6-speed Honzo

clockworked

clockworked

Like an orange
So i built up a single speed XL honzo for a wet weather bike.

Whacked on a 2019 set of stepcast 34s, a project 321 single speed 142mm rear hub (both from cyclinic in brisbane), a one-up dropper (on @Dozer 's suggestion), and some lightweight foam grips for my steel single speed. I built up the wheelset with a hope hub front and some 30mm internal rims. Popped on some conti tyres which worked great in brisbane conditions.
Anyway, that was great, but after some time off the bike i just wasn't fit enough for all that single speed action, so i thought about options...

Turns out you can fit 6x 11-speed gears on the hub to give an 11-28 spread against the 30 or 32 i run up front. This takes the edge off the hills, but maintains the symmetrically laced rear wheel!
Took a while to work out how to limit the derailleur movement, but its sweet now. I can pop up more pics if people are keen

Frame - 2016 kona honzo st in XL
Front shock/fork - 2019 fox stepcast 34
Handlebars - 2008 (?) RaceFace ones
Stem - 2019 hope 35mm
Headset - Hope
Grips - esi foamies. Do not rate.
Saddle - 2015 chromag something
Seatpost - 2019 one-up
Front brake - m9000 XT
Rear brake - m9000 XT
Cranks - 165mm saints. Unsure of year. Were good for singlespeeding, may be unnecessary for geared
Chain - hg something or other
Pedals - eggbeaters
Rear derailleur - m9000 XT
Rear shifter - m9000 XT
Cassette - early shimano 11 speed missing a few
Front hub - hope pro 4
Rear hub - project 321 gen 1
Front rim - ns bikes 35mm ID. forget the model
Rear rim - spanky oozy 295
Spokes - dt swiss tapered
Nipples - brass dt swiss
Tyres - conti Mountain king 2.2
Tubes - yep
Total weight - 30lb on the nose. Less with less gears
350215
 
Last edited:
S

Soul-Rider

Likes Dirt
I’ve been running a Box 7 speed kit on my Chromag Stylus. The range isn’t big but after riding single speed it awesome! I’m keen to know more about the conversion from 11 to 6. If your derailer is limited to 6 gears does the shifter keep clicking after that? Is it annoying?
 
clockworked

clockworked

Like an orange
So its a normal 11 speed derailleur and cassette. The old shimano ones came apart partially. the three largest gears are still on a spider, and the lockring gear has to be the 11 tooth, but the 2 others could be anything that fit.

The derailleur low-limit screw (or the medial limit, i always forget which is which) didnt have a hope of screwing in far enough to limit medial derailleur movement, but the lateral one still works fine. To limit medial movement i set the shifter cable six clicks from upper limit in the shifter, so that the shifter is essentially the medial limit of derailleur and chain movement.
It does keep releasing cable if you keep clicking from low range to high range (medial to lateral) but the derailleur comes to a rest on the lateral limit screw. In practice it works fine, worst thing is a couple of extra clicks if you've shifted past the 11 tooth cog and you want to go back up the gears. It is quite sensitive to shifter cable tension, but it works fairly well!

The chain does catch on the derailleur body on the fifth and sixth gear sometimes, but i figure that'll grind itself into function.

I'll take some more photos tonight after a wash
 
clockworked

clockworked

Like an orange
Yeah i thought about that, but the parallelogram of the derailleur doesnt even line up when its that far across
 
glenn1529

glenn1529

Likes Dirt
165mm cranks on your single/sixle? You must have legs like tree trunks!! I assume you have legs, as you’re riding an XL frame. I run 180mm cranks on my SS and find them spot on for my (now obviously spindly) legs.
 
clockworked

clockworked

Like an orange
Sixle is an excellent name!
Don't get me wrong, i used a lot of spare parts to save money for suspension and wheels. I mainly picked the cranks because of their proximity to my workstand while i was building the bike, and partly because i was considering running a 27.5+ rim with gears for summer use with a plus tyre on the rear only, and i thought the 165mm crank may avoid some rock strike. Haven't bothered trying that yet, but I have gone through a few rear tubes!

I went XL because it was for sale here, and i thought the extra reach of the frame might mix well with a stubby stem to approximate slightly more modern geo. I'm not certain I'm right, though it is fun to ride.

Please excuse the grubby pics, I didnt get around to washing the bike today, but here's a few to show the gearing set up.
One shows the lateral limit screw functioning, the second how out of alignment the medial limit screw is at the 6th gear, and the third shows the wack chainline that was approximated by some funny bb spacer and chainring guesswork.
350229
350230
350231
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top