Fixed wheel and road drop-outs.

[TheCyclingRooster]

Hi to you all out there. Back in the60's I road everywhere on a fixed wheel 1937 Hetchins Vibrant Triangle (curly) track frame with the regular track nut fastenings.
Are QR's safe and secure with a fixed wheel set-up?. I am contemplating setting up a Flip-Flop fixed wheel hybrid but using QR's not a spanner job.
Your comments/observations would be very much appreciated.

 

[andrew_s]

If you use a good QR, it will be fine.
"Good" means a standard Shimano/Campag style QR, not a lightweight one. It's probably best if you don't have chrome or hard stainless dropouts too.
People with gears don't continually have problems pulling the wheel over in horizontal dropouts, and there's no reason why fixed should be more likely to move.

There's still the problem of finding a hybrid without vertical dropouts (for chain tension adjustment). Look at models that have a hub gear option?

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

You could read this if you haven't seen it already, including reference to qr skewer selection.

 

[TheCyclingRooster]

If you use a good QR, it will be fine.
"Good" means a standard Shimano/Campag style QR, not a lightweight one. It's probably best if you don't have chrome or hard stainless dropouts too.
People with gears don't continually have problems pulling the wheel over in horizontal dropouts, and there's no reason why fixed should be more likely to move.

Hi Andrew. Thank you for your very quick reply. I am thinking of using a very nice tidy little Saracen Tour that I have. It has the now standard vertical drop-outs and currently runs on a 8spd cassette . The drop-out spacing is 130mm which I think will nicely take a Flip-Flop. The QR's are the Campagnolo/Shimano Chrome type but not branded.

 

[Ian H]

How do you plan to adjust the chain tension?

 

[TheCyclingRooster]

You could read this if you haven't seen it already, including reference to qr skewer selection.

Hi RAFN. Yes I am aware of the Sheldon Brown site and have scanned it a few times. Most of the information on Fixed Wheel I am familiar with. I am an Old Sod that move from Proper Track Ends and Fixed Gear in the 80's.
What I was unsure of is the Vertical Drop-Outs because of no forward or backwards adjustment being possible to be able to take up the inevitable slack and in particular the need for it when using Flip-Flop. The QR's I now feel OK about.
I do have a 1980's very light steel frame with the conventional road drop-outs but would prefer to us the Saracen Tour because whilst not much lighter it is a smaller frame.

 

[TheCyclingRooster]

How do you plan to adjust the chain tension?

Hi Ian. Ah well that was another issue that I have just included in my post back to RAFN whilst you were busy tapping away.
I understand that there is a spring loaded tensioner that runs with a single 'Jockey' type wheel.

 

[TheCyclingRooster]

I will pick-up on any further input in the morning. It is past this old sods bedtime.
Thank You all.

 

[Tim Hall]

I don't think you can run a chain tensioner on fixed. On single speed, yes, but on fixed it all goes horribly wrong. Something to do with the forces going the wrong way when leg braking.

You might want to investigate "magic gears" - those ratios which get you the right chain length. How they cope with wearing chain I'm not sure.

 

[Canrider]

There are spring tensioners available, but as Tim Hall says, conventional wisdom is that you DO NOT want to run these on a fixed gear. (single speed with a freewheel is different) Do White still make the ENO hub? It had some horizontal adjustment in it. Or, again as Tim stated, you can look for magic ratios that work with your frame length.

 

[Tim Hall]

Thought not. Someone did an eccentric rear axle a few years ago. I think Sheldon might mention it.

(edit: "Thought not" refers to Adrian's comment. The eccentric rear axle I'm thinking of is probably the Eno hub Canrider is talking about)

 

[biggs682]

magic gears ?

 

[TheCyclingRooster]

Hi to you all out there. Thank you each & every one of you. I am going to scan E'bay for a 48cm Track Frame which will have the correct ends built in.

 

[raindog]

Hi to you all out there. Thank you each & every one of you. I am going to scan E'bay for a 48cm Track Frame which will have the correct ends built in.

Good man. I really dislike seeing fixed wheels with forward facing drop-outs and gear hangers.

 

[Ian H]

Nothing wrong with reusing an old frame, even with an extraneous gear-hanger or cable stop. I personally prefer forward facing dropouts to track ones for road use: it's easier to keep the back brake* aligned.

*Two brakes on any road iron.