Right, Ive decided Ill be singlespeeding my old peugeot elan, the bike that gets me to lectures etc.  Its oldish, and as such Ive no idea how compatible stuff will be with it.

Im guessing getting the wheel redished will be relatively simple, but I dont know stuff like whether its likely to be a freewheel or a freehub and whether I can reuse the sprockets.  If they come apart, that is.

Up the front, it seems the simplex chainrings are riveted together, so getting just the inside one would be tricky.  Does this mean replacing the crankset, and if so what should I look for in terms of compatibility etc?  And is this likely to push the cost up a silly amount?

[edit] Pics of the bike in question:









BTW, what tool do i use to get the cranks off?  Thought that shiny cap would pry off, but no such luck it seems...

lol singlespeeding... the new black lol

Makes me damn jealous of you lot lol If only I had the one hobby and a tump of money to throw at it. I could do without a 3rd one.

1: photography
2: computers
3: WILL NOT BE CYCLING! lol.. cannot afford the damn thing! lol.

singlespeed advice:

Dont do it!! nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

gears are all tooooo convenient

Admittedly they are noisier than single..  Im gonna try that wax crazyness that Max had next time its lube time.... My mother works real close to a bike shop, asked her to get me some if she could.. dint have any so I have 2 pots of teflon to get through first admittedly its quite nice, fairly quiet and cleaner than oil crap that I had last but doesnt seem to be as cool as the White Lightning that Max had - self cleaning sounds awsome

Teflon seems fairly good though, its clean enough so far.

Quote from: M3ta7h3adlol singlespeeding... the new black lol

Makes me damn jealous of you lot lol If only I had the one hobby and a tump of money to throw at it. I could do without a 3rd one.

1: photography
2: computers
3: WILL NOT BE CYCLING! lol.. cannot afford the damn thing! lol.

As max will testify, Ive been thinking about doing this for a long time, finally the end of work is in sight and Ill have a couple of weeks of free time to actually get it sorted  Ok so the bike I was originally going to singlespeed is now in pieces, but I have something similar

Quote from: snellgrovesinglespeed advice:

Dont do it!! nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

gears are all tooooo convenient

This bike is used for 10 minute sprints to lectures and hall, and occasionally to get to the shops or my girlfriends house.  The deraillieur is bent (hits the spokes in top) and the front cogs are patchy at best.  The only time this bike comes off the fast cog is when I want to burn taxis at the lights  

Highest cost scenario, and mind this is what it would cost over here:

Shimano single speed freewheel: $15
Wheel Dishing labour: $15
New Sugino SS cranks: $70
= $100

Mind you can go throw a fixed cog on the back with some threadlock compound, but track cogs cost more than freewheels believe it or not.

 The old cranks can be reused, are ya sure they cant be taken apart? Are they cottered or are they mounted on a regular square taper BB? If you have a grinder, you can grind the teeth off the outside cog and use it as an punk rock bash ring.

Cheap method:

Use old crank: $0
Use old freewheel, let the other gears come along for the ride: $0

If its a college town, you can always ask if the shop has some detritus in their parts bin you can either have, swap, or give them a few coppers for.

EDIT: didnt see the pics up before. A shot of the business side of the cranks would be nice. Most rings come off with a 4mm hex key. Crank arm dust covers come off with a twist of a coin, but youll need a crank arm puller to remove the cranks, do you really need them off??

Simplest thing is to just run down and get the rear wheel redished with a 16 or 17T bmx freewheel. Let them know that youre using the inside chainring so theyll set up your chainline properly, which means the axel spacing.

Quote from: snellgrovesinglespeed advice:

Dont do it!! nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

gears are all tooooo convenient

Not really. For alpine stuff, theyre certainly a must, but Ive been training almost 200miles/week these days on my single speed. They make you stronger. A hill that used to kill me with a 42X25, I now scurry over easily with only a 16t rear. Passed a guy in full Discovery team regalia on the tony Belle Meade Boulevard on the flats at 25mph--I was on mile 15, and he was clacking through his gears trying to find some magical ratio. Har har.

QuoteAdmittedly they are noisier than single..  Im gonna try that wax crazyness that Max had next time its lube time.... My mother works real close to a bike shop, asked her to get me some if she could.. dint have any so I have 2 pots of teflon to get through first admittedly its quite nice, fairly quiet and cleaner than oil crap that I had last but doesnt seem to be as cool as the White Lightning that Max had - self cleaning sounds awsome

Teflon seems fairly good though, its clean enough so far.

White Lightning isnt all its cracked up to be, tbh. Ill go back to wet lube as soon as this bottles done. Now, its damn clean, and sucks the dirt out of your chain--which is awesome, but its an inferior lube to oil and doesnt last long. Im going back to 1:1 80w gear oil/mineral spirits, as you can use it to clean and lube. Its more like WD40 if WD40 didnt suck balls.

OK, cranks.  Top ones the current set, the other two are from my other peugeots and can be used if necessary.  Bottom one looks by far the tastiest, but sadly its missing the left crank arm

Personal preference, Just take the gear fixings off and reduce the chain length accordingly, then you can fit them again if you change your mind or decide to sell it.

Worth it?

Reckon that would fit? Could hopefully pick it up and avoid postage

Also this ok?

Quote from: funkychicken9000Worth it?

Reckon that would fit? Could hopefully pick it up and avoid postage

Bloody perfect! Great price! Alternately, use the last cranks with left arm of another set, as long as theyre both the same length. Put small ring on outside, secure with $5 short bmx bolts.

QuoteAlso this ok?

Generic Chinese freewheel? Just fine, you dont need uber freestyle quality.

Thats assuming its a screw on freewheel, but thats what it looks like to me. Shimano did make 6spd Uniglide cassettes, but then you would have jap derailleurs as well.

Quote from: SeriousPersonal preference, Just take the gear fixings off and reduce the chain length accordingly, then you can fit them again if you change your mind or decide to sell it.

Looks crap though.

I did do that for a destitute man I found grabbing the aluminum out of my recycling bin. Hes seen me out riding and wanted to know where he could get a cheap bike to ride to his new job on. As I had a medium sized circa 72 Raleigh Le Cheap racer in the garage, I had him come back in an hour, after I stripped it of gearing, a chainring, and shortened the chain. Left the freewheel on and sold it on credit for a token $20. He paid me 2 years later. Now thats honesty.

Freewheel ordered, waiting to hear back from the guy about whether I can pick up the cranks.  Then I just need to redish the back wheel

What chain do I need?  Also, I have no bike-specific tools bar a few spanners.  Anything Im likely to need?

You can also use the middle cranks, remove the inner ring and run a larger cog in back to get a usable ratio, a 20t would be perfect, though a little hard to find. ACS makes a 20 toother, afaik.

The new cranks are purtier tho.

I like my vintage ones, but the bolt pattern is obsolete. If anbody has some gently used SR/Ofmega rings, lemme know.