I came into possession recently of an old Trek 820. (Actually, it was too big for Niki and when she upgraded bicycles she never got rid of it, so I annexed it.) I decided I would try and have some fun with this bicycle. It will turn into my winter beater.

I decided I would make it a single speed. The old 21 speeds never did work too well, and single speed just sounded fun.

I went to Performance Bicycle off of Colorado as the last time I was in there I saw a fancy conversion kit.

The Forte Single Speed Conversion Kit comes with all you need to single speed goodness. Includes some cogs, spacers, chain tensioner and a lock ring.

Forte SS Kit - From °Florian's Flickr account

The kit is cheap too, got it for $25.

Also needed a new chain, got a nice SRAM single speed chain – $10.

After examining the front triple crankset, determining the rings are riveted on and won’t come apart. So, I just left ‘em there. Decided on using the 34T middle ring with the 18T cog from the kit.

For about $35, the Trek went from being 21 speeds to a single speed. Took it for a brief spin. My impressions are great. Single speed is significantly different that multi-geared. The urge to shift is a hoot. I kept trying to reach for some shifters, but none were there. The big wide knobby tires though must go!

Now the bike just needs some fenders and possible studded tires and it’ll be ready to cruise down the streets of Denver in snow!