Viewing 39 posts - 1 through 39 (of 39 total)
  • How fast are you on a singlespeed?
  • scholarsgate
    Free Member

    Faster than your geared bike?
    Faster than everybody else?

    On the climbs I think I’m probably faster as I can’t chicken out and go for an easier gear.

    wwaswas
    Full Member

    over the course of a ride ‘about the same as a geared bike’.

    rogerthecat
    Free Member

    Just a blur.

    IvanDobski
    Free Member

    Overall about the same, more tired at the end but feeling better the next day.

    bikebouy
    Free Member

    Some days I beat my mates, some days they beat me.

    What does that say?

    cardo
    Full Member

    Quicker than my other geared bikes… and have spanked a few KOM’s

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    Uphill – quicker, as you can’t help but pedal hard
    Allong the flat – slower, as you can’t pedal hard
    Downhill – about the same, as you’re not pedaling so gear is irelavent

    Overall – a bit slower, but not by much if there’re enough hills.

    mattjg
    Free Member

    It depends on the terrain – on a flattish ride where I’d spin out, I’m slower than on gears. On a steep grind up, plummet down ride, I’m slower if I have to walk on the up.

    But most of my rides are hilly undulating XC (climbs here are either steep or long but rarely both), I reckon I’m maybe a tad quicker on SS.

    I also find on singletrack, I ride with more flow on SS because the mental jingle-jangle of gear management is silenced, and I ride the terrain, rather than ride the bike riding the terrain. More flow = faster, probably.

    scholarsgate
    Free Member

    I also find on singletrack, I ride with more flow

    I think that’s true. You have to maintain your momentum.

    jimification
    Free Member

    Rode the Big Dog (Brighton) XC course last night on my SS. Will do a proper timed run for comparison soon but despite being very new to SS I reckon there’s very little difference in my lap times between hardtail geared and rigid SS.

    It’s interesting to see that, despite years of marketing to the contrary, gears don’t make that much difference and neither does suspension.

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    because the mental jingle-jangle of gear management is silenced

    do you struggle to tie your laces too?

    DaddyJim
    Free Member

    So fast my friends don’t want to ride with me anymore, well, that’s what I tell myself 😥

    towen
    Free Member

    Depends on how I feel on the day. Last night was one of those rides where you just feel invincible. Untterly spanked it 😉 still buzzing today 😉

    Generally I find myself faster running singlespeed but then my local trails are fast flowing forest trails rather then steep up and down rocky terrain. Trouble is most of my mates are even faster but that just give me something to aim for.

    First real ride on the new exotic carbon forks too, really impressed there.

    tomhoward
    Full Member

    Quicker on the SS over the course of a ride generally, though that may be because the SS is a 25lb hardtail and the geared bike is a 35lb 160mm full sus. 😕

    Muke
    Free Member

    Never mind the fastest, which is more fun ?
    SS for the win 😀

    thestabiliser
    Free Member

    Escaped earths gravity the other day but luckily hit relativisitical speed before leaving the atmosphere and was pulled back down to earth due to my near infinite mass (or more accurately the earth and space was pulled back toward me)

    mattjg
    Free Member

    oh we do enjoy these self-congratulatory elitist SS-beats-gears threads. don’t we?

    (our nightride tonight is looking like it will be long, fast and flattish, I’m contemplating taking some gears!)

    hmanchester
    Free Member

    Not sure!

    I have gears on my mountain bike because I ride it up and down hills.

    I have no gears on my road bike because I only ride it around Manchester and there are no hills.

    I suspect that on mildly hilly terrain I would be faster on a singlespeed because I would try and smash the hills flat. I would also be more tired.

    On very hilly terrain gears would win out.

    scholarsgate
    Free Member

    Never mind the fastest, which is more fun ?

    I’d have to agree. I’m really enjoying my SSing at the mo. To quote Sir Dave Brailsford, My new wheels aren’t just round, they’re really round.

    andypaul99
    Free Member

    It’s interesting to see that, despite years of marketing to the contrary, gears don’t make that much difference and neither does suspension.

    difference to what?

