If you buy a road bike with out gears can you put gears on the bike?

Question

i wanna buy a road bike but i dont want to spend alot so i am think that it would be cheaper to out the gears on myself.

Answer 1

No, I don't think you can. If you could, it would take a lot of skill and experience, which you probalby don't have. Just buy the better bike already. By the time you invest money into nice gears and learning how to put them on you'll have paid the difference in price anyway.

Answer 2

A complete bike will get you a better deal and if you go for used you can get an even bettter deal.  Good luck!

Answer 3

If you buy a road bike without gears, it is by definition a single speed.

Here are the differences.

First, in the front, you will have to add a double crank (two chainwheels) and you will have to add a front derailleur to shift the chain.

Second, in the rear, you will have to add a wheel with space for gears.  Single speed hubs have a spacing of 120mm.  Older hubs for 5/6/7 speed freewheels or freehubs have a spacing of 126mm.  Newer freehubs for 8/9/10 on road bikes have a spacing of 130mm.  And mountain bikes have a rear spacing of 135mm.

Third, you would have to add a rear derailleur to shift the chain up and down the freewheel or cassette.  And that means you would have to have a place to hang that derailleur.

Fourth, you would have to add shifters to control the derailleurs.  Those would be a) downtube shift levers; b) bar-end shifters; c) bar-mounted shifters; or d) STI combination shifter/brake levers.

If you want a single speed, buy one as it is designed.  If you want a good road bike for not much money, buy a used one.  There are lots out there.

You can make a single-speed bike out of a geared bike much more easily than the reverse.

Answer 4

He's right,  and believe me many others have though like you.  And no one will sell you a new bike without the gears and stuff like that.  Now, if you already have lots and lots of parts that will match, you can purchase a bare frame and build it up yourself.  It takes lots of skills to do it right. Consider a used one becuase after you ride any brand new bike for five minutes it's used anyhow. New bike-used bike, with your eyes shut you will never feel any difference and save a LOT of hard earned cash for a helmet and good shorts.