Start off with a 1X conversion. Put a BMX crank with an oval chainring in front. Be sure that the chain ring teeth are staggered sizing, meaning every other tooth is large and small to properly fit the chain you need to accomplish this. That should be all you need. I converted to a single speed , gave it about 2 months, and put it right back. All I did was waste money and make it nearly impossible to go uphill. I built a one by seven GT Avalanche 3.0 for my son. There's no clanking or noise whatsoever. You have to learn the technique to shift when the bike is under tension uphill or coasting downhill. You must properly tension your drivetrain. It's not supposed to have a stiff tensioner. I would ask for a video in 6 months and have him show the condition of the cogs and chainring.
I straight away bought a single speed one... People were saying, I am stupid. Saying, "if you want a cheap bike, go for a used one". But now whenever we go on a ride, I am the one who just enjoy the ride, whereas, they are just switching the gears and worried about their bike whenever they get a strange noise from derailer... 🚲🚲😂
my bike is very similar except the frame is just a cheap schwinn... that's the only stock part.. i didnt like the cheap suspension so i got a rigid fork.. i never shift gears so i converted it to a singlespeed with a really tough gear ratio and i love it for doing mountain bike stuff in the city i live in where the sidewalks might as well be gravel gear ratio 32x16 and as someone whos 5'6 im upset 26 inch wheels are going away
I converted to singlespeed about a half year ago and I like it too. But I use it without chain tensioner. That way looks even better. It took some time to figure it out the correct (magic) gear ratio combination, but it turned out to be just like I wanted. Well, almost. :-) It is in 36/16. - Btw I plan to use a front DH type chain guide/tensioner if the chain streches. (or an exzentirker BB)
The Fad is 29" wheels, that doesn't mean its correct? I have ridden all 3 wheel sizes, currently on a 27.5 and love it. But the fad says 26 and 27.5 suck and 29 is the best. My bike will fit 29 wheels but I have no desire to go that route. Rock that 26 and enjoy it.
Don't get sucked into the "I gotta get a new MTB" baloney. They're way way way overpriced and won't make riding any more fun and that's why we ride.Repurposing our old bikes is fun and saves millions of dollars. 10 years ago I converted my 1991 Diamond back full promo MTB with the old Marzocchi suspension fork to my urban basher and beach bike. Rigid fork, cool powder coating, new drive train with Nexus 8 sp internal gear hub. She's the "Mule" now and I dig it. I even pull a BOB trailer when running down to the beach with the kids. Work those old bikes. They are cool!
Could do some serious climbing on this bike with the proper gear ratio. In my opinion suspension slows down climbing unless the terrain is just super rough
You got the right idea. The rigid fork is the way to go. I am a bmx guy too and front shocks feel weird to me. Like im bouncing up+down all the time. You dont need that front brake either.
Can you give me some directions on how to convert my bike to a single speed bike, i have a trek marlin 5 just got into this stuff but i only ride on a canal in my hometown.
@@MikeinCC true, no half link needed. But it does give finer adjustability and I was trying to get by without a tensioner. But I still needed the tensioner with my gear ratio. The ideal situation would be to find the perfect ratio so you don't have to have a tensioner.
Just out of curiosity what's the point of switching to single speed? Thanks in advance.. sorry for the stupid question but I'm looking into getting a mtb
The bike is great. I had to play with the chain length and gear ratio to get it right. But it's good now. I think im running an 18:40 ratio. The 40 tooth chainring is a little big for a mountian bike but it's what I had and it works. You have to work to keep up on the trails but I like it. With some different tires it would make an awesome city bike.
Aren't you getting any problems riding uphills on that gear ratio? I tried 38-18t and I'm getting a hard time pedaling uphill so I switched to 32-18t, my problem now is I am not getting enough speed on flats.
No I did not have to much trouble, I would just push harder. Besides, its pretty flat where I live. I dont ride this bike anymore though. I put gears back on and set it up for my wife, see other videos on my channel. By the way, the gear ratio on my fixie is 53-16. Now thats a tough gear.
Is it harder with a single speed? Or can you get some good speed during commutes on the road Also I'm having annoying as fuck chain skip whenever I do hard pedal strokes.
Chain skip is probably due to worn out parts. Maybe a stretched chain or worn teeth on your gears. Could also be a bad derailleur. Either way when this bike started doing it i ditched it all, I like the simplicity of thos set up. Is it harder? Well it's only one gear so in some cases I guess it is. Does it matter to me? No. You will have to try different gears to figure out what works best for you. The topography where i live is pretty flat so it's not that bad. All in all I'm still enjoying this bike as a single speed.
