Looking for a bike I can keep at work that I can just hop on and go for a ride - whether that be on the road or on the trails (if I can make it that far!). Just how fit do you need to be to enjoy a single speed?
it's different but not that much harder IMO.
Not very
Not as tough as you probably think. Anyone moderately fit has enough to start and enjoy.
A lot of the adjustment is mental. It's OK to walk and enjoy the view. It's OK to spin out and enjoy rolling along. And it's good fun to let rip and steam into climbs to see if you can get up them.
It's pretty hard.
If you see someone on a SS remember they're probably awesome.
You soon get used to the fact you can't change into an easier gear. And you soon realize you can absolutely mash the pedals without the worry of a gear slipping. Hardest on the lower back and the upper arms IME. They really get sore after a tough day climbing on the SS.
Just do it. Too hard? Lower the gearing. Enjoy. ;0)
Not as hard as you might imagine. More of an all body workout. I wish my left knee was up to SSing offroad because it was fun.
It's not as tough as you might think, and so much fun.
The hardest bit is when you find you've chosen a gear that's too low. Then you'll find yourself spinning like a loon.
That Highland 400 race during the week had a few singlespeeders.
Think they fall into the "awesome" camp 🙂
It's addictive!!!
I ride to work on a hybrid SS and its ace, not that hard but enough to make you put the effort in!!
I have now bought a SS for the trails to
If you want one which will serve both disciplines, you will probably find one is compromised as choosing one gear for road and off road will result in one or the other being either to easy or to hard.
Unless of course you can spin like a top, mash like a Russian power lifter, or both.
Don't believe any BS about how hard it is,it's just a bike with no gears & that's all it is.Some like the simplicity of it,I find it a bit boring(like most the ardent SSers) so tend to only use it for quick blasts...
The hardest part I find is growing suitable facial hair.
Just how fit do you need to be to enjoy a single speed?
You need to be mental not fit 😉
As they say it depends on the gearing and the hills
It is a play off between being able to get up the hills and not spinning out at a low speed [ especially on the road] 32 :16 the standard SS MTB gearing spins out at circa 20 mph for example.
I am not sure if it gets you fitter per se but it does get you stronger and more powerful as it is hard work labouring a high[er] gear up a hill.
It is IME harder than geared over similar terrain for obvious reasons
It's boring to be honest. I've ridden ss on and off for years and it offers no tangible advantages other than niche bragging rights on Internet forums.
Your thumbs won't know what to do with themselves on the first ride.
If you have to ask then you're not tough enough 😮
Seriously though if I can manage it then anyone can. Start with 32:16 unless you're somewhere really flat or really hilly and take it from there.
I'm faster riding XC stuff around the Surrey hills on SS. I can't really explain why but I am. It's not that hard but it does encourage you to push yourself
Sometime it's hard, sometimes it's easy.
I have one for commuting, 42/16 and skinny 700c tyres are ideal for the roads IMO, great fun on short distance runabouts etc.
Doubt i would have one for off road duties though.
You could try sticking your geared bike in one gear and answering the question yourself.
You could try sticking your geared bike in one gear and answering the question yourself.
Doesn't work.
it's just a bike with no gears
[Pedant] its got one gear actually[/pedant]
I commute on a singlespeed and love it. As long as you don't have too many steep hills around it is easier than you think. You adapt very quickly.
It is also great to go on bike forums and start going on about "the purity of singlespeeding" and stuff like that as there are some folk who get quite wound up by it, and that's as much fun as the actual singlespeeding! 😀
depends how stubborn you are really.
hills, even the really steep ones, are pretty much about the balance rather than the grunt (if you can get up in the middle ring regardless of which gear at the back, you CAN SS it) and with a bit of determination you can get up most things. The flip side is slower on the flats and on the downs.
I tend to do SS by myself in the autumn/winter, when a) conditions mean that speed is not an issue, b) you're not constantly spinning like a loon trying to keep up with your geared mates, c) its maintenance free-(ish) winter MTB and d) you'll be fit for when spring rolls around, and you're re-geared.
It's fun, a different challenge, can make you think about MTB in a whole new way, and people that don't know 'owt will be impressed. Girls knickers literally fall off at the mention of it (true story)
Apparently those recommending 32-16 are assuming you're on a 26er. Besides, there is no set standard. You push whatever you can depending on you and where you're riding.
It depends on a number of factors.
Who you ride with.
What your buddies ride.
How fast your buddies ride.
Whether your riding buddies like you.
Whether you are leading or not.
How hilly it is.
What gear you have.
Whether there are lots of flat bits that you can tear down with gears.
Whether you are in the mood.
How strong you are.
How quick your legs can spin.
How long you are riding for.
Riding single speed in the local woods for an hour or two is great.
Long rides with mates who are quick and like to see you suffer are less fun.
So it is hard and yet easy. Sometimes it is cool sometimes you look and feel like an idiot with the wrong bike.
