Make a difference in a homeless persons life, build a single speed bike
If single speeding is about outlawing then a "rat bike" would be just as valid as an SS specific frame with SS specific non-dished wheels and Ti seat posts. So here is a can beat the shit out of it, ride it anywhere bike. The frame, well it is the coolest part. A mid 80’s vintage double butted steel frame from Marin. Paint original. The rear brake: a long forgotten U brake. I know they were supposed to be bad, but this brake could crush a full can of Fosters with the top on. It will skid the wheel anywhere, anytime.
Rear wheel, not a Surly, Spot or anything SS like. It is a steel rim with a Sun Tour cluster. I left it intact. Not for any other reason than why bother to take it apart? What is another quarter of a pound when you’re running a steel rimed wheel? The break levers, well..., they kind of match. Big honking motorcycle style levers that could pry open a drawbridge. Quarter pound weight penalty per lever. Ratio, 2 to 1. Perfect. Drop outs: pure horizontal. Geometry, ride it every day sweet. The chain to lock it up is a galvanized anchor chain. I live in a Seattle and got it from the commercial fishing store.
Ok now the good part. I gave the bike away. Yep. Not mine anymore. You see there is a homeless shelter in my neighborhood. These poor dudes don’t have the money for bus fare. They have no tools. And so they can only look for work as close as they can walk. There is not much work in a 2-mile radius from the shelter, but if you extend that to 4 miles, the area goes way up (A Pie times radius squared kind of thing.) So I make these rigs up and give them away. Can’t break 'em, dependable transportation. No index shifting. No skinny bike tubes. I have three of them finished now.
Cost, about 25 bucks in odd parts if you can find an abandoned rig to start with. So if you love single speeding put one of these bad ass urban transports together and give it away. You get big time Mojo points if you do. Oh, they are pretty cool to ride for a week or two before wheeling it down to the shelter. If you ride it you better leave the lycra at home. Rat bikes and cycling jerseys are just plain bad Juju. While you’re at it, drop someone up a hill with their new bouncy bob 47 speed that they just picked up at the local bike super store. Good Karma before you find a new home for your ride.