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My Cannondale now SS!

1K views 17 replies 12 participants last post by  PinkyBrigade 
#1 · (Edited)
I think this bike likes it best this way. It was born to be simple and fast. I built a FS bike from the parts that were on this and had enough stuff around the garage to built the Cannondale up SS! It's so fun to ride, light, and steers amazing as always. It's a 42 X 18 setup that works flawlessly. It has never thrown a chain and is smooth as butter with no chain slap. Any other converted Cannondale SS rigs out there?
 
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#6 ·
"That is really funny stuff, Ed" (Johnny Carson)

halfinch said:
nice looking cdale..i see it's so light you need hooks to keep her down.. :rolleyes:
nice conversion. i figure the bike is pretty light, but i gotta ask; where the heck are you riding a 42:18? my road fixie is 42:16 and my SS is 32:18. i can't imagine dealing with 10 more teeth... then again, neither can my grandpappy :D
 
#8 ·
OneGearGuy said:
nice conversion. i figure the bike is pretty light, but i gotta ask; where the heck are you riding a 42:18? my road fixie is 42:16 and my SS is 32:18. i can't imagine dealing with 10 more teeth... then again, neither can my grandpappy :D
The local trail I ride it on is about 10 miles of up's and down's with no long climbs. It forces me to ride fast the whole time which is prefect. When I go out of town I take the FS that's fully geared. I do want to take this on a more "mountainous" ride and when I do, I'll probably make the gearing easier for longer climbs.
 
#10 ·
Another C'dale convert

I bought the frame from a friend, striped & sold most of the parts on Ebay & then bought most of the parts on the bike now from Ebay. The bike is light & fast & I love it. The only thing I hate is the tensioner, which I'll probably replace soon.
 

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#12 ·
KirtM said:
I bought the frame from a friend, striped & sold most of the parts on Ebay & then bought most of the parts on the bike now from Ebay. The bike is light & fast & I love it. The only thing I hate is the tensioner, which I'll probably replace soon.
Sweet ride !

Half-link ? Eno disc ?

When are you going to sell the Ventana ? ;)

Maurice
 
#13 ·
How about two gears?

Guital2 said:
Oh yeah! I got you beat I am currently running a 44-18 on my ss.....It hurts though, bad.
You already have everything it takes to make a sweet two speed, you could add another cog in back like I did. I think this is a very nice setup and doesn't cost much. It wont hurt to climb anymore and you still have the 44x18 to cruise to the trailhead on.

I use a cheap friction shifter, the guard rings keep the chain from falling off no matter what. It's totally fool proof and simple. This is my favorite off road adventure bike these days.

I use a 34-22 up front with a rock ring on the outside and a jump stop on the inside. No front derrailleur. A 16t dx cog and a 26t cassette cog in the back. I have three differrent ratios to use with no hassles. It has very good chain line. It's simpler than a 27 speed and more versitle than a single speed.

My goal was to design something simple, cheap and practicle that works with little fuss. So far I'm very happy, my single speed 1FG and Surly rarely get ridden. If there's a lot of hill climbing involved I ride my two speed.

I want to be known as the father of the two speed in the western cascades. So far I don't have any followers. I've done single speeds for years, I'm not convinced its the best for the big hills in the cascades. Sitting and spinning is nice. Too many gears are a hassle, two or three is just about perfect.
 

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#15 ·
Guital2 said:
Wow you are using an xt deralleur on your singlespeed.....
thats pretty cool thouh...where did you get those cog sheilds on the rear hub?
They look like ground down gears. I agree that a bike with a few gears would be the best. I'd be simple but usefull still. Maybe 5 gears.
 
#16 ·
It was a stock F-600

Guital2 said:
Wow you are using an xt deralleur on your singlespeed.....
thats pretty cool thouh...where did you get those cog sheilds on the rear hub?
I bought a new F-600 and improved it by putting on my two speed, bigger tires, thud buster seat post. I like avid mechanicals and the headshock with lockout it came with.

Any rear der would work fine, I just used what it came with. If you use more than two rear cogs it complicates things more than you think. You would want an indexed shifter to accurately hit the between gears. Next thing you know you're right back to 9 speeds and all the issues associated with it.

With two cogs all you do is jam the shifter forward all the way or back all the way, it always shifts flawlessly with no adjusting. When you stand it will never skip out of gear, dependable, just like a single speed. The ramped 26 tooth cog lifts the chain up without hesitation and drops it onto the 16 tooth just as easy.

I ground down old IG cogs, they are the lightest because they have huge cut outs. I used a crappy bottom of the line plastic shifter. You don't need anything fancy. I can shift the front on the fly by kicking the chain off the big ring with my heel, up shifts from the 22 to the 34 require more skill, I reach down and lift it on the 34t. I really don't use the 22 ring very often. The 34x26 will climb anything standing up, the 22x26 is for when I really feel lax.
 

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#17 ·
Nice bikes guys,
I am right with you. I converted my F5000sl in Jan. 04 and never looked back.
I used the Soulcraft kit and I am running a 32/17. The 32/16 had the chain too long for the push position and the pull position slipped way too much.

Although someone just planted a bug of getting a 29'r SS.
 

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