There.
i commute on a ss, i weigh 21.5 stone (used to weigh 23 stone)
gearing is key ie selecting the correct ratio.
with hills there is a choice between hammering it or walking, but the bike is lighter in ss mode and you can safely mash the pedals.
i use 32:16 on 26" wheels, a comfortable cruise at about 12mph, you would need to spin pretty fast to hit 20 with that ratio imo.
my ss has probably been my most ridden bike this year, but i wouldnt choose one as my only bike.
32 :16 the standard SS MTB gearing spins out at circa 20 mph for example.
You need to check your speedo - my absolute limit, using 32:18, is 23.5 mph (and I've [u]really[/u] tried to go faster)
I would have expected 32:16 to get you up towards 30mph - if you can make your legs spin like Fred Flintstone 😉
I would recommend it. It's great having something lightweight that requires minimum fuss and maintenance. I built one for commuting and doing local xc type trails and have ended up riding it most of the time. I've gone for an easy gearing (32:20 I think it is, so I can get up the steep hills round here) and I still get all the chicks. Just don't let me see you with one on my patch.
I would have expected 32:16 to get you up towards 30mph - if you can make your legs spin like Fred Flintstone
On 40" wheels, perhaps... [url= http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/ ]Try this calculator[/url]. 120rpm on 26" wheels with a 32:16 ratio gives you 18.6mph.
To the OP - Singlespeeding is the single most difficult thing the human body can accomplish; if you have the honor of seeing a SSer out on the trail, you can die a happy man. Ever wondered why there's no SS rider in the Tour De France? They're not good enough! Remember, anyone can be fit, but you've gotta be hard to be hard.
(it's actually really easy, just don't tell anyone - lets keep up the air of mystique)
Your legs will become power pistons, your mind will be free to experience all that surrounds you, you will drink real ale and eat strong cheese.....you will become a man my son. 😯
Don't forget the facial hair explosion from the grunting up climbs.
If an antique like me can do the Bealach Mhor on a singlespeed, anyone can ride one.
It's 2 or 3 weeks adapting muscle memory and learning technique.
By the time the beard has grown in you'll have mastered it.
And if you're a lady, sorry about the beard comment, but your bum will definitely look good.... 🙂
Easy !!!
On a more serious note, singlespeeding is no more difficult than any other kind of riding. It does, however, necessitate a change in mindset.
By riding singlespeed, you are conceding that you'll never be the fastest anywhere, so you may as well just enjoy the ride. If you have to push, it doesn't matter, as long as you're enjoying yourself.
6/10
By riding singlespeed, you are conceding that you'll never be the fastest anywhere,
Better tell the guys that won this years Strathpuffer and Highland Trail 400, both SS riders.
I find it quite hard beating of all the female attention when they find out i'm a singlespeeder. It kind of helps when i carry a shitty stick around with me.
On 40" wheels, perhaps... Try this calculator. 120rpm on 26" wheels with a 32:16 ratio gives you 18.6mph
Well, I guess Sheldon Brown doesn't lie - gonna have to get a cadence metre 😉
Better tell the guys that won this years Strathpuffer and Highland Trail 400, both SS riders.
And the guy who won the Brass Monkeys series down south on a rigid SS Singular Swift.
It kind of helps when i carry a shitty stick around with me.
That'll be that common Jones thingy that you ride 😆
The girls love the Jones.
They think it's a girly shopping bike...
When you stop to think about it, it takes the same amount of work to shift the weight of yourself and bike up a hill in a given time, regardless of whether you use multiple gears or a single ratio.
I have been riding SS for just over 2 years, it certainly changes the way you ride and I am fitter because I get out more and enjoy it more. Also, spend more time enjoying the trail and the ride because I'm always in the right gear.
Running 32:16 on a 26" in the Peak ok on most stuff, some of the really long rubbly climbs are a no, but most other stuff is ok.
Best thing to do is convert an old, cheap bike and give it a go for a few weeks, it's addictive.
It's impossibly hard - that's why only me and pete Poddy can do it...
DrP
It's true.
High five bud! 😛
Kapow!
DrP
my fixed gear commuter has a 48x16 gear on it - and I sometimes have a child seat on it as well 🙂
you have to be prepared to muscle the gear round and carry as much speed as you can, keep relaxed when you are seated trying to get the gear round as much as you can because that stops the bouncing on the saddle when spinning
Haven't used gears for over a year now. Fun bike is 32:16 with zocchi rc3 ti 44s on it. Commuter is a ss cross bike with a cold seat for half the time.
Miss gears? No. Have a full saint set up in the shed. Never even tempted to use it.
When you stop to think about it, it takes the same amount of work to shift the weight of yourself and bike up a hill in a given time, regardless of whether you use multiple gears or a single ratio.
Yes. This is why most people find it just as easy cycling up a 1 in 4 using the 53x11 gear as they do using 39x25. Can"t think why they bother to change gears at all really.
As a very fast ss riding (as in wins events and is faster than sponsored gearie boys) mate put it "I'd rather shovel wasps up my arsehole than go back to using gears".
Ss isn't that hard..you just need to be a simpleton with a high pain threshold 🙂
It's especially noticeable on the road bike just how much difference gears make, as everyone else spins away into the distance on the steep climbs, or clicks up into the big ring on the long gentle tail-wind descents and heads off at 40+km/h. Leaving you slogging away on your own having been comprehensively dropped off the back.
