Considering building up the Kona frame I just bought as a (Gulp) Singlespeed Dahn hillerist bike, I’ve got the spare parts to build it with a geared Drivetrain but I have a strange hankering to see what an SS DH bike would be like…

So anyone got a bouncy DH singlespeed bike?

How did you do it?

Main thing I suppose is managing the Chain Growth in a sensible way, a sprung tensioner of somesort and chain devices are I guess the only way…

Quick talk me out of a Stupid waste of time!

A guy on SDH SS’d his Orange Patriot.

It would be a nice idea if you didnt have to use tensioners and whatnot, sort of defeats the object of single speed.

bad idea. Chain tensioner needed and chances are with the chain growth/clattering about you’ll have the chain drop off the cog and have to stop to get it back on – unless you use a 16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16-16 cassette 🙂

edit – oh just thought a cove gspot might be OK for SSing, pivot round BB, still a daft idea tho (IMHO of course)

Yep I’ve see the pictures of that Effort, it’s a bit heath robinson still…

I’m hoping the Kona having a moderatelty low pivot won’t have too much Chain Grow and I can get away with something a touch more compact… I’m sure I saw a sprung BB mounted thing a while back, but I’m not sure what amount of grow it accomodated…

i had an Edge frame, i ran that as a singlespeed*.

it was ace.

(*no guides or tensioners or nuffink)

I SS’s a Patriot 66,

Used a pauls melvin at the rear and e13 at the front then a wheels manufacturing SS kit that has large spacers either side of the cog to keep the chain on it.

Worked a treat.

a sprung tensioner of somesort

Great idea, and to run with it, a tensioner capable of handling the chain growth would also probably have the range to handle different sized sprockets, you could swap depending on terrain. And it’s easy to see how that could be modified to mount all the sprockets on the bike together, and swap between them whilst riding along……hang on 😉

Seriously, daft idea. SS is *most* annoying DH! On climbs you can just mash a big gear and go faster, going DH you spin out and it’s irritating. Above a certain speed you have no resistance to kick the pedals to control the bike etc, if that makes sense.

Sounds like a terrible idea to me. Not that SS is ever a good idea but for DH it sounds particularily awful.

er, not awful.

i tried it, it was ace.

especially on steep techy Dh tracks where gravity provides most-if-not-all of your speed.

Firstly its a kona so it will be pretty awful and secondly it was designed (loosely said) to have gears.

It wont work, it will need a BB pivot to counter the chain growth. Have a look at the Solid that was singlespeed or find pictures of the handmade things that frequent Hamsterly that are singlespeed.

You will just lose or snap your chain if you do it

just ride it chainless.

The oversized spacers was one idea I’d already had to prevent the chain hopping off of either side of the rear sprocket, it’s really finding a neat (Non Rear mech or double sprung tensioner ideally) solution for the Chain growth issue…. This I shall need to ponder a bit further I think… Or just give in and fit gears…

I dunno, all the bloody STW nay-sayers Crawl out from under their rocks again “its a Kona”, “It’ll be crap”, “It’ll explode and you’ll Die”, it’s my bike and I like a little experiment from time to time, if I fancy trying it I sodding well will…
anyway I’ve been forced to ride DH SS in the past on uplifts with busted shifters and a Rigged Mech, I found it strangely enjoyable, made you think a bit more about how to carry speed and go easier on the brakes…

Seriously, daft idea. SS is *most* annoying DH! On climbs you can just mash a big gear and go faster, going DH you spin out and it’s irritating. Above a certain speed you have no resistance to kick the pedals to control the bike etc, if that makes sense.

That’s bollox mate, for a start, above a certain speed you don’t “kick the pedals to control the bike” – you just need to shift your weight!
I very rarely change gear at any DH track anymore and TBH a very small section of motorway at Ft William motorway is the only section of any track I’ve ridden in years that I actually need to change a gear to clear a couple of jumps on. better riders than me can make them chainless.

I’d love a SS DH bike but would not want one with a tensioner as (and I may have said this elsewhere recently 😉 ) I reckon to run a flawless SS set-up on a DH bike you’d still need some amount of chain device up front and possibly a couple of guide plates either side of the sprocket. to achieve a completely taught chain through a rear tensioner alone would need a very stiff tension spring and I’m not even sure most mech hangers are beefy enough.. I’d also imagine the amount of tension needed to keep a chain taught on a DH bike would not be too good for the life of other components. I think SS in principal would work great for me but just can’t see a completely reliable set-up being simple (or even very light) unless you have a frame design that lends itself to SS well (URT, Concentric BB pivot or jackshaft)

find an old Mr Big ST-10 and SS that

GW +1

There is a chain tensioner designed for this made by Yess

CRC used to sell it, I know as I have one on my shelf…

Here is a Mountain Cycle Battery with SS, I think single pivots do this well..

I did not run SS but i did have a Rohloff hub on a Foes FXR a couple of years ago.

The Rohloff chain tensioner worked very well.

In saying that the only pic i could find of the bike, the chain is off 🙄

Toys – a mate has the Yes tensioner, he said it didn’t have anywhere near enough spring tension (for his liking) for a DH bike.

havent used it yet, but there are loads of threads on mtbr and the like with people raving about them.. I dunno if I ever will now, I was going to do my battery like the one above, but sold the bike!

IA – Member

Seriously, daft idea. SS is *most* annoying DH!I’ve had the dubious pleasure of riding IA’s DH bike on occasion. He has very odd ideas of bike set-up!

So ignore him 😉

There are a few Cove G-spots and Kona Cowan’s doing the rounds in full singlespeed guise (concentric BB pivot’s) An easier and cheaper option is just to get some longer bolts to replace the limit screws in any old rear mech (they’re a standard metric size) and a set of singlespeed spacers.

Edge had a floating rear end kinda thing though didn’t it?

Someone on SDH Rohloff’d a Balfa BB7 I think so its do-able. SS though? No thanks…

I’m running an Alfine on my trance, not technically ss but its the same principal.

superstar sprung tensioner at the back and just a top guide at the front is fine. I’m also running a bodged guide similar to an old dcd but that’s just cost the chain was flapping around making a racket not because it came off