@@daledubose3032 So the solution was. The single speed still had a derailleur attached to it and the chain was a bit too long. I removed the derailleur. Attached a 36t deckas chainring and removed the small 30t raceface chainring. Then shorten the chain. Then used a DMR as the chain tensioner. Then bam! Single speed MTB. Lul. Since its single speed I completely had to re adjust my pedalling style.
This seems like the child of a mountain bike, road bike, and bmx
Nothing wrong with the 26" wheels, us smaller guys like them ;)
26" rulez! The bike turned out great if you ask me, no BMX background here but rigid bikes are still my faves. Kudos!
Your bike is awesome. I'm also thinking of going singlespeed because I don't even use the other gears
If you only use one front gear and one back gear convert it in a singpe speed you will not regret it
Start off with a 1X conversion. Put a BMX crank with an oval chainring in front. Be sure that the chain ring teeth are staggered sizing, meaning every other tooth is large and small to properly fit the chain you need to accomplish this. That should be all you need. I converted to a single speed , gave it about 2 months, and put it right back. All I did was waste money and make it nearly impossible to go uphill. I built a one by seven GT Avalanche 3.0 for my son. There's no clanking or noise whatsoever. You have to learn the technique to shift when the bike is under tension uphill or coasting downhill. You must properly tension your drivetrain. It's not supposed to have a stiff tensioner. I would ask for a video in 6 months and have him show the condition of the cogs and chainring.
That looks sick!
Did an excellent job- thanks for posting
I straight away bought a single speed one... People were saying, I am stupid. Saying, "if you want a cheap bike, go for a used one".
But now whenever we go on a ride, I am the one who just enjoy the ride, whereas, they are just switching the gears and worried about their bike whenever they get a strange noise from derailer... 🚲🚲😂
I love my Surly KM. Single speed Rigid Mtb'ing is boat loads of fun! Enjoy!
Great bike. Thank you for sharing.
Great bike like its owner! Looks sooo nice, like 26 inches also!
Gary Fisher🥰❤️..... I had a Gary fisher Kaitai..... Loved it ❤️
Cool video. I dig single speed mountain bikes. You should put some low-rise BMX bars and stem on this and see how it rides
my bike is very similar except the frame is just a cheap schwinn... that's the only stock part.. i didnt like the cheap suspension so i got a rigid fork.. i never shift gears so i converted it to a singlespeed with a really tough gear ratio and i love it for doing mountain bike stuff in the city i live in where the sidewalks might as well be gravel gear ratio 32x16 and as someone whos 5'6 im upset 26 inch wheels are going away
I ride 29” but I agree 26” should stay. Maybe try 27.5? People like it a lot as well
I converted to singlespeed about a half year ago and I like it too. But I use it without chain tensioner. That way looks even better. It took some time to figure it out the correct (magic) gear ratio combination, but it turned out to be just like I wanted. Well, almost. :-) It is in 36/16. - Btw I plan to use a front DH type chain guide/tensioner if the chain streches. (or an exzentirker BB)
i really like the idea of single gear, i like to stand up and push.. skipping gears and bruised ribs is terrifying
Im an old BMX guy, 63, I only ride a SS rigid 26", 32/18
The Fad is 29" wheels, that doesn't mean its correct? I have ridden all 3 wheel sizes, currently on a 27.5 and love it. But the fad says 26 and 27.5 suck and 29 is the best. My bike will fit 29 wheels but I have no desire to go that route. Rock that 26 and enjoy it.
i have 2 mtb with single speed and no tensioner needed for both, coincidence?
Don't get sucked into the "I gotta get a new MTB" baloney. They're way way way overpriced and won't make riding any more fun and that's why we ride.Repurposing our old bikes is fun and saves millions of dollars. 10 years ago I converted my 1991 Diamond back full promo MTB with the old Marzocchi suspension fork to my urban basher and beach bike. Rigid fork, cool powder coating, new drive train with Nexus 8 sp internal gear hub. She's the "Mule" now and I dig it. I even pull a BOB trailer when running down to the beach with the kids. Work those old bikes. They are cool!
Could do some serious climbing on this bike with the proper gear ratio. In my opinion suspension slows down climbing unless the terrain is just super rough
Where is that trail you were riding?