    IA
    Full Member

    Slower than the same bike with gears.

    If I was faster, it would be a strong indication I was doing it wrong.

    However I do go SS over winter as it makes the bike less effort to clean and maintain and keeps me strong-like-ox.

    agentdagnamit
    Free Member

    Hopefully I will never have to find out

    unovolo
    Free Member

    Faster than a Chav cashing there giro.

    Singlespeed_Shep
    Free Member

    [video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyTyjQbvylg[/video]

    feisty
    Free Member

    Much faster on my 29er with 32:18 gear set up than when I had gears 5 years ago

    On a flat xc ride I average around 14.5 mph (14.4 mph avg on my first 100 mile ride at the weekend), on a hilly ride I will do about 11.5 to 12.5 mph average (over 30-40 miles. Up hills I try and hold 9 mph and can stand and slog hard for 2-3 miles up hill no probs.

    I never get passed by anyone on a ride and I also have lost all riding buddies 🙁

    I love the simplicity of a single speed and the silence , gears seem to just be an excuse to go slower, my fitness is so much better these days, I am doing 150+ miles and don’t really feel it all

    Thinking maybe I should start racing?

    monkeychild
    Free Member

    That video is very funny

    jimification
    Free Member

    Andypaul: Lap Times

    agentdagnamit
    Free Member

    Ah, so that’s what matters is it? What if I don’t ride around in circles?

    Singlespeed_Shep
    Free Member

    Singlespeeded for years, I’ll always be faster with gears. If your faster with single speed its because your not using your gears properly,

    I’d have shaved around 10 mins off my mayhem lap times with gears. Nothing to do with the steep climbs but the slight downhill’s which I could have pedalled more and the slight drags uphill which took so much out of my legs.

    But I ride single speed because:

    I love the simplicity of a single speed and the silence

    downgrade
    Free Member

    My beard grows faster when I’m singlespeeding.

    takisawa2
    Full Member

    Slower, as I have to keep fending off the chicks…

    tazzymtb
    Full Member

    I’m brutally fast on a singlespeed when I need to be (as in racing and riding with very fast boys n girls) other than that just happy to bumble and watch the world go by.

    for short xc type races i will always be quicker on gears

    for longer enduros I’m better on SS as I don’t burn myself out in the first 12 hours. (that’s purely down to me being a tit rather than a gears thing though) 😀

    sharki
    Free Member

    Never thought about it.
    I was always quicker climbing though, as to pootle wasn’t an option..

    VanHalen
    Full Member

    defo quicker uphill. also more ruined. overall speed – faster with a fs over a distance. for a shorter blast ss.

    its a good workout rather than practical.

    scholarsgate
    Free Member

    Thinking maybe I should start racing?

    Not where I do please

    ian martin
    Free Member

    I find that when your on form single speeding is one of the most joyous things in the world.
    But if you’re have an off day then it is a really miserable experience.

    Singlespeed for getting fit and gears for recovery.

    Cheezpleez
    Full Member

    I’m more interestedin flow than speed. I find SS is generally good for this

    mattjg
    Free Member

    For me, part of the equation of singlespeeding is letting go of the pressure (be it perceived or real, personal or peer group) to go as quick as possible all the time.

    The same for the odd push up a hill, or getting dropped. Not bothered. Let it go.

    julianwilson
    Free Member

    Depends. As above faster uphill, slower on flat and depends on the steepness and rattliness of the downhill (ie once its too steep it doesn’t matter if you have gears as you can’t put any ‘meaningful’ pedal strokes anyway).

    Last night I left the ss at home and for first time in maybe 3 months I rode racey 100mm fs 3×9 bike instead (weighs maybe 2kg more than my suspension forked steel ss) on the same trails as usual: geary fs was clearly faster downhill and over long sets of big/rattly roots, but I think that is the larger tyres and bouncy rear end, and it was slower uphill because I am lazy and spin an easier gear if one is available. Faster on sustrans path to trails becuase I always spin out on a singlespeed on that.

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