I've occasionally converted my PA to singlespeed, might do again now I've got a new hardtail...
Mostly tho I've got a Genesis Day One decade for winter off road mud duty & Felt Dispatch for on road duties, had a Langster waay back in the day, sold that. However when I broke my femur I wanted something to build my strength back up quickly so got the SS Felt Dispatch for commuting & haven't looked back.
yeah, i've got five of the buggers, and one full suss. ss get's ridden twice weekly, the fs once a month on average.
I really, really wanted to love SS. I like the look of it, the lightness, the quietness, the cheapness, the maintenance-freeness.
I've converted to SS numerous times over the years, sometimes by choice, sometimes after mech issues, but every time I last about a month before I get fed up of having to get off and push occasionally on brutal climbs and then spinning like an idiot on the flat.
Been riding SS for 40 years - Ive never owned a bike with gears - nothing against geared - I guess I'm just set in my ways .
I still SS every winter, and still love it! On the posh bike you sit there slopping around in the mud, on the less technical trails, grinding away at slower speeds and don't get much out of it. Riding single speed makes the tame trails fun again, and the lack of maintenance is a bonus.
I put a -2 headset and a dropper on my El Mariachi this winter and it made a big improvement in its capabilities.
SS would be worse for me in winter. I'd spin out in the mud standing up and heaving on pedals.
molgrips, not true. I ride both and SS has infinitely more grip on muddy hills than you expect. I guess something to do with lower instant torque or other sciency stuff.
SS would be worse for me in winter. I’d spin out in the mud standing up and heaving on pedals.
Sounds like a battle that could be settled by physics. AFAIK (not a lot) offroad vehicles rely heavily on initial low-end torque to clear obstacles at low speeds, but good traction is also achieved with a combination of optimal weight displacement (on a bike this would ideally be biased over the rear wheel) which increases friction/grip? To achieve the best grip (optimal tyres a given) you'd probably need to be 1. Seated and 2. Pushing some low-end torque.
Either side of this sweet-spot would result in slippage
So I guess the short answer is 'depends on the gear'. I certainly couldn't wrestle my SS ratio up a muddy bank whilst seated. Probably not even out of the saddle.
Back to that Kate Bush tune.. 🎹🎼 - it's all hike-a-bike exercise/fun for me, but I get not for everyone.
I have had at least one for the last 15 years. Currently riding ss less than ever as I'm down to twice a day commute and about once a fortnight off-road.
This is a timely post for me.. I love singlespeeds and rode them pretty exclusively for years, but over the last few years, family life / work etc has got in the way and I'm generally just not riding as much. My fitness has dropped off quite a bit and when I do get a chance to ride, it's always one of my geared bikes I end up on (I live on Dartmoor which is pretty hilly!).
If you'd suggested to me even 3 years ago that I sell my old faithful Surly 1x1 I would have laughed in your face but now I'm considering doing just that even though it's genuinely one of my favourite bikes ever.
Basically my dilemma at the moment is whether to man up and use the singlespeed to get fitter, or to swap it out for something I can put in some decent miles on to reach the same result (Yes - I've got a gravel-bike itch - it's the new golf).
Like some of the others have mentioned, some of my favourite rides ever have been singlespeed, but at 45 I am starting to think that I've just got too old for it.. sad, but it was definitely fun while it lasted.
Stupid idea.
Tried it.
Liked it.
Don't know what took me so long to give it a go. Run a MTB SS over the winter. Considering SS on a road bike too...
Bought a 26" Voodoo Wanga setup SS/rigid a couple of years ago on a whim for £150 just to see what it was like. Ride it almost every day to commute (flat, 4k) and usually most weekends as well. The big geared FS only generally gets used for more serious riding.
It makes a nice change from normal geared full sus. I’ve recently put together a Nukeproof Scout 290 as a singlespeed, but always had one on and off for probably 15 or 20 years. Superb fun as a quick hour or two straight from the door into the woods.
Love it 🙂 SS is how I do most of my biking. Knees have never been an issue, and it forces you to attack hills a bit more.
Around my way in East Devon there's only a couple of hills I can't thrutch my way up.
Just and a quick tally and it's a 7/1 ratio in favour of SS in my garage.....
Surly Krampus - SS
DMR Trailstar - Cheating a bit as it's dingle speed
DMR Bolt - currently geared, but 50% of the time it's SS
Pompino - fixed/SS on a flip-flop hub
Indy Fab SS Deluxe - SS (of course!)
