Viewing 40 posts - 41 through 80 (of 99 total)
  • why singlespeed
  • SiB
    Free Member

    The devil makes work for idle thumbs!

    Recently purchased a swobo sanchez at a ridiculously cheap price and loving the ‘simple riding’, back to basics, at one with two wheels and a couple of brakes feeling! Still occassionally go to shift gear and this makes me smile. Hills are now alot more fun.

    Admittedly its a SS for the road and Im looking forward to using gears at weekend on my mtb but now eager to give off roading a go on SS too. Its the simplicity of it all, beautiful!!

    muckytee
    Free Member

    For me singlespeeding makes me go faster, since I have to carry more speed through the corners, because it is more effort to get the bike back up to speed. I also have to pump the terrain. Dropping a gear and mincing through techy sections isn’t an option either.

    Losing gears also makes the bike a lot lighter, and looks so much nicer. No more chain suck and chain slap also 8)

    36:18 for me in Leeds/Bradford.

    theredchili
    Free Member

    People seem to get hung up on not being fit enough for single speed, its like anything, if you stick with it past the initial rides ,you soon learn the simplicity of Single speeding.

    I ride Fs, Hardtails, Retro ,geared and single speed . I do love the simple life of single speeding, low maintenance – just brakes and chain , the featherlight weight – I enjoy thrashing it around and climbs.
    Climbs that are too steep to ride, I can push the lightweight bike up quicker than it can be ridden in the granny gear.

    you can build a single speed very cheaply if you want to try it before spending a decent amount on one .

    I run 34T x 18 which XC is ideal for me

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...
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    _tom_
    Free Member

    I like how quiet SS is, makes everything seem smoother. I don’t like topping out at a really low speed though. Also my SS drivetrain has had no maintenance done on it for well over a year and it’s still working despite being rusty as ****, the geared bike would be a mess by now.

    tomlevell
    Full Member

    32:16
    It’s the law.

    speaker2animals
    Full Member

    If I was going SS now I’d definately go 29er (I did have one of the 1st Inbred 29ers for all of 3 weeks before it was nicked, even though I had my VooDoo Wanga SS at the time). I’m even condiering if I get the cash to buy a Swift and have my hubs rebuilt on to 29er rims (as they are surly SS hubs with WI freewheel) and convert my Wanga to geared with front suss (currently rigid).

    I started on 32/18 as I am a fatty and was a little worried about hills, though Stoke is nowt compared to Kirklees. I now use 34/18 and am fine. I’m amazed at what I can get up on it. I usually find small hills in quick succession are what give me problems (BPM/breathing) big hills just grind up generally.

    Do it!

    GSI-MAN
    Free Member

    I can remember when i was a young lad on my brian curtis bmx riding up the steepest of hills running a 44/16. 😯
    Couldnt do that now.
    But i am tempet by SS and also how light it will make my bike.Which is currently about 18.5 pounds rigid HT.

    spando
    Free Member

    I have thought about this so much but just can’t bring myself to convert my MTB to ss. My commuter is ss and is great fun I just need some convincing to convert the MTB 😯

    MostlyBalanced
    Free Member

    where full speed = 8 mph

    In addition to learning to grunt your way up hills you’ll learn to spin like a hamster in a wheel. 25mph is perfectly achievable in a sprint.

    miketually
    Free Member

    I can remember when i was a young lad on my brian curtis bmx riding up the steepest of hills running a 44/16

    That’s about the same as a 26″ MTB with 32:16.

    _tom_
    Free Member

    I think 34:16 for 26″ wheels is the same as the standard bmx ratio. Feels better than 32 which is a bit spinny for riding here.

    D0NK
    Full Member

    it’s not maintenance free as anyone who’s been to an SS event will tell you, faffathon, but there is less maintenance.

    Vertical dropouts with a tensioner are least faff IME.

    Woodland singletrack is spot on for SS riding I reckon, hilly stuff that isn’t silly steep is fine, flat tarmac is waytoohighRPMrubbish.

    nick3216
    Free Member

    Genuinely can’t ride as far on gears any more.

    qwerty
    Free Member

    me fixyd DONKses quoter

    Vertical dropouts with a WI Eccentric Eric hub are least faff IME.

    D0NK
    Full Member

    ah but you have to manually adjust chain tension as chain wears/stretches qwerty, that’s faff right there 🙂

    MadPierre
    Full Member

    I think the lack of maintenance vs gears is a complete myth. Every single speed tensioner I’ve seen seems more trouble than a derailleur (and few people seem to have horizontal drop outs to avoid this?). Riding through winters of sh*te there’s not much gear maintenance with a decent shimano set up? They just seem to keep on working even when covered in crap.

    The rest of the bike needs the same maintenance….

    ir_bandito
    Free Member

    Personally, I ride a singlespeed cos its got a belt-drive.

    yunki
    Free Member

    Weird thing is though.. with ref to the cartoon above..

