mack_turtle

You can use old cassette spacers, BB spacers, or even segments of carefully cut PVC pipe for spacers. I have a handful of spacers to donate if you need them. I am sure YBP has 80 linear feet of such spacers kicking around. I might still have a steel 16t cog that will work so long as you don't put it on an aluminum freehub. Aluminum freehubs are soft and require a wide-base cog like that Surly or they dig into the freehub. If you have a steel freehub, those hold up better with cheap, thin cogs.

Freehub + single speed cog + spacers = single speed hub. I have a Hadley hub on mine that could take a regular cassette but it's only seen more than one gear a few times. For a freewheel hub, the freewheel will be set very far inboard of the ideal chainline. I would not want to space the freewheel out by more than a few mm because it needs to engage the treads on the hub as much as possible. It might be possible to space the chainring in to match, but that's not ideal. There will be a huge space between the drive side dropout and the freewheel too. To resolve that, you can remove the axle and rearrange the spacers on the axle so the freewheel lines up better with the chainring. However, that will throw off the wheel dish, making the tire sit very off-center in the frame. It might be possible to correct this with spoke tension, but most likely the DS spokes will be far too short and the NDS spokes far too long. The best cheap fix for that is to completely unlace the wheel and rebuild it with the spokes on the opposite sides of the hub. I've done this. It's time-consuming but worth it if you're a tightwad like me.

What's the crankset on that bike? Are the shifters integrated on the brake levers? How original do you want to keep this?

Aluminum versus steel means nothing without specifics. If you're going to buy a frame specifically for this project, I'd get some with with track ends or sliders so you don't have to mess with a tensioner. There are a lot of used frames on the market with this feature.

The first one will not work. That is a thread-on cog for a track hub. Surly cogs are my go-to. Cog/ring combo is important. Most people on 29ers around here are running something like 32/20, give or take a few teeth. You can run a higher gear like 32/16 if you're converting an old 26er bike. If this is a pavement-oriented bike, you can go much higher. I use a 38/16 combo on my CX bike with 700x35 tires.

Use a single-specific chainring and cog. Don't repurpose a single cassette cog or middle ring designed for shifting. It will fall off at the worst possible time. Use whatever chain. 8-9 speed chains are great. Anything to do with half-links is a last resort. Surly, DMR, Paul, YESS, Blackspire, various generic options, etc tensioners all work about the same. I had good luck with a DMR model, no bouncing!

Bottom-bracket gearboxes are the future. We're going to laugh out heads off at how long people have tolerated derailers.

Fitbit Surge. It was cheap (used) and has its own dedicated GPS. It tracks my general physical activity and uploads the data to Strava when I ride or run. It's also just a watch that I wear every day. The app allows me to input what foods I am eating so Big Brother knows if I am healthy.

Dick Nichols has water and toilets. Also water/ toilets near the playground and soccer field bathrooms at Circle C soccer fields. There's swimming pool and playground on Wolftrap that has a water fountain and one at the main entrance to the Veloway. I think there's one in Longview Park. Sunset Valley trailhead behind their city hall on Jones had one too last time I checked. There will likely be one at the VCT trailhead at MOPAC/ SH45, but I didn't see anything the last time I rode through there. You can also stop in any of the fast food restaurants or convenience stores on the way and probably fill up but I would not do that solo if you have to leave your bike outside.

My original response was cheeky but accurate. I have a 20t cog on my bike. Context (although you didn't ask for it): 29x2.4" tires, 34t chainring.

Fuck off.

I tried to ask a clarifying question in the interest of being helpful. Nevermind.

In case anyone is reading this, I could meet some folks at 8 a.m. at Dick Nichols. PM me if interested. If you follow The Tip on Strava, he laid out some pretty solid routes for the SATN Social. Let me know what parts of the routes are unfamiliar to you and we'll try to ride those routes.

RA- like I said, the appropriate cassette range depends on wheel /tire size and the front chainring. Please state your question in that context.

I live near Dick Nichols Park so that's where I ride 99% of the time. I try to hit dirt around 8 so I can get 3-4 hours before the temperatures reaches Ludicrous.

Anyone have Labor Day free and want to explore SATN? I would like to get an early ride in and you can tag along.

I think the question is: what range of gears on a cassette works best? Without the context of chaining(s) size and wheel/tire size, the answers are meaningless.

20t

Those important or you wheel just roll way

Someone was putting "clap activated" stickers on electric scooters downtown for a while. It's only littering if something removes the sticker and throws it on the ground, then it's on them.

On that note, $10 can buy you endless giggles at strangers' expense. https://www.amazon.com/StickIt-Gagster-Prank-Stickers-Pack/dp/B077HXW2Z2

Yeah, I am not sure THIS weekend is going to work after all- heat, dog limitations, not enough planning time. Later in the year maybe. Thanks for all the tips!

What does that have to do with things that happen in Denver?

I only realize that saddle theft is an issue because I once visited Philadelphia while transit workers were on strike. Many people riding bikes to work, and almost all of the bicycles had no saddles. This was confusing until I saw someone lock up his bike, pull his seatpost and take it with him.

I love how SCNP has about a dozen signs on the driveway that tell you dogs are not allowed. I had to warn someone there who was about to enter the trail with his dog that dog's are not allowed and he said, without irony, "really? How am I supposed to know that?" People just don't pay attention, myself included.