stoked on it too!
Does your family ever say that they miss you when you're out there scrubbing every single bolt and washer? lol
😂😂😂 I try to do it when they’re not home
Looking great, wha size is the headtube set?
It’s 1inch !
Fits 1inch headset I mean
@@garysprojects do you think a 1 1/8inch will fit? I’m asking because I have the same frame and I’m in the progress of restoration
@@ricgl84 definitely won’t fit unfortunately
@@garysprojects thanks
fresh build as always garrrryyyy
Cheers homieeee!!
Very clean.
Cheers! I appreciate that !
Good viewing on a wet Sunday morning. Hope you’re enjoying your weekend mate.
Cheers mate! Doing good hope u are too 👍
What do you usually do with your project bikes? Where I live, it‘s hard to sell a used bike for more than 150 bucks, even in great condition.
sell them when i have too many, some ppl appreciate the custom builds here so not too bad
Does your Specialized have a 1 inch headset?
Nah my specialized has 1 1/8 threadless, this bike diamondback has 1inch threaded
Very nice.
Cheers Grant!
All the old skool mtb prefer the dirt drop stem. Kudos!
Ayyy cheers man! Def a classic mtb stem haha!
Respect
Thx mate
Fantastic build! 😍 Do you mind if I ask what size is the frame and what height are you? (Trying to work out what size frame I can use for my own project...and yours looks like it rides like a much bigger frame with those bars.)
Hi the frame is 55 center tot center top tube and 42 center to center seat tube , I’m around 5’9’ , hope that helps !!
@@garysprojects Thanks... Appreciate the reply!👍
@@Hic_Rhodus no sweat!
Oh hi.
Hi there ! 👋
Just got one of these for free..was looking at single speeding mine to
Hell ya do it up, super fun
Cheers..new bottom bracket first..then my bars...bicycles are how I get to work to do my odd jobs...so hopefully it turns out to be a nice riding bike.cheers...and thanks for the encouragement and happy new year, steve
@@StevenStratford no worries mate, have fun with it , happy new year !
Look what I found, finally update🎉
Ayyy yes !!
file flat and smooth the end of the cable housing, worth too much! highly improves the brake mechanism.
Hell ya definitely does!!
Nice..
Cheers!
@@garysprojects sana masilip nyo mga rides ko..
Ya know, on one of my first bikes I bought evapo rust and chucked the whole tub after one go 😅 what a waste
Hahah omg damn!!! Tough lesson to learn but guess u only have to learn it once !
Cleeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaannn.
😆😆😆✌️✌️✌️✌️
you rock
Cheers mate ! 🙏
seat is too high,how tall are you?
Are u sure ? I’m 175
fucken siiiiiiiiick
thx homie!!!
not the biggest fan of bars and stem, nice bike though.
Cheers man!
@@garysprojects cheers 🍻
There are a lot of vidoes of people converting mountain bikes to single speed and I have 1 question. Why? Unless you live in Florida where there are no hills there is no ideal gear ratio. You need to change with the hills.
Just something simple about it, you can just pick up and go and not have to worry , like a skateboard
singlespeed and gravel don't go together. that's a flat town bike
disagree because of the tyres
@garysprojects the gravel bike needs speeds. can go uphill without them
Too long video...more than 50 min....around 25-30 min might be better
Cheers man I used to do shorter ones but longer ones seem to do better for me 👍
The videos are great even if it's just 1 minute or 1 hour, well documented. It's a great experience. 👍
Thank you! 🙏😊
Another 90s MTB saved for last…well done again🔧😎Think for Season 2023 it’s time for me to get some Evaporust as well to make restoring rusted parts much easier😃Cheers, mate👋🏻
Haha yesss !! Great idea !! Cheers mate appreciate it 👍😊
for sale?!
Ya but it’s changed a lot 😂