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Looking for advice please - I'm toying with the idea of going drop bar singlespeed on my Roadrat commuter. I don't want to get a new back wheel just yet so does anyone know of a good quality cog and spacer kit to fit on a 9spd freehub / is Velo solo's stuff any good?
A bit of advice on the technical side of things would be helpful too - what gear ratios do I want for the nice flat London race track, and where can I get a good pair of hard wearing tight fitting jeans..?
No fixie please, I like my knees where they are.
There's not much can go wrong with a steel sprocket and a spacer. Buy anything. Though if you have an aluminium freehub body then it's worth getting a wide-splined sprocket like a Chris King.
Somewhere between 42:16 and 48:16 should do you.
as above, get a wide footed one.
charlie does some
http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/halo-fat-foot-18-singlespeed-cog-1419-p.asp
and on-0one have their groove armada
http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/SKOOSSGA/on_one_groove_armada_single_speed_sprocket
DMR also do a kit and Gusset too. Comes with spacers.
very happy with the price and quality from Max at Velo
http://www.velosolo.co.uk/intro.html
Yep - get a wide footed sprocket.
I ran my RoadRat in absolutely that setup - Drop bar and 42:18 was pretty much on the money for mixed rural road / offroad and a few biggish hills.
I did run it like that in London on a couple of occasions and found it slightly too spinny though. 42:16 would probably be spot on for that type of riding.
If you are mostly riding on flat ground I would run 46:16 or even 48:16. I currently run 44:16 in a fairly hilly area. It was quite tough up hill at first but after a few weeks no problem.
Cheers all, some useful tips there.