I’ve got a 120mm 26er HT singlespeed @ 36:19. I ride around Marsden into Wessenden and the North Peak. I plan on riding in the Dales soon though.

I am 19 and 6ft1 @ 11.5 stone so not a fat biffer.

I am no longer enjoying the hills, as I just get tired and the ride becomes a slog. Also on muddy terrain or technical climbs the rear wheel slips as I stamp on the pedals.

Do I just need a lower gear, or should I go 1×9 (I’ve got a 9 speed shifter and mech)

I don’t know what the tidings like there but why don’t you try 33:19 I ride SS and would not want to ride 36:19 where I am

If it’s stopped being fun get some gears. You can always change back if you want to.

surely thats why gears were invented…

you use a computer / laptop / phone regularly (along with many other modern inventions) but insist on having a single speed on your bike?

easy answer really!

I think 36:19 is a bit of a monster gear round there, try a larger rear sprocket?

The thing I’m thinking about going to a lower gear is that I won’t be able to go fast on the flats/downs, the bike feels slow as it is? 😕

Middleburn Duos will ensure you still look like a cutting edge outsider jay boy, while offering you less extensive cartilage and ligament damage.

😉

I think you need to get some gears then matey, it’s always a compromise with SS! 🙂

The thing I’m thinking about going to a lower gear is that I won’t be able to go fast on the flats/downs, the bike feels slow as it is.

you need gears.

I think with SS you have to accept a compromise between gettign up stuff and speed on the flat. Down stuff I always found that I was no slower than geared bikes on the whole. On along with no techy bits an SS will always feel slow.

‘the force is weak in this one’……. 😉

I blame my lack of beard 🙁

I think you need to be getting those gears back on, sounds like you aren`t enjoying it.

Seriously, you will find some sort of gearing improves life massively. And I wasn’t joking about the soft tissue damage!

On along with no techy bits an SS will always feel slow.

nah , learn to spin properly and you can still keep up with the geared boys unless they are strong and can turn the big ring quickly. 😀

36:19 sounds quite brutal for the Peaks. I was happy twiddling along on 32:16 until I moved to Dartmoor and now use 32:18 which seems about right for most of the riding I do locally. I do now also have a geared bike which I used for longer and tougher rides but it probably still works out 60/40 in favour of the singlespeed.

For the sake of a cost of new rear sprocket you could try gearing down a bit – try a 19 or 20 on the back, and if it doesn’t work out then just go back to your gears.

Not worth beating yourself up about either way – the whole point of singlespeeding is that it should be fun, so if it’s no longer so then don’t do it.

If you go back to gears you can always build up a cheap singlespeed from the parts bin / classifieds should you want to give it a go again.

I blame my lack of beard

There you go. When you’re old enough to grow a beard, the time will be right for ss 😉

2:1 – it’s the law! If it feels too high for the climbs, then get off and push. If it feels too low for the descents then brake less. I’m back on a singlespeed and loving it 😛

Oh, and no beard here 😆

brake less

spot on, is works for me and is much more fun to flow rather than pedal-brake-pedal-brake

Brakes ! pah !! true SS’ers don’t have brakes 😉

Nah they have beer stops,

I run silly low gears (25:15) & accept I’m going no where fast

It could always be N+1 time,you know its a ideal excuse to add to the stable.

I already a want a road bike of some sort…

A lack of funds was the original reason for singlespeeding but now I’ve got a lack of fun instead 😛

– I’ve moved and my riding has changed, for playing around in the woods on an evening the single speed was great, short climbs and steep descents.

However now those lllooonnnggg climbs that aren’t steep are just killing me, I run out of energy regardless of how much flapjack I eat.

Well there you go then. You’ve resolved your own conundrum. I proscribe a Merlin Cycles XT groupset and an immediate trip to Honister pass to experience the joy of gears…or not.

The

gears…gears

sheep are round quickly on the injured wolf, circling slowly awaiting the demise of the blooded canine. But suddenly, into the meadow leaps Tazzy, his bloody thirsty howl drawing Keef unto the fight. Battle lines are drawn. It begins…

The young one is not ready, oh brothers of the chainline. Release him back to the wild. In time, he shall return.

takisawa2,
last time I saw Taz in a meadow,all the sheep were leaving out the other end,very quickly………..

muttering something about the scary mans back again

It strikes me that the solution to not having enough gears is probably to have more gears. Though I wouldn’t know, having never been daft enough to not have enough gears.

Gears are for………..indecisive people

Northwind – Member

It strikes me that the solution to not having enough gears is probably to have more gears. Though I wouldn’t know, having never been daft enough to not have enough gears.

I’d vote for this gentleman.

Gears are for………..indecisive people

The problem with singlespeeds as they are never in the right gear.

But then, neither are geared bikes.

I ride 32:16 down here in the flatlands of Surrey. Never had a problem with the bike not being fast enough on the descents. 😕

last time I saw Taz in a meadow,all the sheep were leaving out the other end,very quickly……..

short crank, high cadence, I’d finished with that lot already 😀

The problem with singlespeeds as they are never in the right gear.

just one really nice speed

If there is only one gear, it is always the right gear.

Have you tried eating rough-cut marmalade?

short crank, high cadence

yeah,so I hear….. 😉

I love how some people have no concept of how gear ratios work. 36:19 isn’t really a tough gear is it? Bigger numbers not always harder! Ratio innit? 😉

I love how some people have no concept of how gear ratios work. 36:19 isn’t really a tough gear is it? Bigger numbers not always harder! Ratio innit?

Well thanks for clearing that up 😀

1 or 2 teeth difference in either chainring or sprocket size can make a big difference to rideability on a singlespeed in my experience. 2:1 is just a starting point for general riding. The OP is already running a slightly higher ratio than that in quite a hilly area.

The OP is already running a slightly higher ratio than that in quite a hilly area.

higher than a 2:1?

a 2:1 ratio would be 32:16 = 36:18 = 40:20

So running a 19t sprocket is easier (as in a lower gear and better for hills) than a 2:1… correct me if I am wrong