How do I convert my road bike to a fixed gear?

"Re verical dropouts

The problem with vertical dropouts is that you can't tension the chain by moving the wheel forward/backward in the dropout. You can still do the conversion if you add a chain tensioner. This is a tensioning gear that bolts onto the chain stay. It's adjustable and pushes downward on the chain to take up any slack. I think they cost about $10-15. I got one on ebay and it seems to work ok for my daughter. I think Harris Cyclery also sells them, http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/"

"Here's how I did it.

Starting state:

The bike was a steel roadbike with horizontal dropouts.

As other commenters have said, this is essential. Don't start if this is not the case.

New Parts:

I bought a fixed gear hub, and a rim, and took it to a bikeshop to build.

They put a stainless steel fixed cog on one side and a freewheel on the other.

The fixed cog was built for a thicker chain. So I bought the appropriate one.

A thicker chain can work on smaller cogs, but not vice versa.

Removing Old Parts:

I removed the shifters, and all the cables, and then I removed one of the front chainrings.

I kept the brakes.

Putting On new parts:

Fixed gears are easy!

Add wheel.

Add chain.

You'll need to to size the chain properly, so Put the wheel on in the middle-ish of the dropouts, and then remove links until it's snug. Use a magic-link, or whatever it's called to finish it.

Tension it.

With the wheel in the dropouts tug back gently till there is no slack in the chain. Hold it snug while you tighten the bolts. The chain should not droop, but it should not be super super tight either.

Now tighten the bolts more.

And snug those bolts down again.

Check the chain tension, if it's too tight, loosen it.

If it's too loose tighten it.

Maintenance:

Chain Tension is the only thing you ever have to worry about.

Check it regularly.

Keep it snug.

Too loose and it will slip off

Too tight and it will climb off."

"If your rear wheel has a freehub (as opposed to a freewheel) Surly makes a single-cog cassette that just slides on and locks down like a gear cluster. If you have a freewheel, there are single-speed freewheels available from Shimano and Dicta (to name two brands). You'll need a freewheel tool, a vise and possibly a chainwhip to get the old one off; bear this in mind as opposed to simply hiring it done by the bike shop.

If you really want to do it right, you'll re-dish the rear wheel so it's more nearly symmetrical, and that's when the fun really starts. There's something very Zen about wheelwork. There are loads of tutorials available online; I particularly like the ones available at Instructables.com"

"There is a lot of good advise here but something that was not brought up is the dropouts. If your road bike has vertical dropouts then you can't turn the bike into a true fixed gear bicycle. The dropouts are the slots that the axle of your wheel fits into.

However if you have a bicycle with semi-horizontal or horizontal dropouts then you can convert the bike into a true fixed gear. As mentioned above, it will require a special type of wheel that you can thread a fix gear cog and lock ring on to. Unfortunately you can't use a hub with threads for a freewheel because if you try to skid stop you will unthread the fixed cog.

If you are just trying to turn it into a single speed you can ignore the above information."

"CAUTION! Keep in mind that the chain will not stop unless the back wheel stops when your working on your fixie.

If your finger is riding on the inside of the chain when it meets the chain-ring, you could very well lose it. At least its gonna' hurt...a lot."