SS MTB is more practical but even then there are limits. I don't imagine there are many SS bikes in the Alps.
When you stop to think about it, it takes the same amount of work to shift the weight of yourself and bike up a hill in a given time, regardless of whether you use multiple gears or a single ratio.
An interesting thought. I'm sure an Engineer / Mathematician / Physicist / STW Keyboard Warrior could shed more light on the situation.
I rode a fully rigid SS exclusively for three years - it was hard at first, you use very different muscles from riding a geared bike and spend lots more time out of the saddle. After the first ride, you'll feel like you spent a whole day in the gym. Arms, shoulders and lower back/butt will ACHE! It massively improves core strength and overall fitness and I think improves your technique considerably. Momentum becomes your friend and you learn to keep it by riding better - balance and coordination will improve and you'll ride much more smoothly.
Geared riders will outrun you on the flat, fast pedalling stuff (you'll soon learn how to spin smoothly at 140 rpm), but when it comes to the climbs, they'll be eating your dust!
There's also never a "wrong gear" moment on a SS - you can bask in the glory of your own awesomeness when you float past a geared rider who's spluttered to a halt in a gear he can no longer turn 
and when it comes to the British winter mudfest, your bike will keep going when everyone else's derailleurs have packed up.
Try it, it might be the most fun you've ever had without breaking the law.......
When you stop to think about it, it takes the same amount of work to shift the weight of yourself and bike up a hill in a given time, regardless of whether you use multiple gears or a single ratio.
An interesting thought. I'm sure an Engineer / Mathematician / Physicist / STW Keyboard Warrior could shed more light on the situation.
E (potential energy in Joules gained) = m (mass in kg) x g (gravitational constant ~ 9.8 m/s2) x h (height gained in metres) = energy expended x fudge factor (coefficient of friction, modulus of elasticity of tyre rubber, human engine efficiency etc. etc.)
Ss isn't that hard..you just need to be a simpleton with a high pain threshold
Cool, I'm halfway there already then 😆
It's daft, a lovely idea but flawed, yet it works. Sometimes. Tried it on a number of occasions (for the simplicity of it - both mechanically and mentally) but can't get on with it.
tazzymtb - MemberAs a very fast ss riding (as in wins events and is faster than sponsored gearie boys) mate put it "I'd rather shovel wasps up my arsehole than go back to using gears".
(as I head off to the shed to look for shovel / wasps nest. 🙂 )
On the "negative" side, SS raises the threshold of effort (compared to a geared bike) below which you end up walking. So if you're on a very long ride, or on hills that you're not strong enough for yet, it can be a bummer to end up walking.
When I had knee surgery, I rode a geared bike for a couple of months before going back to singlespeed because I didn't want to walk every little climb.
But for someone who can already ride geared MTB, you'll not lose that much switching to SS and pretty soon you'll develop in the places you need to (beard, general manliness), to be able to SS up nearly everything.
On the positive side: no chain slap, no expensive dangly things close to pointy rocks (ask Phil Simcock about that on the Highland Trail :wink:), you brain can focus on the trail not selecting the right gear, and so on, and so on....
Aidan - Member
On the "negative" side, SS raises the threshold of effort (compared to a geared bike) below which you end up walking. ...
I forgot to mention the walking bit. 🙂
But when you're walking the geared rider is generally only going walking pace anyway.
As for single speed, a few years ago when I was training I had a S&S with a cog each side of the wheel, when tired or retuning through heavy traffic just turn the wheel around to get different gears. ( need chain to be tight on both, using movement in rear drops) I believe you could get a Ss freewheel for one side?
I agree with all the positive sentiments here! Easier than you think, strangely addictive (no idea why), great knowing you can power up a hill (ahem) without gears slipping. Have just started riding SS on a borrowed bike, now getting my HT converted to SS. Makes your legs stronger, and changes the way you ride up hills on a geared bike. I love it. And this from someone who thought for years that riding with one gear was silly. Gears were invented for a reason, duh 🙂
So if you're on a very long ride, or on hills that you're not strong enough for yet, it can be a bummer to end up walking.
Three speeds: standing, sitting, walking 😛
Who's that roadie fella that has a "shut up, legs" decal on his top tube?
There's a bit of that in singlespeeding.
My legs have a great deal less to say for themselves since I started riding singlespeed, no matter which bike I'm on.
The actual pedaling bit isn't too bad, the hardest bit was learning to carry speed through stuff and make the most of momentum, for example short steep hills you couldn't normally pedal up SS can be done by sprinting like a loon into it and the conserved momentum carry's you up quite a long way.
As for gears, go low, I'm on 34:20 (29er)and it's enough to average 12mph off road. Yes it's 'low' on flat bits but can be maintained for all day rides, and rarely requires walking up hill. Going downhill you just learn to maintain speed and generate it from pumping stuff rather than pedaling.
Who's that roadie fella that has a "shut up, legs" decal on his top tube?
That would be the legend that is Jens Voigt.
It's a little know fact that Jens no longer has a shadow because he dropped it repeatedly until it climbed into the Radioshack team car claiming a stomach ailment and retired.