# Single speed Conversion



## bigjohnla (Mar 29, 2010)

I have an old Raleigh Capri that was given to me by my brother in law when I got back into cycling again after about a 25 year absence. It got “borrowed” by a relative an ended up spending about 5 years behind a garage exposed to the weather. It is a mess now. I am wanting to convert it to a single speed for use as a grocery hauler, commuter type bike. The frame is actually in half decent but the chain rings are cheap one piece stamped steel. The BB has a square taper spindle. Are there any modern cranks that fit this type of BB ? I would like to use the bike again but obviously don’t want to try and make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.


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## jrm (Dec 23, 2001)

By the looks of these conversions it looks you cold use a modern BB/crank set. The only one i dont see is one using a 2 piece crankset. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=Ral...ch&q=Raleigh+Capri+Fixed+conversion+&imgdii=_


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

There are plenty of cranks available. Cheap example for SS is the Origin 8:
Fixed Gear and Singlespeed Cranks and Cranksets for Bicycles from Harris Cyclery
There are others.

Do you actually need a crank? You didn't say so, but I guess you implied that the crank and/or rings are rusty. For a utility conversion like you want, I'd try first to clean them up. 
Singlespeed Bicycle Conversions
Articles about Fixed Gear and Singlespeed Cycling and Equipment
Is the bottom bracket still good? If you need to get a bottom bracket anyway, you have even more crank options. 

Any idea how old the bike is? Freewheel rather than freehub? How many cogs?

SS conversion can be fun, cheap, pretty easy if you're handy. Here's some reading that might be useful:


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## bigjohnla (Mar 29, 2010)

It is 1985 vintage. 6 cog threaded freewheel, 27" wheels, stem friction shifters, SunTour derailleurs, goofy brake handles that you can brake from the top of the bar. The wheels are absolutely shot, but the hubs might be salvageable. The bottom bracket is still pretty smooth. I plan to reuse it. The chain rings are stamped steel and very rusty and bent up. The crank arms are alloy and are could be reused, if I can get a chain ring to fit them. Just looking for a fun project. I am into fixing old stuff of any kind. I am constantly dragging home all kinds of machines and other junk and fixing it up. Drives my wife crazy but at least she knows where to look for me. Thanks for your reply.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

If the crank arms and spider are okay, it should be easy to find a ring, unless it's an unusual dimension (not likely). Wheels will be your biggest expense.

Have fun.


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## bigjohnla (Mar 29, 2010)

JCavilia said:


> If the crank arms and spider are okay, it should be easy to find a ring, unless it's an unusual dimension (not likely). Wheels will be your biggest expense.
> 
> Have fun.


No spider. Both rings and an outer guard are all stamped from a single plate. But, I am sure I can work something out. I agree on the wheels. If I can't get some used 27s I will probably just go with 700c and long reach brakes.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

bigjohnla said:


> I agree on the wheels. If I can't get some used 27s I will probably just go with 700c and long reach brakes.


Here are some 27" wheels (new) that are about as cheap as I've ever found.
27 Inch ISO 630 Bicycle Wheels from Harris Cyclery
I actually have a pair of the cheapest of these that I bought for a fixie conversion that I did about 15 years ago, and still use on my rainy-day FG commuter. Hard to get a pair of not-used wheels for less than a hundred bucks. The cheap Sovos hubs are old-fashioned cup-and-cone units that work fine if carefully adjusted, and with an overhaul every couple of years seem to be going strong. 

For 50 or 60 bucks more you can get slightly nicer, still pretty cheap.


> No spider. Both rings and an outer guard are all stamped from a single plate. But, I am sure I can work something out


.

I'm sure you can. How is the ring/guard assembly attached to the crankarm? I don't see how they can all be stamped from a single plate, since they're not in the same plane. Seems like something has to be bolted/riveted/swaged/welded together. But the practical effect may be the same: you can't disassembel and remove one part. I did once do a hacksaw conversion on a cheap steel double crankset. The large ring was swaged to the steel crankarm, and the small ring bolted to the large one. I cut the large ring loose, leaving its inner section to be in effect a spider to support the small ring. It worked on a fixie conversion for a number of years.

Let us know how it works out. I love recycling old bikes for new uses.


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## Flbikejunkie (Mar 18, 2012)

Have fun just finished my conversion on a Raleigh super Grand Prix


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## bigjohnla (Mar 29, 2010)

Hit the jackpot !! A guy in my office worked at a bike shop when he was in high school and college back in the late 70s and early 80s. I was asking him about the crankset for the old Raleigh. He was intrigued by my interest and gave me his entire stash of old bike parts ! Literally hundreds of parts. Hubs, quills, cranks, brakes, levers. 100s of DT Swiss spokes. Small parts like alloy dust covers for cranks. Lots of campy, Suntour, Dia compe, Sugino. He also gave me an old Raleigh touring bike that just needs tires and a tune up. I am pretty amped.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

bigjohnla said:


> Hit the jackpot !! A guy in my office worked at a bike shop when he was in high school and college back in the late 70s and early 80s. I was asking him about the crankset for the old Raleigh. He was intrigued by my interest and gave me his entire stash of old bike parts ! Literally hundreds of parts. Hubs, quills, cranks, brakes, levers. 100s of DT Swiss spokes. Small parts like alloy dust covers for cranks. Lots of campy, Suntour, Dia compe, Sugino. He also gave me an old Raleigh touring bike that just needs tires and a tune up. I am pretty amped.


OMFG! I'd be happy as a pig in sh*t.

I think you need to find a pair of Campy hubs in that stash and build yourself some wheels for that Raleigh.


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## bigjohnla (Mar 29, 2010)

No Campy hubs. First thing I looked for. The only Campy parts are single items like one bearing cup, a couple of dust caps for cranks, one lever. There is a square taper OFmega crankset that solves my original problem nicely. Also 3 freewheel hubs, an 8 speed cassette hub, several track style front hubs and one Maillard front hub. A mixed bag of skewers with ornate alloy handles. Bags and bags of nipples, cable adjusters. 3 sets of brand new Dia compe brake levers with hoods. Seat post bolts. Gets even better, he has more parts in storage that he is going to give me. I could probably Ebay all the stuff and buy a frickin' Colnago. Wouldn't be right though. Looks like I am set for a while on vintage stuff.


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## Roland44 (Mar 21, 2013)

bigjohnla said:


> Hit the jackpot !! A guy in my office worked at a bike shop when he was in high school and college back in the late 70s and early 80s. I was asking him about the crankset for the old Raleigh. He was intrigued by my interest and gave me his entire stash of old bike parts ! Literally hundreds of parts. Hubs, quills, cranks, brakes, levers. 100s of DT Swiss spokes. Small parts like alloy dust covers for cranks. Lots of campy, Suntour, Dia compe, Sugino. He also gave me an old Raleigh touring bike that just needs tires and a tune up. I am pretty amped.


That's really great! I only wish I had half of your luck


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