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On a couple of my usual routes there are a few short (sub-100m long) sharp climbs that it's tough enough to get up on a geared bike, let alone SS 34:18.
For those of you who have similar, do you;
1. Use a different route that avoids them.
2. Gear down and accept that you'll spin out on the flat.
3. Hit them with as much speed as you can and walk it once you stall.
4. Just ride them because you have legs like tree trunks!
At the moment I use a winning combo of 1 and 3, though the more time I spend riding the SS means that 4 is almost starting to happen..! Not the tree trunk bit though, obvs. 🙂
3, and soon enough 4 will happen.
Eventually you'll set your fastest times on climbs on a ss.
3 to 4
though one of them remains 3. the truly massive one I have never even tried as I cannot do it[ so I guess 1 as well]
3 here
learn to gurn doing 3 then hopefully 4 (once christmas wasteline is decreased a bit)
1. if it's so wet traction becomes an issue.
Always going to spin out you just have a lower top speed.
It's also a bit like sprinting you only have so many in the tank so try and fit them in early!
first rule of singlespeed
everyone walks
go for 3 then 4, they are short enough that you might get over them one day.....
don't ride the flat on a singlespeed, either go up or go down
If it's steep enough to have you walking, then your gear-equipped mates will be in the granny ring, so they'll be going walking pace anyway.
There's no shame in walking from time-to-time. Keep attacking the short climbs, and you'll be sailing up them in no time.
Some climbs seem impossible, but you'll surprise yourself one day.
If the gearing works well for 95% of the ride I'd say it's about right.
3 and then 4 (eventually!) 😀 Walking's ok. There's a particularly nasty, rocky one near us that I've only managed twice on a geared bike so have no qualms at all about walking up it on my SS. It's worth the short, sharp push up for the gentle flowy DH bit after!
edit- 34/19 on a 26" for what it's worth, but I am a bit of a feebleton*.
* edit again- but in your face, Tanners Bank in North Shields!
shoulder and jog and pretend like it is deliberate CX practice.
But as above, some started impossible but later weren't. A mixture of strength but also technique. Realising you have to carry speed in can improve your line choices and make you think.
Cheers chaps, that's made me feel a bit better! Only ever ride solo really, and never ridden with anyone else SS so had nothing to gauge against.
Not really much techy rocky stuff here in Surrey, my nemeses are short steep sandy ramps that suck all your momentum and energy.
5.
5.
5 being just ride and not be bothered what you do or don't get up.
Personally I've gone past the 5 stage and either gone to the pub or ridden a geared bike.# taking singlespeeding to it's ultimate aim of not giving a shit. 😉
Part of singlespeeding for me was learning there's actually three gears, sit down, stand up and get off and push. And all three are equally acceptable
Part of singlespeeding for me was learning there's actually three gears, sit down, stand up and get off and push. And all three are equally acceptable
Bar ends are worth another gear but everyone else hates you for putting them on riser bars
Learning to accept having a walk now and again isn't a bad thing
Bar ends are worth another gear but everyone else hates you for putting them on riser bars
+1
6 - zig zag the shit of the climb 🙂
Yak - Member
3, and soon enough 4 will happen.
Eventually you'll set your fastest times on climbs on a ss.
There is a 3.5 which I use a lot if the road/track isn't busy.
Zig-zag. One leg of it is done straight across so there's no climb, and you use that to get momentum. The next bit you angle up. The secret is maintaining as much of the momentum as possible when you do the turn, but it is possible to get a rhythm up.
And I agree about walking. There's no point in riding at walking pace.
It's inefficient and only worth doing for a short stretch. Get off and walk. You get a rest as well, and get to enjoy the view instead of staring at the 2 metres just in front of the bike.
And as Yak said, 4 comes soon enough.
There's no point in riding at walking pace.
Not many bikes are geared low enough to move at walking pace. But even if you did ride at such a low speed (for a short section of the ride), there is still a purpose. Walking with a bike is not good, as a bike is an awkward object to walk with. Plus it's uncomfortable and it's hard work. On my last ride I hurt myself by walking with the bike on a techy rocky section. The studs on the pedals caught the back of my leg and scratched it. Plus, the dismount and re-mount takes time as well. If I had the skill to ride that rocky section, even if it was at walking speed (which would require some serious balance to ride it that slow!), I'd rather have done that than dismount and walk.
d.
3, it took me a year of riding a singlespeed before I could fully clean heartbreak hill at kirroughtree, after the first time it gradually got easier n' easier, as it was my local trail I eventually used it as a training hill and would ride it over n' over till I broke completely
Try gurning more.
You shouldn't choose a ratio to suit the climbs, you need to be geared to enjoy those great blasts through the trees in tight singletrack. And in everything else repeat the mantra " singlespeeding means you're never in the wrong gear".
"singlespeeding means you're [s]never[/s] always in the wrong gear".
FTFY
More gurning required
4 with a hint of 3. big bars, big arms and row that fker up the hill like Honky McHonkface (This may also be why I snap bars and twist stems)
3 to 4....
I love hills on the ss... pervert...
DrP
it will take a while to get used to it and toughen up a bit... after that you will want to find the biggest gear that you can just about muscle up 95% of your local climbs.
the main reason i dont SS MTB is that riding in a group locally, there will always be route options that are flatish, roadish and there is a limit to how quick you can spin your legs. On your own, perfect.