cyclo-cross single speed

hi there,

i am thinking about building a single speed race bike with cyclo cross tires to make it will be tough enough for the rough city streets. it shall be an everyday bike, but i wonder whether i can combine a track frame (with horizontal ends) with cross tires....

any advice how to approach this? what frame could be ideal (old one)?

How much dirt does your commute include? My fixed conversion has been pounding the mean streets of Bristol for 3 years now, including cobbles, kerbs, Sustrans grit surfaces, industrial areas & longer trips to the country which can feature unsurfaced roads. The wheels are Bontrager Select, and Bontrager Race Lite tyres 700 x 25 originally off a Filmore. They have stayed straight & true, & tyres last well, with few punctures. Grip is pretty good, even in winter but fixed is an advantage. I reckon knobblies will wear a lot quicker, my MTB tyres do.
For the frame, its got to be 531 (speed & comfort). A track frame won't have enough room for knobblies. If you're going to ride cross, get a touring frame for canti's & clearance & chose a size smaller than your road bike.

what do you mean by 531?

Sorry, its a type of tubing made by Reynolds which has become something of a benchmark. If you're looking for an older frame to convert, with semi-horizontal drop outs, probably from the 80's? its quite likely to have a 531 frame. You may find a frame labelled 500 or 501, they were cheaper but fine if you just want to experiment. These tube sets were discontinued, but 631, 725 & 853 are still available all are good, but have different charachteristics.
Several companies make new frames suitable for ss or fixed use, they won't be 531 but are generally good tubesets (even some aluminium or carbon fibre. That's a matter for personal choice.).

Have you considered buying this?

Hmmf. They took all the fun out of building a conversion.

Last Single Speed UK championship I rode a cyclocross converted Triumph Tempest on the testing off road course at Drumlanrig castle. The tempest was a 23.5" framed rebadged Raleigh road bike of early 1980's spec made of lugged hi-tensile steel.

I survived and won a prize for Shonkiest bike in the competition !

A bike of this type should be tough enough for commuting you describe and home built conversions are great fun.

Currently building up a 1950's Rudge Whitworth roadster frame as a singlespeed tough commuter. The frame was built for 28 x 1.5" wheels and thus has plenty of clearance for tyres up to 42mm wide on 700c rims. Also it comes with track ends 110 OLN spaced

Triumph Tempest

Click to expand...

Top Bike young 'un! Wish I could have made it to SSUK this year.