[i]Love it otherwise - oddly, I reckon I can ride more technical stuff on it than geared. No idea why. [/i]
This is easy. On a singlespeed you get very used to just how far a single pedal stroke will take you so you become very adept at piloting the machine between bumps and coinciding the maximum force with the hard bits. On a geared bike you're inclined to use a slightly easier gear than you can get away with a try to spin across stuff, which is a less technical method.
Next week I'll explain why singlespeeding makes you more attractive to girls.
It works, isn't too much effort, doesn't need much cleaning, ok so it is a bit slower but I can keep going and feel fresher in a race cos if paces me!
It looks good and it is silent!
Big wheels even sort out the traction issues climbing!
Next week I'll explain why singlespeeding makes you more attractive to girls.
This I gotta see!
Next week I'll explain why singlespeeding makes you more attractive to girls.
Excellent idea
I do it as where I live you can get up all the hills on one, it lasts the winter and it is fun. No sore knees nor bling components nor rides in the summer though.
+1 samurai
I recently got a geared road bike for free. Ive only actually ridden a fixie road and ss mountain bike for 12-18 months now and when i got to the bottom of short climbs i didnt know how hard i could push.
For around Thetford forest they are brilliant, and certainly does pace me as I have a tendency to go gun ho at the start of a race and then suffer in the later stages.
For hilly ground I ride my geared bike.
It's just nice have a different bike to ride for different things.
More bikes without gears are sold in the UK than bikes with gears.
So cycles without gears are the Astras of the bike world then ? O shit how common, got to find a new niche, ermmm fixed mtb perhaps ? No way who would be that daft 😯
i dont really get the point in it to be honest, but fair play and each to there own.
i cant however, see how its possible to do peak's rides on a SS, if you can get round a decent pace without stopping on one on the climbs then you are seriously seriously fit! i guess if you live in a flatish area then it makes sense, but i cant for the life of me see why anyone would want one in the peaks......
that point could be why i have never ever seen one up there 😆
seen a few at cannock though 😆
Stumpnya12 that might be made up.
As for singlespeeds in the Peaks, that's what all the Peaks riders I know use. That isn't made up.
seriously? well fair play to them, i couldnt for the life of me do half the climbs i do on a bmx type gearing system 😆
either very fit if they can do it, or simply have to push or go extremely slow up bank
i was thinking of going 2x9 but thought that may be stretching it 🙂
if you live in a flatish area then it makes sense
Depends more on the 'type' of hill. Around Bristol (which no sane person would describe as flat) a SS is perfect for off road - all the climbs are steep but quite short, so you can just power up them.
A BMX type gear system. A MTB SS is an easier gear then that. Usually middle ring and 4,5 or 6 down at the back.
I live in north east of scotland and have some hills up here but still mainly rideable.
Hmm. Singlespeed. If you don't get it - don't worry about it.
If you have had a go and it's not for you - well it's not for you.
If however you had 'fun' pushing your singlespeed up that big hill the other week at SSUK........ please don't try and explain it - our tents are getting further away from the bar every year.....;)
Pfffft... SS can't be that hard...
Even I managed to do finish the Dyfi on one and I'm a lardy git!
Oldgit...thank god its not true as us Yarkshire boys all ride SS everywhere because we are afterall "tighter than a ducks arse". I love single speeding and always have done but as others point out its each to their own.... its all cycling which ever way you want....
Strangely a lot of the guys I know that have been riding singlespeed for the last decade are moving back to gears again.
A few reasons. First it doesn't cost that much to replace gear after all it is our main hobby.
Locally traction is a mare over winter i.e London Clay. So you need to be sat seated? twiddling a small gear to get up pretty simple climbs.
And does it make you fitter? I think as I've said before it makes you a better singlespeeder.
I did shed loads on my singlespeeds for nine years, but my last one, a lovely custom Nicolai Argon CC factory singlespeed was sold last winter.
