Best Compromise

[Chew]

Still on the hunt for a new frame. Just wondering which dropouts offer the best compromise for geared and SS use.

Horizontal or Vertical?

[paul78]

I have used most methods of singlespeed tensioning and best i think is my salsa's with swinger dropouts .. Got them on an el mariachi and a mukluk.

Tensioning can be done quickly with a small multi tool and you still retain a quick release wheel ... Plus no weight penalty of an ebb.

Mukluk has a geared dropout so I can go back to gears if needed

[Cheeky Monkey]

I got an email this morning from On One who are embarking on their sales and there's Scandals with swop out drop outs. No personal experience but imagine it might offer the best of both worlds :? and silly cheap at the mo' too.

[Mart]

My swift with EBB takes some beating. Very simple to switch from geared and SS
Don't have to wort about dropouts
BUT
Would love a frame with a split seatstay so I could run a belt drive

[jameso]

My only experience with sliding dropouts was a friends bike where the sliders distorted under the heavy loads halfway through a long ride, almost ending his trip. Higher braking and impact forces (180mm rotors and loaded bikes plus a strong rider) don't mix well with many swinger - slider designs, there's no design yet that really manages to solve the force problems of discs and chain tensioning, beyond simply using big bolts and loads of overlap. The black cat, salsa and newer paragon designs look best, of the type.
Horizontal track ends are pretty solid but a faff. The Bushnell on my bike has been great- light, totally solid and silent plus no dropout issues after plenty of use both ss and geared. I'd go for a fixed vertical dropout and a good expanding EBB (or ss tensioner) if reliability was important.