Dialled Love/Hate - guess what? SS 😉
Transition Klunker - SS + rear coaster brake for extra fun
The odd one out is my Genesis Vagabond - 2 x 10
I'm still riding SS cause I'm always broke, and to be fair most people I know still ride SS. I do have gears on my crosser/gravel thing that I have to kick to change.
but at 45 I am starting to think that I’ve just got too old for it
You're only 45 🙂
I think it's getting a lot less coverage as all the cool kids have moved onto fat bikes. 😉
I did it a lot on the road (fixed obviously) but snapped the frame a few years ago and never replaced it.
I've done it off road and found it an utter waste of time. Slower almost everywhere. Except where the gear ratio was *just* right. Which wasn't often.
and it forces you to attack hills a bit more.
That's a rider mindset problem, not a gears problem.
@ghostlymachine - I know someone who I think rides exclusively single speed, I can't remember him saying that he'd got a geared bike. The only time I can outpace him is on the flat on road or dead easy BWs like old railway lines when he spins out. He is very good though and even among his peers is reckoned to be bloody fit!
I certainly wouldn't have just a mountain bike SS around here (Dales) as there's too much variation in gradient, if something's fine for the steeper stuff then it's just going to be silly for the flatter stuff and vice versa. It's not too bad on the roads if I avoid those with double chevrons on the map.
Blimey, just realised I’ve been SSing for 10 years now. I have geared bikes too but can’t imagine not having a singlespeed.
I prefer to be incredibly fit to ride exclusively SS if I'm to get any real satisfaction out of it.
I'm not even a tiny bit fit at the moment though, so only my hack bike is SS for round town, daily commute and an occasional jaunt across the hills and through the woods.
yes this is my problem. 10-15 years ago I was almost 100% SS with 2 x mtb and 1 x fixie gravel (pompino) but then I was fit and had no back issues. I was fine keeping up with other geared riders. Since then I have let myself go through various injuries and lazyness and now would be an embarassment on a group ride with a SS.......
SS riders take the best photo's as well.
Basically my dilemma at the moment is whether to man up and use the singlespeed to get fitter
Do it. I reckon it takes about 2 weeks/ 4-6 rides to get singlespeed legs back. Obviously this time gets a bit longer as I get older, but it's just a short but tough period to get through and then you are good again.
You making me awfully tempted to get one Yak! Something that would challenge me, and mean I can be riding with the children at the same time! The only problem is persuading J another bike would be a good thing!
How cheaply do you reckon I could build one up for? (rigid)
Gary Lager - You cant have been that committed to it if you sacked it off cos it became fashionable.
Im not sure why some people seem so obsessed with image and what others are doing.
I ride both and SS has infinitely more grip on muddy hills than you expect.
But you have to stand up on steep hills don't you?
phil40 - i'm not sure it's good for riding with kids. You'll be like a rocket uphill, or grinding slowly.
Cost - guessing a cheap steel something from the classifieds - a couple of hundred? Looking at an inbred or similar. If it's going to be keeper then spend a bit more and get something nice like a swift with some better wheels. When cogs etc wear out then treat it to surly/velosolo stainless stuff for more durability. KMC 3/32" for chains.
@phil40 - have a look around for one of the charity cycling shops and see if they've anything. Doesn't really matter if it already has gears, you just need to add the cost of a SS conversion kit. If the bike has track dropouts then it's just the cost of the cog and spacer otherwise you'll probably have to add a tensioner to the basket as well.
The SS conversion of my old Pompetamine cost £20.
I've dabbled in SS over the last 10 years but more on the pub bike than anything else. I missed offloading my C456 but the 26" crashed so it sat in the shed un-used. I eventually put some horizontal drop-outs on it and planned to use it for canal duties however after smashing up a wheel on my #1 bike and the seatpost failing on #2 i had to put this into action for a day round Coed Y brenin. In all honesty the hills were fine with a bit of effort and it was downhill i struggled due to running some rather s**t fake Jones bars and grips that kept moving. thats all fixed and ready for another outing. Its surprisingly easy once up to speed to keep going and i got loads of PR's on climbs as you have no choice but to go a bit faster.
Embrace the singlespeed
(no idea how to embed images any more 🙁
I did til I moved to Wales.
How cheaply do you reckon I could build one up for? (rigid)
Nowhere near as cheaply as buying a complete used one (especially if you don't mind 26" wheels)
I have a rigid SS el mariachi for local stuff here in north London. It's relatively flat (650ft per 10 miles) and tame so it makes it more fun and more interesting. Also makes it easier in all the slop
I singlespeeded my Voodoo Bizango in November 16. As above it makes local rides more interesting, and best of all, reduces maintenance.