But that said I might be building my first singlespeed road bike soon, never even tried singlespeed road.
but on the road for a general riding machine its perfect
Is it bollox off road gearing is far to low for road use 66/72 single speed or fixed on road 50/60 offroad is fairly normal
Places you definitely can't use a singlespeed: the Lakes, Swaledale, north Pennines, Kielder. Especially not on long rides.
Went SS on the roads a couple of years back, 42:16 and now i've gone fixed (wrong thing to do I know)its easy enough but not as rewarding as off road in my humble opinion but heh its still fun enough to do.
lakes ? A lot of it is do able on a ss, its hard but do able.
never even tried singlespeed road.
go fixed.
i cant however, see how its possible to do peak's rides on a SS, if you can get round a decent pace without stopping on one on the climbs then you are seriously seriously fit! i guess if you live in a flatish area then it makes sense, but i cant for the life of me see why anyone would want one in the peaks......
Someone on MTB Britain used to regularly ride in the peaks etc on his singlespeed afaik. Unfortunately he's been out for ages due to a knee operation (nothing to do with singlespeeding either) 🙁
Nah scared.
Had a good think about it whilst training, and I think my regular rides are just too up and down, not big but punchy if you know what I mean.
And I'm looking at between 60 and 100 miles per session, so I think I will need some recovery. Though God knows how the old boys managed?
Next week I'll explain why singlespeeding makes you more attractive to girls.
I heard this in the voice of the police lab scientist from Police Squad.
Next week Jimmy, bring in those magazines you found at the back of your Pa's closet...
cant however, see how its possible to do peak's rides on a SS, if you can get round a decent pace without stopping on one on the climbs then you are seriously seriously fit! i guess if you live in a flatish area then it makes sense, but i cant for the life of me see why anyone would want one in the peaks......
I think all the Peak Midweekers rode nothing but singlespeed, and IIRC all the old STW rides had a big singlespeed turnout it's certainly my bike of choice for the Peaks.
but on the road for a general riding machine its perfect
My commute is pretty much flat, but the prevailing wind can easily mean the difference between riding to work in the big ring and coming home in the middle ring. A single speed would be a poor tool for the job.
I once had to single speed an MTB to get home after I wrecked a rear mech. It was a very unfulfilling riding experience - too high a gear to get up steep climbs, too low a gear for the flats and downhills. It just seemed to suck all the joy out of the experience of forward motion.
DaddyJim - Member
Single speeders ate my hamster.
my hamster ate my singlespeed.
edit - not all of it as the hamster was quite small but it gnawed a tyre.
SS off road is a good way of getting a bit fitter. However once you are it becomes too easy and a geared bike becomes far more rewarding (and harder)
Depths of winter it makes sense to have rigid forks and SS can reduce the faff a bit further as well
My commute is pretty much flat, but the prevailing wind can easily mean the difference between riding to work in the big ring and coming home in the middle ring. A single speed would be a poor tool for the job.
Pedal harder into the wind. Spin faster with the wind.
I once had to single speed an MTB to get home after I wrecked a rear mech. It was a very unfulfilling riding experience - too high a gear to get up steep climbs, too low a gear for the flats and downhills. It just seemed to suck all the joy out of the experience of forward motion.
Regular SS riding would have made you strong like an ox, so you'd have got up the climbs.
A single speed would be a poor tool for the job.
maybe it's your legs 😉
also you can confidendly put all your power througha decent ss setup. a bodged 9spd setup might not take your full leg power without giving up in a rapid and painful SNAP
maybe it's your legs
My legs are a bit of a red herring. You could stick Lance Armstrong on a SS in the situation I described and it would still be a poor tool for the job.
Pedal harder into the wind. Spin faster with the wind.
On a very windy day, I can comfortably spin 52x13 with the tailwind. I'm sure it would be just about possible to pedal that into the headwind, but it wouldn't be much fun.
You can't get away from the basic physics. A range of gears allows you to make the most effective use of your available power output when riding under varying conditions, regardless of how strong your legs are. For me, one of the great joys of cycling is the feeling of flow that comes when you are matching the gears to changing weather conditions and gradient to progress with maximum speed. SS-ing can't give me that.
