Converting single speed bike to geared

Question

First I want to clear out what what I possess:

An Avon rowdy single soccer BICYCLE
An Avon rowdy DX double disk 21 geared cycle

I want to take out the gears from the DX to my single version. I can replace anything, but I wanted the body of my old cycle only. I require at least one disk brake and all the gears on my single speed cycle. Is there any way? Even by changing the complete drivetrain and the rear wheel? Any ideas?

FWIW both are cheap bikes made in India, and I can't find good pics online. single soccer and rowdy on marketplace sites so links will likely rot. It looks as though both are BSO's. Questions like this come up often, see this search — Móż, Oct 21 '15 at 00:30
Possible duplicate of Have some new parts on hand but need new frame - frame swap reasonable? or sell and purchase new bike? — Móż, Oct 21 '15 at 00:33

score 2 · Answer 1 · edited Oct 21 '15 at 00:26

2

Avon single speed have no mounts for disc brakes on its frame and fork, so you can't mount a disc brake on it. To replace the fork is not always possible, as it changes the bike's geometry.

Next you should check the width of the rear hub. Usually single speed hubs narrower than geared, so probably you'll not be able to insert the rear wheel.

So I bet it can't be done.

edited Oct 21 '15 at 00:26

Móż

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answered Oct 20 '15 at 14:12

Alexander

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And is it steel frame..? So that lengths could be adjusted? – HARSH Roy Oct 20 '15 at 14:29
And are, truly Power brakes better than disk brakes? – HARSH Roy Oct 20 '15 at 14:30
Answer question-wise... – HARSH Roy Oct 20 '15 at 14:30
Like.. Answer 1, answer 2 – HARSH Roy Oct 20 '15 at 14:31
Will replacing the fork solve all of my problems? Or just the disk brake.. Can't I replace rear forks? Answer – HARSH Roy Oct 20 '15 at 15:26
Lengths not always can be adjusted even with steel. See questions about that on the forum. Replace the fork is only for the disc mounts, but as I mentioned, probably you can't do that. And I don't understand what do you want from power brakes. Maybe you mean a drum brake? – Alexander Oct 20 '15 at 18:05
Can you tell us what are the positive features of the SS frame that you want to keep ? – Criggie Oct 20 '15 at 21:09
Well.. The situation is this... That the brand new DX's frame was hammered by my uncle while he was angry.. So the DX frame is damaged and few spikes are off the front and rear tyre... That's why I wanted to transfer.. – HARSH Roy Oct 21 '15 at 01:37

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 20 '15 at 21:08

So to restate, you want to move everything from the DX to the single-speed's frame? Depends primarily on the head tube length and diameter.

You want disk/disc brake, which means the front fork will require caliper/calliper mounts. If the existing SS frame has mounts already then the existing fork could be okay. Otherwise you're up for moving the front fork over from the DX. If its the wrong diameter, the new fork won't fit in. If its the wrong taper, it won't fit in. If its the wrong length, it won't secure. So you may stay with the existing rim brakes, rim and wheel.

Swapping the transmission over requires the rear dropouts to be the same or very close to the same width. Otherwise the geared wheel will not seat properly and can move under load.

Your front cranks may be okay to swap for the double or triple chainring, but it depends on the bottom bracket connection being the same.

To be honest, this sounds like a frankenbike which will use up a lot of time and may be unpleasent to ride.

You also need a derailleur mount on the rear dropouts, otherwise you'll have to use a cheap, nasty axle-mounted rear derailleur. Many single-speed frames don't have the mount, often because they have horizontal dropouts where the derailleur mount doesn't work very well. Fortunately the Rowdy comes with that style of derailleur. — Móż, Oct 21 '15 at 00:28

Converting single speed bike to geared

2 Answers2