Fixed gear conversion hub problem?

Im converting a old univega road bike into a single speed bike, but ive run into a problem with the rear hub. I was unable to remove any of the old cogs off of the old cassette, so the cassette had to be trashed. I still have the spacers, but am unsure what to do. Can i buy a single speed freewheel and just install as is or do i need to buy a freewheel hub to install? Also, am i going to need to redish the wheel to fit the frame?

The easy part: Yes, you will need to redish the wheel if you move the hub on the axle or else the rim will not be centered in the frame. I do this with the wheel in the frame and simply go spoke by spoke, releasing one side as I tighten the other with about 1/4 turns per spoke until the rim is where I want it (centered).

Now the hard part:
First, you need to be sure that you are actually dealing with a cassette and FreeHUB instead of a Freewheel. Freehubs and cassettes are more modern and the cassette slides off of the freehub. Freewheels, on the other hand, usually screw off of the hub itself (the hub has a threaded male end). The fact that you said you are unable to remove any cogs leads me to beleive that you likely have a freewheel (this is good for conversions). But, you also mention spacers, which are cassette/freehub specific. What is unclear is how you got the spacers out of the cassette without being able to remove any cogs (this seems impossible to me).

Sheldon Brown does an excellent job explaining the difference here http://www.sheldonbrown.com/freewheels.html

Traditional bmx style singlespeed freewheels require that threaded male end.

Your question indicates that you actually want a freewheel but the title indicates that you are trying to make a fixed gear. These are two very different approaches requiring different parts.

If you have an old style freewheel hub (with the threaded male end), and you are wanting to make a fixed gear, you will need to buy a fixed gear cog, screw it onto the male end, and then screw on an old bottom bracket lock ring (this is called a suicide hub). It is called that because the lock ring threads on in the same direction that the cog does, making it less secure than a fixed gear specific hub, which has a smaller, reverse thread lock ring male end on the outside of the male end that accepts the cog.

If you have an old style freewheel hub and are wanting a single speed, then just go buy a bmx freewheel of your choice and screw the thing on.

If you have a freewheel on a more moders set of wheels then you can use one of the cogs from any old cassette and spacers. If you want to fix it, there are multiple ways to lock the pawls to keep it from coasting. These methods range from jb weld to actual welding.

If you have a freehub and just want a single speed (ability to coast), then use the cassette cog and spacers and you are good to go.

Websites like pricepoint.com and performance bike also sell single speed kits that are almost always freehub specific. They often come with more than one size cog, which is nice as well. Hope that helps.

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