But you have to stand up on steep hills don’t you?
But you're also using a much higher gear than you would be if you had a geared bike and you were sitting down. And the higher the gear, the lower the torque, the less easily the rear tyre starts to spin.
It kind of cancels itself out: fundamentally, you need a certain force between the tyre and the ground to get yourself up a slope, and that's independent of gearing. Singlespeed means more force at the pedal, but it's consequently less likely to get out of hand.
Having ridden the same local trails both geared and singlespeed (even on the same bike) the climbs that are tricky to clean are tricky on both, and in the same places. The SS needs more strength; gears needs a bit more pedalling finesse.
But it's not the case that SS inherently means you lose traction.
I found I loved the idea of Single Speed but not the reality (2017 Kona Unit) and I've wimped out and gone 11-42 1x11. Using the stock 32t front ring. It's getting me out on the bike more, which means come summer IllI have had a lot of time on it, which means come winter again I might convert it back and see how I get on. In the deep snow we had and very sticky mud it was less bother as I had plenty of chain clearance and nothing was getting boggy and gritty on the bike.
I still like the simplicity and idea of it, but for me (who as an unfit unmotivated rider has been using group rides to get out more) at this time at least, gears are better.
I'll likely try it again once I've dropped a few stone and gained fitness.
And the higher the gear, the lower the torque, the less easily the rear tyre starts to spin.
That doesn't make sense. You would get lower torque at the wheel for the same torque at the pedal, however when SSing you put more torque in at the pedal.
If there were less torque at the wheel then you'd be going slower up the hill.
Yep. Always had one in the fleet, but buying my Jones Ti meant I could fill the SS spot with my previous best bike, the Stooge Ti. Supremely light, fast and fun.
SS is very polarising, when it should just be seen as an option.
Riding a SS, and I have a road one that I used to commute on, is a great feeling. Simplicity, silence, that direct feeling of a thick chain running in a straight line, and the extra pump from hammering the pedals to get off the line, are great.
Gears are great though. Hills are more enjoyable and it clearly does allow for increased performance and capability, without much downside.
I'm not in either camp. Both camps is far more fun.
Also, I wish there was a greater understanding of what a cheap bike should be in the UK. At the moment it's seen as a terrible £60 supermarket special with 21 nasty gears. I'd love it if we got the stage where the cheap option was single speed mountain bike style frame with capable, but still cheap components, without it having to be a "fixie" or "dutch bike".
I used to have a SS road bike for riding to work but unfortunately that was taken
My SS MTB is also rocking mudguards, I have much cleaner local muddy rides now and then just leave the muddy bike in my garage to dry completely guilt free (as I did last night)
worth spending a few pounds on the dawes.
Cannondale Trail 29 rigid set up half the time SS and the rest 1x11 is the main bike now. I commute as well on a BMC MC01 Gates Drive SS. Love it.
Well this thread inspired me to take the 1x1 out today for the first proper ride in ages. Did 10 miles on the flat with the family as a warmup and then left them with the car whilst I took the long and hilly route home on my own.
Put it this way, I’m no longer thinking about selling the singlespeed.
Most fun I’ve had out on the bike in ages. Even managed to get within one second of my fastest times on one of our regular off road climbs and don’t feel beaten up at all.
Genuinely smitten again. Cheers all.
Sprocketjockey
Well this thread inspired me to take the 1×1 out today for the first proper ride in ages....
<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">Most fun I’ve had out on the bike in ages....</span>
If you haven't put Dirt Wizards (or similar) on it yet, do so. The extra volume is really beneficial.
You'll be amazed at the transformation - even betterer. 🙂
I removed two chainrings from my FS, leaving me with a bottom gear of 32/34. It required a lot more force in the climbs of course, but I cleared most of it. I did however have to rest more at the tops, and I came home feeling more tired. But that's good on a 2.5 hour ride.
It required a lot more force in the climbs of course
It needed more power, not more force. You're still lifting the same mass up the same height, ie you're doing the same amount of work against gravity gurning 34/16 up as you would if you were spinning 22/50 up, you just had to do it in a shorter time. I think.
It needed more power, not more force.
No, more force and a bit more power. Force = torque, power = torque * cadence, in cycling terms. I pedalled with a lower cadence, but I went faster too. So much more force on the pedals, but lower cadence, meaning a bit more power.
