Peaches and Steam

Setting up a bike as a single speed using a simple tensioner such as the YESS ETR-D seems like it should be a simple endeavor. Remove shifty bits, replace the complicated ring combos and cassettes with one cog and one ring, mount the tensioner, and ride. That's how it should work. Here's how it did work.

Removing the shifty bits was easy. I did take my time so as not to disconnect the cable from the front derailleur and other details that would make the transition back to gears easier. Once I had the offensive chain dropping pieces removed I pushed onward. With everything off the bars I lost some time when I decided to swap cockpits with the Meatplow only to decide I did not like what I just did to end up swapping it all back losing precious minutes.

I wanted to mount up my polished XT cranks for single speed use. Of all the cranks I had laying around they seemed the most Tallboy'esque.

When I went to install the only semi-serviceable Octalink bottom bracket I had it dawned on me that I had my thinking backwards. A 73mm bottom bracket CAN be installed on a 68mm shell (with a spacer), but a 68mm bottom bracket CAN NOT be installed in a 73mm shell no matter what you do. The XT cranks could not go on the bike.

I grabbed my Middleburn cranks and a very old and on its last legs Crank Brothers ISIS bottom bracket.

They went on fine, but they looked stupid on the crabon frame. I couldn't handle it from an aesthetic point of view and knowing that I just put some sorta flexy'ish crank on a not very flexy at all frame I felt perplexed. I went to bed Friday night with the job incomplete and untested, and I considered the idea of jumping out of bed and reinstalling the shifty bits.

When I woke up I had an idea. I pulled the old Race Face cranks off the fixed gear/cross tired ti bike realizing that I could replace them with the XT's. With the Race Face cranks freed for use I thought I was home free. Nope. Both bottom bracket cups were seized. Being that the cups were quite old and used on my winter beater bike I was none too surprised, but all too let down.

I dug around in a box of old parts and found a mismatched set of cups that still moved, albeit in a crunchy manner. I replaced the cranks on the fixed gear with the Xt's, mounted the Race Face crank/bb assembly on the Superbeast, and did the chain ring swap. Win.

Now it was time to set the tensioner up. I measured the chainline, installed the spacers on the wheel, and grabbed a new PC-1 out of the case. It was done...

or not.

I grew a brain and realized that I should remove all the air from the rear shock and make sure the tensioner could handle a bottom-out scenario (I go big, like, all the time). Fail... the tensioner hit the bottom of the chainstay.

I broke out the instructions... wait, there are no instructions. I called George since he got this thing to work on Shredward, and he gave me some pointers. I changed the spring location, added a link of chain, and did the bottom-out test once more. Win.

I went out and test rode my new full suspension single speed in front of my house. The chain popped and clicked whenever I applied a good amount of torque. Fail.

I examined everything, determined the cog showed a little sign of wear (not enough to affect it on a real single speed), and swapped it's direction. The next test ride was a success. I win... totally.

I weighed the new bike... still the Superbeast, but in Shreddie the Corpse stealth mode. The weight was respectable, but realizing that the timing of it all meant I would be racing it at the short track, I wanted it to be lighter. Off came the 8" front rotor, the WTB Wolverine rear tire, and the QR seatpost clamp. On went the lighter alternatives.

Win.

We all know that the short track race was a huge failure. Mud hindered the performance of the YESS tensioner, and I was washing my bike while the other single speeders rode the final two laps of the race. Fail, but a win at the same time.

I still had my fun.

photo cred: Alexander Hawn

Yes, I have plenty of photos of me with three inches of air under my tires and my tongue hanging out of my mouth.

I also got to hang out with the elitist group of riders from Bicycles East.

We totally dominated the back half of the pack with a perfect book ending of tenth through dead last. I was even scored behind dare devil Rodney Billowitz who crashed out early in the race in a most dramatic scene of derring-do.

Heal up Rodney. The crowd gathered at the jump this weekend will miss you.