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  • Some singlespeed advice please.
  • Bagstard
    Free Member

    I’m about to build up an inbred 29er as singlespeed to use through winter and was thinking a mud tyre on the back would work well?! with something chunky on the front to cope with roots and rocks.

    Also I have 32×16 gearing, would I be better with something bigger at the back? Trails ridden will be local woods (undulating), Swinley and North Downs.

    Thanks in advance.

    D0NK
    Full Member

    mud tyres front and back for me as I usually SS during winter and grim “summer” days.

    29er you’ll want something lower than 2:1, dunno if 32×17 or 32×18 is the standard

    just checked on sheldon’s gear calculator, 32×16 on 26″ is ~52 gear inches, that’s 32×17 or 34×18 on a 29er.

    tazzymtb
    Full Member

    Normal rule for ss on a 29er is 2 teeth on rear up from a 26″ so 32:18 as a starting point. Tyre wise beavers are a good rear winter rubber with a hans dampf 2.35 or similar up front

    danielgroves
    Free Member

    I built an Inbred with the same intentions a few months back (I wanted to get used to riding SS in the relative dry). Good choice, really good bikes.

    I’m running a pair of On-One Smorgasbord’s on mine. They’ve been fantastic in both the wet and the dry so far. Roll relatively fast, no clogging, plenty of grip. If you want something a little chunkier for the front, I’ve heard really good stuff about the On-One Chunky Monkys. My Smorgasbord’s went up really easily tubeless on my ArchEX Hope Hoops too.

    I started mine on 32:16, I’ve considered going 32:20 at times, but to be honest I’ve not found anything I can’t get up short of stair sets yet. I seemed a pretty good place to start, and I’ll be sticking with it for now.

    Andy-R
    Full Member

    Chunky Monkey/Smorgasbord here. Cheapish and good – around here anyway.

    Bagstard
    Free Member

    Thanks all, off to the Wanted forum then.

    chakaping
    Free Member

    I’m gonna get the On One Smorg/Chunky combo, seem like good all rounders in 26″ form.

    Shallow tread means they roll well and shed mud quick.

    cardo
    Full Member

    Bontrager Mud X front and rear tubeless milarky etc….. I run them all year round..

    32:16 works great on my inbred 29er almost semi pro at gurning on the climbs and my swearings coming along a treat.

    chakaping
    Free Member

    PS. although as you’ve noted I have very niche local riding conditions

    😉

    Bagstard
    Free Member

    You certainly do mate!

    Yak
    Full Member

    32:18 probably, but given that you’ve got the 16, start with that and see how you get on.

    I usually run bigger faster tyres most of the time and only swap to mudx front and rear when its really bad. Sort of sandy mud here, so it doesn’t clog much and bigger tyres are better most of the time.

    Saguaro rear and 2.4 x king front, soon to be swapped for a 2.3 ground control – at the mo.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    I tried 32:16 (29er) at swinley, got up everything apart from the sandy climb out the bottom of 15 upto deer stalker. But it still felt over geared everywhere else too. Now running 34-20 (comparable to 32-19) and it feels much better, the limit at the top end seems to coincide nicely with the speed I’d stop pedaling at naturaly on singletrack and start pumping/concentrating on maintaining speed in corners rather than pedaling through them etc, and its just tiring enough on the flat at 90-100 rpm to make fire roads and commuting Ok.

    I’m actualy about 5 minutes a lap quicker on the lower gears!

    Just get a worn cassette and pull it appart, it wont kill the freehub in one ride (or at all if its a steel freehub). I found the difference between 34-19 and 34-20 was negligable whilst riding, but made a big difference to how tired I felt after ~20miles, so worth playing about (and going up/down a gear as fitness comes and goes).

    Genealy seems better to see how low you can go rather than high, better to be geared efficiently on a 10 min climb and coast the decent and be fresh for the next climb than gear for a 30s sprint in the decent and be knackered and overgeared for the following climb.

    Bagstard
    Free Member

    Duh, just realised I have a sram DH cassette which is pretty much all seperates, that should be enough to keep me going. 32-18 sounds like a good starting point then.

Viewing 13 posts - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)

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