A range of gears allows you to make the most effective use of your available power output when riding under varying conditions, regardless of how strong your legs are. For me, one of the great joys of cycling is the feeling of flow that comes when you are matching the gears to changing weather conditions and gradient to progress with maximum speed
Least inspiring description of cycling ever. 😀
I enjoyed the transition from gears to ss a few years back.
It helped me learn/try to use the terrain, think about line choices (stop s****ing in the back, for those who know me).
I found a level of commitment and determination was needed to climb steep trails, thus making a climb in some ways easier and faster, however it can be anti social, as you leave others happily spinning up behind you, only to find you recovered and raring to go...
Descending, it's kinda good for interval training as you spin like a fool (which usually results in much giggling), then work the trail to maintain the momentum, however it can be frustrating when you want to go faster but the incline and leg speed won't allow it.
Also i know plenty of ss'rs who happily get off and push up the hills, time to have a chat to other like minded pushbikers ;).
If you're to sort of rider that hates getting off, even if it means riding at less than walking place, then ss is perhaps not for you,
For the area i did it most, the Quantock, dartmoor, exmoor and Afan it was fine.
Not for everyone, but just an alternative way to get out and ride.
For me, one of the great joys of cycling is the feeling of flow that comes when you are matching the cadence to changing weather conditions and gradient. Grinding up hill, spinning downhill and pushing hard to accelerate on the flats. Gears can't give me that. 😀
It was a very unfulfilling riding experience - too high a gear to get up steep climbs, too low a gear for the flats and downhills. It just seemed to suck all the joy out of the experience of forward motion.
I agree that being stuck on one gear with a dead gear system is no fun at all. But riding an effective SS setup has felt strangely [u]unrestricted[/u], as I recently found out.
How do I feel about it at the moment? It's a bit like running around the hilltops naked. You feel somehow free. 🙄 😆
I like it good enough for me
Had several SS over the years, started on a DeKerf and now have 2, one a 2-9 Kona and Curtis 853 SS, Both are rigid, both are just perfect for where I ride.
Never tried to be the fastest downhill, but can grunt up just about anything on Mendip.
There is no fuss to SS, it's just riding a bike with nothing to worry about.
I never have a bad ride, just different speeds to push the one gear round.
Managed to make it up a big (well for this areas standards) relatively steep climb for the first time on me ss roadie today. I'd always got up 3/4 the way then ran out of steam when it gets steeper. It's a very rewarding feeling and much better than when I used to spin all the way up in the easiest gear on my mtb.
I read a quote on here which sums it up nicely "rather to have triumphed with your own power than that of a derailleur" or something like that!
Least inspiring description of cycling ever
Ah now, you know that's not a description of cycling. It's just one of many different aspects of cycling I enjoy.
I hear what people are saying about SS, and if you enjoy the challenge of labouring up a steep climb in a big gear and feel "restricted" by the "fuss" of gears, fair play to you. Different strokes and all that, but it's not for me.
[i]So cycles without gears are the Astras of the bike world then ? O shit how common, got to find a new niche, ermmm fixed mtb perhaps ? No way who would be that daft [/i]
You'd have to be insane. Fixed MTB? Last year's fad? Get your beard shaved off. Fixed cyclocross is where it's at now sunshine.
[url= http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3538/3817613596_beeb262d50.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/53067724@N00/3817613596/ ]pompino-icr[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/53067724@N00/ ]Jon Wyatt[/url], on Flickr
Yes yes yes thats it at last EUREKA !! now off to build a fixed cyclocross dandy horse. Niche-tastic.
_tom_
"I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft... As for me, give me a fixed gear" [url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Desgrange ]henri desgrange[/url]; L'Équipe article of 1902
You'd have to be insane. Fixed MTB? Last year's fad? Get your beard shaved off. Fixed cyclocross is where it's at now sunshine.
Guess what my winter ride is going to be 🙂
"I still feel that suspension is only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a spring? We are getting soft... As for me, give me fully rigid"
- Miketually, various STW threads of the last few years
