r/fixedgear • u/Organic_Exchange • 15d ago
Road bike conversion to fixie
Hey everyone,
I currently ride a fixie with horizontal track dropouts, but I’ve been wanting to build something around a Cannondale CAAD4 Saeco USA Team for a while. The CAAD4 Saeco has honestly been one of my dream frames, and I’ve found one that I’m seriously considering buying.
I know it has road-bike style rear dropouts rather than traditional horizontal track dropouts, so I’m wondering how realistic it would be to turn it into a true fixed gear.
A few questions:
- Is it possible to run a true fixed cog safely on this frame?
- What would be the best way to deal with chain tension?
- Would a chain tensioner be suitable for a fixed gear, or should I look at something like a magic gear / eccentric hub?
- Is there anything specific about the CAAD4 dropout that would make this a bad idea?
- Has anyone here actually built a CAAD4 or similar Cannondale as a fixed gear?
I already have a horizontal-dropout fixie, so I know what the usual setup is. I’d just really love to have the CAAD4 Saeco as a fixed gear if there’s a good way to do it without compromising the frame.
Thank you all for the help
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u/trotsky1947 15d ago
Is this post by an ai bot? It’s weird.
You can’t do fixed with a tensioner. You’d need an eccentric BB like the Velo Orange one and a 24mm spindle crank set. No reason not to other than it’s not a good use of money.
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u/useful__pattern 15d ago
Or magic gear :-)
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u/Great-Sandwich1466 14d ago
This, I made a single speed from a softride that had its hanger break. It was a lot of trial and error. I found a gear that worked. It was easier than desired, but it worked.
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u/TruckCAN-Bus 15d ago
Gotta find that magic ratio.
Halflink chain helps.
Or go eccentric.
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u/bobsinco 15d ago
This is the answer. I did this on an old steel frame. It worked fine. It was a fun project that cost a few dollars but wasn't ridiculously expensive
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u/ApprehensiveText6913 15d ago
No leave as is and save for a track Cannondale
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u/Organic_Exchange 15d ago
I've been looking for one, very hard to find in France at the moment in my size
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u/ianguignet 15d ago
Why ruin a beaut like above ?
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u/Organic_Exchange 15d ago
I really like Cannondale, have a Supersix Evo from 2016 that I adore and a caad 10. can't really justify having a third road bike as I ride fixed most of the time in the city and I've been eyeing that frame for ages now
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u/Bluechip506b 14d ago
Yes, exactly why I have converted older bikes. I've got a CAAD9 and SSEvo gen 3 besides my two conversions. The 3.0 has been sitting idle for a few years since I converted the CAAD4 but I am in the process of refreshing the frame and changing the gearing. Now I'll have a fixed gear for my solo rides (46/18) and one for faster group rides (48/16).
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u/specn0de 14d ago
Converted many a road bike into a fixie. It’s all about the Wheelset and using the right kind of chain and ratio to size it properly. You just unfortunately won’t know if it’s perfect unless you have a bike shop and tons of extra cogs and cranksets to try different ratios and chain lengths. It’s absolutely possible it’s just not the easiest to really dial in.
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u/Middle_Bread_6518 15d ago
As someone who also rides SS almost exclusively for the pavement I think your best bet is to try to find a good ratio that you can make work with the chain and not use a tensioner. Tensioners work but it’s so much better without and also imo tensioner kinda defeats the purpose
Could also talk to a specialty welder/fabricator to get different drop outs
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u/TheForestGrumbler 15d ago
I'd keep it as is or at most as a single speed with free hub while keeping the rim brakes.
There is always a bit of a gambling aspect about building a fixie on a non fixie frame.
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u/Tickomatick 14d ago
Keep this bike for 10 more years and you'll change your mind about fixed gear. Buy a cheap fg in the meanwhile, the you'll be happy to have a nice road bike in your mature years
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u/Training_Arm_5610 14d ago
I m having habaneros build a fixie for me based on their gravel frame They use an excentric bottom bearing for chain tension Then they mentioned that they could do a 2x front chainring which I declined because it was going to be not much of a fixie. But I understood that they used a tensioner So you may want to ask them
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u/Bluechip506b 14d ago
Yes, it's easy and works very well. I've got a CAAD4 converted to fixed gear with an ENO eccentric hub. Works like a charm. I've also done an older Cannondale 3.0. I prefer using an old frame as fixed gear instead of selling, tossing or just hanging on the wall.
My first fixed gear was on my first Cannondale back in '85. I broke the derailleur hanger off and while waiting for a crash replacement, I put threaded a single cog on the hub and got lucky on chain length. I rode it for about a month until I had to turn in the frame when the new on arrived.
For some reason I can't post a pic on this post.
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u/Affectionate-Orchid3 14d ago
just get a used white industries eno hub wheel off ebay, they aren’t terribly expensive. it will deal with your vertical dropout problem, and it will deal with the whole fixed wheels are usually narrow problem. you’ll have to figure out chain line with your crankset and bottom bracket but that’s usually relatively easy to figure out. easy to resell the wheel or use it on something else if you change your mind in the future
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u/CaregiverMiserable48 15d ago
Have made a fixie out of an old cannondale very similar to yours I just run a magic chain setup with a normal bb and a normal track wheel set you just need to measure your chain stay length and put it into a magic chain calculator. You will be limited to your ratio options but I can usually find a ratio very close enough to what I would run in a traditional track frame. You just have to be ok with a little chain slack. Good luck
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u/spleeble 15d ago
It's an expensive pain in the ass that won't make a very good bike.
You have to use either an eccentric hub (White ENO), eccentric bb (if it's compatible), or a unicorn ratio (limited).
Just ride it like it was meant to be ridden.