Balloon tire fixie upgrade

[Hukah]

Has anyone here put a multi=speed cassette on a classic balloon tire frame?
How did you go about expanding the drop outs?

Thanks

 

[mikeeebikey]

Well the short answer is "yes!"
The long answer is don't use a frame that you're worried about destroying! A good ol heavy tube Schwinn will flex like mad, a lesser made frame may bend/buckle.

 

[Verrt]

There's few home made spreader ideas in the how to threads and in individual build threads.

Not sure what to seach for to find them.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Can be accomplished with a threaded rod, a few nuts and washers, and maybe a measuring tape. You'll have to spread beyond the width you need because it'll spring back a bit

 

[JDXX]

Ugg, I feel like such a hack now but a 2x4 through the frame and strap/clamp the bike to a workbench and pry, flip and repeat. Little bits at a time and string the frame to make sure I keep it straight but that's how I've been doing it.

 

[horsefarmer]

I have used an old car scissors jack to increase hub spacing.

 

[Duchess]

Middleweight, not ballooner, but same idea. I just used a wider axle that I had and axle nuts to spread it, same as a threaded rod. I put a 6-speed freewheel on and set it so it didn't have to be dished, which made it wider than necessary.

 

[Chainmaker2]

I did a schwinn DelMar using a small car scissor jack.

 

[Hukah]

Can be accomplished with a threaded rod, a few nuts and washers, and maybe a measuring tape. You'll have to spread beyond the width you need because it'll spring back a bit
View attachment 151446

Thyx, that's what I'm looking for right there.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

This method helps to be more precise. You can adjust each side a little bit at a time, keeping everything straight (ish)

 

[Wildcat]

I also use a 2 x 4 hammered in on old steel frames. A little at a time. They can take a beating. The dropouts must be in line (perfectly perpendicular) with the axle, no slant. I stay low tech and use a big adjustable wrench to align the dropouts.

 

[Grant]

Definitely seen this a few times here. LocoJoe has a video on a Schwinn cruiser that was turned into a gravel bike.

 

[Grant]

 

[Dr. Tankenstein]

Can be accomplished with a threaded rod, a few nuts and washers, and maybe a measuring tape. You'll have to spread beyond the width you need because it'll spring back a bit
View attachment 151446

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Hukah]

Thanks for that.

 

[us56456712]

Check out Allan Bonds Clunkers on the net. He shows you what you need to make a ballooner into cassette shifted bicycle.

 

[Hukah]

Check out Allan Bonds Clunkers on the net. He shows you what you need to make a ballooner into cassette shifted bicycle.

Thanks a lot. I'm enjoying reading that site.