    I started riding a SS because my knee is knackered and epic days out in the hills are a no-no for the minute.. gentle pootles around the woods being more the order of the day..

    my knee feels a lot better since ditching the gears, and I’m quicker up hills..

    cfinnimore
    Free Member

    Because after a short while, once you have outgrown every pair of jeans you own, your legs can produce acceleration speeds beyond the dreams of poor gears.
    Spectacular uptake in pace. Beard included.

    rOcKeTdOg
    Full Member

    nick3216 Genuinely can’t ride as far on gears any more

    You are currently riding LEJOG ss though you nutter!

    donks
    Free Member

    3 years of ss and I loved it but recently I’ve taken to doing more up and downy trails as opposed to commuting and xc stuff and a result of that has been a whole lot of pushing so I’m going to stick the gears back on and see if it makes a whole lot of difference….might still be pushing? I only have a ss bike as well so I was finding the different riding environments a bit of a struggle so maybe gears will mean I can ride more terrains again?

    samuri
    Free Member

    After a while you get stupider too.
    I have lots of geared bikes but I’m now too thick to change gear on them.
    Imagine going for a hilly road ride and never changing gear…

    Dumb as f…

    nick3216
    Free Member

    nick3216 Genuinely can’t ride as far on gears any more
    You are currently riding LEJOG ss though you nutter!

    yeah, if I’d had gears I’d have broken by now. Forces me to pace myself doesnt it. Hello from Cromarty BTW.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickw3216

    Duffer
    Free Member

    I’ve had a SS hack for a few years now, but i’ve never done any proper riding on it. This thread has just inspired me to get out there and see if i get on with this SS thing…

    I’ve just been out and thrown some decent wheels on it, and i’ll be taking it out in the morning!

    pop-larkin
    Free Member

    Agree with cheezybeanz in that ss 29 er stylee seems easier than 26

    Weirdly it feels easier to get out of the saddle and wrestle up the hills

    TiRed
    Full Member

    32:16
    It’s the law.

    It certainly is… Deuteronomy 32:16 “They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols” 😆

    Seriously, Today I rode Whites Level at Afan for the first time with the kids on my rigid 29er SS, and the need for suspension was greater than the need for gears. Good workout for the arms too.

    tomlevell
    Full Member

    Mad Pierre – Member

    I think the lack of maintenance vs gears is a complete myth. Every single speed tensioner I’ve seen seems more trouble than a derailleur (and few people seem to have horizontal drop outs to avoid this?). Riding through winters of sh*te there’s not much gear maintenance with a decent shimano set up? They just seem to keep on working even when covered in crap.

    The rest of the bike needs the same maintenance….

    Yup gears in winter for me.
    Wouldn’t want to damage the best bike in winter.

    As for speeds 17mph average on an offroad downhill tonight.
    32:16 Fixed.
    Waves willy

    ;0)

    wallop
    Full Member

    Ok, I’m now using my Soul for my commute and I want to go single speed. I have spacers and a sprocket – what else do I need? How do I know if I need a tensioner? Total SS noob here…. Do I need a new chain?

    GiantJaunt
    Free Member

    I believe it can be done with standard size bits with a single speed sprocket at the back but the recommendation is to use bits designed for ss.

    I started off with a horizontal dropout frame with chain tugs but the system I was using didn’t work for me and was frightfully fiddly. I’ve since converted to vertical dropouts with a tensioner which I’ve found to be far better. Get the chain roughly the right length and the tensioner does the rest.

    I got my sprockets and stuff from On one and Charlie the Bikemonger. Charlie has set up videos on youtube. Singlespeed sprockets and chains are beefier. I have a KMC chain which is lasting well. You will need to get your chainline right so having lots of small spacers is better than having a couple of big ones. You’ll probably need singlespeed chainring bolts which are shorter than those used for 2 or 3 ring set ups. Charlie the bikemonger has these. You can get single speed specific wheels too but a normal one can be converted ok.

    hazeii
    Free Member

    Why singlespeed?

    Fitness plenty covered above; I’d add (assuming a non-ghetto SS) you can fearlessly ride though brambles, mud, long grass, the zombie apocalypse etc without having to worry about bike breakage. It’s nice and reassuring to know you can push the pedals as hard as you want without having to worry about pedallibng air or getting that sickening crunch from the back end.

    wallop
    Full Member

    Thank you GiantJaunt

    samuri
    Free Member

    32:16 Fixed.
    Waves willy

    ;0)

    It’s a bit small. Come back when you’re waving a proper sized one. 😉

    nick3216
    Free Member

    Despite my nom de plume and website I must now confess that I’ve run 34:17 for years now.

    Kuco
    Full Member

    I ran 34×17 for years after being sent the wrong size chainring and not being arsed to send it back.

    miketually
    Free Member

    34:16 fixed on my 29er = 62″
    32:17 free on my 26er = 49″

    tomlevell
    Full Member

    32:16 Fixed.
    Waves willy

    ;0)

    It’s a bit small. Come back when you’re waving a proper sized one.

    So you like to make it easy for yourself downhill.
    Pah

    nick3216
    Free Member

    I can now confirm having ridden the length of Britain that 2:1 will get you everywhere except that climb out of Lynmouth. Mind, if you’re not carrying 10 days of kit in a Revelate seat pack you might make it.

    miketually
    Free Member

    Chapeau Nick

    Northwind
    Full Member

    Congrats Nick!

    hazeii – Member

    It’s nice and reassuring to know you can push the pedals as hard as you want without having to worry about pedallibng air or getting that sickening crunch from the back end.

    Hmm. I never worry about that with gears either- but I do dislike the way with singlespeed I can’t push the pedals as hard as I want, as the gearing is too low 😉 Gears are useful if you want to do that.

    boxelder
    Full Member

    Why SS?
    Just went out to remind meself. Local loop towards Buttermere. When it’s uphill, you’re looking ahead picking lines and judging when to pedal hard – not fannying with shifters. Rode all of a trail that I’m chuffed to ride with gears – usually lose it on a loose rocky climb, in two minds over which gear to be in. Downhill, you’re looking for keeping momentum going – riding smoothly. No mech to worry about when a branch gets stuck back there. Had to go a bit slower along the road coming back, so enjoyed the sunset. An hours ride felt like proper exercise.
    Didn’t bother cleaning the bike.

Viewing 40 posts - 41 through 80 (of 99 total)

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