Looks good
Ive got the gary fisher ful sus fat posum xl they might be old but they still handle the trail haha :-) yours is nice whats it like single speed
You have to work harder but its pretty flat where i live. Its fun and never gets out of adjustment.
I rock my street bike with single speed and 24' wheels it was fully ridgid but I added a fork
You got the right idea. The rigid fork is the way to go. I am a bmx guy too and front shocks feel weird to me. Like im bouncing up+down all the time. You dont need that front brake either.
This is great. Looking to do this to my 95 GT Karakoram! What bars are you using? I like the rise.
The bars are from Deity. I've changed the bike up again now. I've got a new trail bike so I'm building this as more of a road/gravel bike.
This was my first real mountain bike! 😀
Can you give me some directions on how to convert my bike to a single speed bike, i have a trek marlin 5 just got into this stuff but i only ride on a canal in my hometown.
The main thing you need is to get a single speed kit with tensioner like I have on the rear. Google it, there are several different brands out there.
you don't need a half-link chain. A regular 3/32 chain works fine with a tensioner.
@@MikeinCC true, no half link needed. But it does give finer adjustability and I was trying to get by without a tensioner. But I still needed the tensioner with my gear ratio. The ideal situation would be to find the perfect ratio so you don't have to have a tensioner.
Just out of curiosity what's the point of switching to single speed? Thanks in advance.. sorry for the stupid question but I'm looking into getting a mtb
How do you like the bike so far?
The bike is great. I had to play with the chain length and gear ratio to get it right. But it's good now. I think im running an 18:40 ratio. The 40 tooth chainring is a little big for a mountian bike but it's what I had and it works. You have to work to keep up on the trails but I like it. With some different tires it would make an awesome city bike.
Aren't you getting any problems riding uphills on that gear ratio? I tried 38-18t and I'm getting a hard time pedaling uphill so I switched to 32-18t, my problem now is I am not getting enough speed on flats.
No I did not have to much trouble, I would just push harder. Besides, its pretty flat where I live. I dont ride this bike anymore though. I put gears back on and set it up for my wife, see other videos on my channel.
By the way, the gear ratio on my fixie is 53-16. Now thats a tough gear.
What ist the weight?
Is a true single speed or can you still coast? I have a Mid 90’s Trek that’s calling for this!
It is a single speed, not to be confused with a fixed gear or "fixie". Single speed will coast, fixie will not.
Bike muito top! 👍
Nice bike
RIGID POWER!!!!!
Is it harder with a single speed? Or can you get some good speed during commutes on the road
Also I'm having annoying as fuck chain skip whenever I do hard pedal strokes.
Chain skip is probably due to worn out parts. Maybe a stretched chain or worn teeth on your gears. Could also be a bad derailleur. Either way when this bike started doing it i ditched it all, I like the simplicity of thos set up.
Is it harder? Well it's only one gear so in some cases I guess it is. Does it matter to me? No. You will have to try different gears to figure out what works best for you. The topography where i live is pretty flat so it's not that bad.
All in all I'm still enjoying this bike as a single speed.
@@daledubose3032 So the solution was. The single speed still had a derailleur attached to it and the chain was a bit too long.
I removed the derailleur. Attached a 36t deckas chainring and removed the small 30t raceface chainring.
Then shorten the chain. Then used a DMR as the chain tensioner.
Then bam! Single speed MTB. Lul.
Since its single speed I completely had to re adjust my pedalling style.
@@doomslayer5191 yeah but it's fun right?
@@daledubose3032 harder to pedal during climbs. Since it's legit single speeded lol
100% use a HALF LINK CHAIN anything esle will skip
what fork is that? thanks
eXotic. It has held up well. I dont really trail ride this bike any more, see my other videos, but I use to.
thats basically a dirt jumper
How heavy is that bike now?
Not sure but I guess it's lighter
What tires?
Maxxis Ardent EXO 26 X 2.25
@@daledubose3032 thanks for the fast reply! Would you recommend these for a mix of road and dirt? Or would the Maxxis Ikon be better?
@@ralphmag3072 the Ardent is definitely not a good choice for road. Its very soft with big lugs and wide voids. They're great in soft or loose dirt.
I like it but let's admit, it's really just a bike BMX bike with knobbles on the tires
Are you Woody Harrelson?
Yeah sure, just out on my bike looking for Twinkies.
Why not get a single speed hub? You get a much stronger wheel!
Because this was a cheap way to get more use out of this bike. I have others with much stronger components.
that shit is sexy
What chain tensioner is that? Thanks
DMR
Thing is nasty!!