But why do we have sub catagories for them? it's either a race for all MTBs or a singlespeed race.
I mean I've probably done most of my MTB riding and racing on singlespeeds, but it was my choice.
Anyway just watched a short roadie video and when the results rolled one of the last teams had 'Note singlespeed' next to it, which made me cringe.
If it had been one of the top three then great mention it. But don't choose to ride singlespeed and do badly and then blame your choice, singlespeeds are better than that.

"singlespeeds are better than that"

No they're not. Beardie weirdies developed them upon discovering that a diet of tofu and self righteous indignation lacked sufficient carbs to get a decent placing, so they developed a sub-category to mask their failings and be amongst their own kind. THe sub niche of this that demonstrates it well are the pseudo-messengers, who have disgusted even the one gear freaks. Insufficient talent to BMX but still want to freestyle? No one else understands you? Are you a certifiable imbecile? Then become a fnnnnkkeenggrrnn or whatever the hell some other gimlet with a hole in his ear and a bike from a skip calls it. They are all, to a primate, bottom feeding status obsessed bungtwunts on bikes who inevitably gravitate to some poxy louse infested niche corner of the sport that no decent human being with even a modicum of self respect would dare shove an antibacterially gelled latex-glove covered pinky into the ringpiece of to see if it was even still alive and crapping. End of.

Can of worms

Eccles… tell us what you really think now? 😯

Some great metaphors/analogys/similes in there 😆

I do most of my single-speeding here – fixed.

Poetry by Eccles. Love it.

There are separate classes for women, kids and over 40s, because we are supposedly at a disadvantage to men between 18 and 40.
If singlespeeders get their own class because they have chosen to handicap themselves, then why don't fully rigids, hardtails, hub gears and people with the wrong tyres get their own class ?

If singlespeeders get their own class because they have chosen to handicap themselves, then why don't fully rigids, hardtails, hub gears and people with the wrong tyres get their own class ?

On my last ride my bike would've fallen into 3 of those categories 😆

Isn't it simply to allow those who are racing singlespeed to compare themselves against one another?

Single speeds are like merino; only good if you don't like washing.

Isn't it simply to allow those who are racing singlespeed to compare themselves against one another?

Yeah, but you don't have a ginger class, and they're equally disabled.

mmccarthy, have you got a beard too ?

See I don't get that, surely the only person you compare your results to is the winners.
It's like the cross season, someone said why don't you race in the over 50s you'll do well in that. My answer is no, I'll race in the 'proper' race and put up and shut up.

There are separate classes for women, kids and over 40s, because we are supposedly at a disadvantage to men between 18 and 40.
If singlespeeders get their own class because they have chosen to handicap themselves, then why don't fully rigids, hardtails, hub gears and people with the wrong tyres get their own class ?

By using that criteria solo riders should also be lumped in the team class as it's their choice (unless of course it's because they have no friends to ride with).

No because a soloist is a racer within a race like Junior/woman/master/vet and that's fair enough. The bike choice is yours, take a singlespeed if that's what going to help you win (which some do)or achieve your best result.

Because it gives us dodgy riders a chance
My best ever race result was 2nd in a singespeed category..
J.

I remember being a bit upset at D2D 06 when I solo SS'd that there wasnt a specific SS class, but I had built the SS in the first place so I didnt have to race as Vet…

I think I have managed to confuse myself with my intentions.

Anyhow its all tosh, I ride whatever class they tell me to ride now and I even use gears, does that make niche back in the day or knob back in the day? Actually I dont really care.

and people with the wrong tyres get their own class

But who is going to decide what tyres are indeed, "wrong"?

It'll be the 2X10 class next 😉

why not complain to Rapha if it bothers you that much.

Because if you complain to pissing Rapha you are sure to be drowned out in a cacophony of popping prosecco corks and hideously distorted vowel sounds all of which is funded by a bunch of middle managers pining after their lost youth, comparing the authenticity of their gloves and appearing for all the world like sexual-harrsament in the workplace defendants focus group, 5 minutes of which is pretty much a dead cert to have you reaching down your own throat to try and throttle an overactive spleen. Because, in short, there is not enough zantac in the bloody world to cope the normal reaction to those bunch of cheese-ended wool-jockeys as well as the lumberjack shirt nathan barley brigade.

this is a real masterclass in invective!

It must be really hard riding when you're so worried about all these things. It sounds very stressful, you should go for a ride to chill out. Er…

i think eccles needs a hug.

i think eccles needs a hug.

but he has to stab anyone who gets within knife range 🙁

I think eccles doesn't need a hug. He needs to be runinng the country

What I think cannot be couched in language apropriate for this website.

I have raced singlespeed and see no reason why i should be given a separate class. I could ride a geared bike or my singlespeed. I know that it is going to be slower in certain situations but that is what I accept will happen.

I used it at the weekender and dusk til dawn last year. At the weekender it was chosen as it is my favourite bike, and as I am not very fast downhill it didnt really slow me down. For the XC it wasnt too much of a handicap.

Dusk til Dawn I chose it to give me some self imposed pacing by making me spin on the fire roads, again it didnt really handicap me on the majority of the course.

But, no reason to separate them out. I want to see how I do against everyone else – if i know i was singlespeed then it gives me an extra grin if i do ok.

I did read a post once buy a single speeder who was annoyed that some one passed him on a climb but then he couldn't get passed on the the next descent where he was faster. He was looking for support

Not from me

Imagine that in formula one. Lewis is furious. He's been passed on the straight because todays he's only running one gear. But now the cars a head are cornering more slowly than him and its hard to over take in the corners!

Solo in a 24 hour race is different, its a catagory, not a rider choice like suspension say

Not from me

He would have from me that is really something I hate. Being stuck behind a muppet that get scared at each rock/root or corner and that doesn't want to move a bit because he's able to put miles on a road bike…

but thats what happens in XC racing…

I hate it too, but i am too lazy/busy/not bothered enough to put in the training miles. I could be great if i did that 🙂

I'm an Eccles fan.

Cakes or the STW'er
Right I;ve just had to halfs of larger that's three hals all year and it took me ages to write that first sentance

My arms ache and my head is hot, mad innit.

Juan I could sympathise over that

This guy claimed he was passed as he was slow due to being on a single speed, his choice to race that way…..

Eccles for PM! I haven't laughed so hard in ages[/b]! 😆 😆 😆

I bet eccles is a singlespeeder.

have you had a bad experience with rapha?
if you hate them so much why were you looking at the website and why watch to near the end of the video to be so disgusted that it merits posting on a forum?

the 2 people i know who work there aren't anything like you describe.

😆 at MrSmith. Not been here long?