Budget question?

good for you Jay! I was hoping you could keep this bike.

check this thread for a few ideas-
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=203156&highlight=monocog+to+geared

F5000sl said:

I want to turn my Inbred into a geared bike.
Currently the rim is a Retard SS rear wheel. Although it only has about 100 - 150 mls on it, it seems pretty worthy of keeping.
On a budget, would you just buy a new wheel, or just replace the hub?
Does anyone know the size of the On-One hub so that maybe I can get the same size flanged hub and save a few bucks on new spokes.

Thanks,
Jay

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Do you need FULL gears, or would 4-5 be enough? If your Retard hub is like most cassette-style hubs, you can fit 4 or 5 cogs on, depending on what kind of cogs you're using. That and try to find a dished Ritchey 33t cog and you can run a pretty full range of gears.

Otherwise, I've never thought it to be very economical to swap hubs between wheels, unless you're building it yourself and can save the labor charges.

I think it's a freewheel style wheel, so better than a 2-gear white Industries (high budget) solution wouldn't work.

I'd get a really cheap, new rear wheel. Here in Europa, the touring/trekking rear wheels come at about €60.

Glad to hear you've still got the bike. Keep the wheel. The hub spacing is 135mm, so any MTB hub will do. A shimano deore hub laced to a Mavic A319 would be not too expensive. Why not try building it yourself as a mini project? I did it, followed the sheldon guide, got it double checked by my LBS.

I am in some ways more happy with inbred geared that when it was singlespeed. Seated climbing on it is incredible. I have never had a bike where I could sit comfortably and just pedal up, rather than having the point of the saddle wedged where the sun don't shine in an attempt to keep the front wheel on the ground and maintain traction at the back.

Rob

Thanks guys, I may try to build a wheel, I've also been looking for some used 29r wheels for sale. I used to see them all the time.