road bike conversion

[hippymtnbkr]

I found a MTB crankset with a 46t ring in my junk. I was thinking of throwing it on the Road Bike for a 1x8 application. Will this work? Anything I need to get to keep the chain on the front ring? Can I still keep the short cage derailleur?

[mosinglespeeder]

it should work, i just did this myself on a free schwinn refurb i did, with all free parts basically i had laying around, had a buddy that owed me a favor so he painted and pinstriped, took my wheels that were spare for road bike, took my now used rear derailleur, old crankset, took the 53t off and just use the 39t-ground the nuts down so it was tight, had to buy a quill/brakeset but for $40, used set of cross tyres, it came out.

the trick on the chain is simply tension, you may have to adjust your chain length to maintain tension, and also, you will have to run a tighter gear in the rear since you have a short cage, i took a cassette apart, pulled the 19-17-16-15-14-13-12, respaced it for the rear end and it works great. no prob on keeping it on the front. enjoy!

[wv_bob]

Originally Posted by hippymtnbkr

I found a MTB crankset with a 46t ring in my junk. I was thinking of throwing it on the Road Bike for a 1x8 application. Will this work?

Yes, with the right BB. I've got pretty much the same thing on my fendered Miyata.

Anything I need to get to keep the chain on the front ring?

Since it's a road bike, I doubt you would have derailing problems in this case, derailing is usually caused by rough going, bouncing slack in the chain.

Can I still keep the short cage derailleur?

Same rear cog range? If so yes, if not, maybe.

Size your chain per Sheldon's instructions, a long chain will add more opportunity for derailing
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/derailer...ent.html#chain

Basically, parts is parts, doesn't matter road or MTB, hang them on a frame with the right supporting players, and they'll work.