I have a 24 speed bike. I would like to make it an 8 speed bike and get rid of the front derailleur totally. I have had many problems with the front derailleur. So is it even possible for me to convert my bike to an 8 speed? If so what would I need? How difficult would it be for me to do this? I am a beginner so please go easy on me if this is a dumb question.
Removing front derailleur
Jonahc817
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I have a 24 speed bike. I would like to make it an 8 speed bike and get rid of the front derailleur totally. I have had many problems with the front derailleur. So is it even possible for me to convert my bike to an 8 speed? If so what would I need? How difficult would it be for me to do this? I am a beginner so please go easy on me if this is a dumb question.
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Removing the front derailleur isn't really a good idea, gear wise unless you have a good reason to. All you're doing is taking away the little mechanism that moves the chain from one front ring to another. If you're not happy with the shifting, get it tuned, not remove it. I can almost promise you that you'll miss having the ability to use all the chainrings.
You're pretty much crippling your bicycle.
If you're still adamant that you want it gone,
The biggest obstacle you're going to encounter is breaking the chain to get the front derailleur off the bike, due to the chain passing through the cage, which doesn't usually separate. The best thing to do is get a 'quick link' or master link to replace the link you broke, bike chains don't really like to be pressed back together that much. You'll likely also need to remove some links as the chain will be too long since you're not using 2 of the 3 chainrings anymore. Choose your ring carefully, you can't switch anymore.
Once that's done, literally just unbolt the derailleur clamp from the seat tube, remove the grip and loosen the shifter, slide it off and throw the parts on your bench.
You're pretty much crippling your bicycle.
If you're still adamant that you want it gone,
The biggest obstacle you're going to encounter is breaking the chain to get the front derailleur off the bike, due to the chain passing through the cage, which doesn't usually separate. The best thing to do is get a 'quick link' or master link to replace the link you broke, bike chains don't really like to be pressed back together that much. You'll likely also need to remove some links as the chain will be too long since you're not using 2 of the 3 chainrings anymore. Choose your ring carefully, you can't switch anymore.
Once that's done, literally just unbolt the derailleur clamp from the seat tube, remove the grip and loosen the shifter, slide it off and throw the parts on your bench.
Well, it could work.
If it does, you will get stronger real fast since you don't have your lower gears anymore.
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6,348 Posts
No real need, unless your bike uses riveted chainrings. If they are bolted, just remove the ones you don't want and bolt it back up. Because the bolts are long, you'll need to get a bashguard or chainring bolt spacers, or get short bolts. If they are riveted, you're going to need more tools and read up a lot more on a 1x conversion.
What bike is this on? Some bikes it works, some it doesn't work as well. You really will want to have an 11-32 cassette in back, and bike flexibility won't be as great. I have a 9-speed 29er with a 29T chainring up front. It was great for the trails, but anything on road and I'd max the speed out out quick.
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3,819 Posts
I stand by my original post. Removing your middle and big rings leaves you with your climbing gears, but no 'flats' or downhill speeds. Removing the little ring leaves you with no real climbing gears. You're crippling your bike in its current configuration.
As others have mentioned, an 8sp cassette isn't known for wide range gearing.
You can get a wide range cassette but they are expensive. I personally have a single 30T ring up front, but a 10 speed cassette that spans from 11 to 42t. It works very well for me, but isn't for everyone, and was by no means cheap. I estimate in the neighborhood of $400, including cranks and a bottom bracket. Some of those parts were purchased used.
If you really want to explore this, at least do a bunch of reading on a '1x' (one-by) setup to understand the benefits, challenges and limitations.
As others have mentioned, an 8sp cassette isn't known for wide range gearing.
You can get a wide range cassette but they are expensive. I personally have a single 30T ring up front, but a 10 speed cassette that spans from 11 to 42t. It works very well for me, but isn't for everyone, and was by no means cheap. I estimate in the neighborhood of $400, including cranks and a bottom bracket. Some of those parts were purchased used.
If you really want to explore this, at least do a bunch of reading on a '1x' (one-by) setup to understand the benefits, challenges and limitations.
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171 Posts
You say you have a lot of problems with the front derailleur but what kind of problems?
Like it was mentioned before, maybe your front derailleur just needs adjustment or your front crank could be bent which could give you issue when you are switching between gears.
Like it was mentioned before, maybe your front derailleur just needs adjustment or your front crank could be bent which could give you issue when you are switching between gears.
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