hmm, true, although a lot of ss frames were running sliders even before 12mm rear axles came along -- Kona Unit/Explosif, Ritchey P29, Orange P7, Pace things
As for rigid, def an aquired taste…
I'm blaming quite how knackered my wrists and thumbs are on 15 years of rigid forks on inappropriate trails.
Tempted by a Stooge to se if those forks really do make a difference, but they're £££ even 2nd hand.
hmm, true, although a lot of ss frames were running sliders even before 12mm rear axles came along — Kona Unit/Explosif, Ritchey P29, Orange P7, Pace things
True, but every other frame sold seemed to be a slot dropout inbred.
I went singlespeed MTB for the first time a year ago. It’s brilliant! I wasn’t really planning to, the Pipedream Moxie frame I’d ordered had sliding dropouts which I thought would be good for adjusting the handling but as it took quite a few months to arrive a singlespeed plan hatched - and I’m now a year in and have very little desire to put gears back on.
It’s my attempt to build up a hardtail that feels as similar as possible to my 160mm Levo, but like it’s been crossbred with a BMX for the back half. (Yes, that’s a 160mm fork, Yes, the brakes really are that big. Yes, those are indeed handguards.)
Tempted by a Stooge to se if those forks really do make a difference, but they’re £££ even 2nd hand.
Not sure they made a massive difference for me. Especially next to something like an bendy Exotic carbon
My MK4 Stooge was brilliant though, I shouldn't have sold it
As for slot dropouts, I found them really annoying, until I got a 10mm thux axle hope hub that would drop straight out without having to untension the chain or remove a mudguard
Travers SS in the Garage for the winter slop in Calderdale - Awesome Bike 😎
Got this Salsa Juan Solo scandium in the attic, was a brilliant bike to ride, very light and stiff
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True, but every other frame sold seemed to be a slot dropout inbred.
I do like the Surly knot boost slot dropout design -- 142x12mm, 148x12mm and 135x10mm compatible I think
I think there’s definitely a Goldilocks spot for SS, not flat, not too hilly, but somewhere in the middle Chilts, Cotswolds, etc
I moved from the Chilterns to the Cotswolds a year+ ago and it's still hurting to be a SSer here. I have a 21 on the back where there was a 19, I think that change hurt most to begin with.
I ran a SS HT along my FS geary from 2003 to 2011, all on 26ers. I had a great time on them, especially the last which was a ti 456.
Their demise occured over the course of 2011 and coincided with transitioning my HT to 29er.
I found the new wagon-wheeler so capable I wanted to do more with it than SS would allow. At first I ran a 9 speed on the back, then a range extender with 10 speed, and skipped 11 speed entirely to go in on 12 speed.
My first one in 2003 - the almost ubiquitous inbred.
The last of my 26er HT's. My Ti456 SS
My very current geared HT - Custom Kingdom Vendetta. 
I rode thousands of commuting miles on my Genesis Flyer singlespeed road bike but now it's sat unloved in the cellar. It may be time to resurrect it. It needs a new chainring, chain and freewheel so not a huge outlay. Much cheaper than a new bike anyway.
My main bike at the mo is my ss inbred which is perfect for here in the mountain ranges of mid Suffolk, 2 sets of wheels one with race kings for tunstall and thetford (sandy), the other with trailrakers for the clay and slopfest around here.
all of my bikes are singlespeeds, still rag the hoop of them and ride a few times a week, the biggest deciding factor is which bike goes with the beard on which days
titdy beard all neatly waxed- Trek stache or stooge rambler drop bar thing
Lumberjack/hobo/serial killer - Stooge motobastard
radagast the brown- jeff jones fat front space frame
for the most funnest singlespeeds, stooge is best if you can get in on order or a lucky enough to grab a second hand one (the hold value really well among the stoogey fanatics)
singular make gorgeous retro clean lines bikes with a lovely xc geometry
surly are always fun, but bloody hell they are expensive in the uk these days
if you want cheap and cheerful something like the on one huntsman is a good bet
Ahh...the inbreds,still got my 29r ss gathering dust..thoughts of riding the rolling hills of Dorset in more fitter days when the knees alot forgiving..there Shirley must be an inbred bike heaven somewhere..#wheredidtheinbredsgo
I commute on a genesis day one 42x20, enjoy it as something different and a good workout on the hilla on the way home.
I used to have a Scandal V2 I ran as single speed, good fun too.
On my second El Mar frame, after regretfully selling my first.
Fully rigid, carbon fork, 32/18 gears and just put a -2° headset on to slacken the 71° HA out a tad.
Use it mainly as my commuting bike into work with 32c tyres on or I put my Microshift Advent X drivetrain on, 2.3s and crack the Skyline trail at Glyncorwygg.
Love the adjustable drop outs on the frame,I have a small which I'm on the limit on and am on the lookout for a medium........😁
My cycling group, around 1/3 now have SS, some have had them for ages, others have just got into it. Its not horribly hilly where we are so the short sharp climbs are enough of a challenge for us as we're not a young bunch.
After running an old steel DeKerf as a SS with a tensioner for a while I picked up a Singlular Hummingbird on the classifieds and still ride it about twice a month. Picked up some rigid Singular forks for it about a year ago but not gone 69er....yet.
I've also got a Genesis Day One that I use as a pub-bike but also for chilled Sunday spins.
Singlespeed is the business.
My fav bike, and best bike I’ve ever ridden, is my custom Starling Beady Big Eye
Surly Krampus is another - I ran mine with 3" tyre and gears - comfy rigid.
I still use my Stooge Mk2 every now and then. It's set up singlespeed, rigid 27.5 x 3.0 and while it is undeniably a chunky beast it's great for just popping out for a ride.
My favourite most ridden bike is my Shand rigid singlespeed. When I break something on it I lose interest in solo riding, gears just feel a bit meh.
OneUp compliant 35mm bars, Revgrips and recently, a 2.6" front tyre are normally all the suspension I need!
Living at one of the hilliest points of the South Downs, my rides average about 250m of ascent per 10km (130m per 10 miles). Grind up and tuck for the downhills 🙂
PS Recent upgrade to belt drive, should've done it ages ago...I literally don't need to wash the bike...at all! It's raining now so tempted to put it outside and let it soak as the mud is starting to add up!
Another massive fan here. My Singular Rooster gets the most miles of any of my bikes, set up fully rigid running 2.8 Teravail Coronados. Just brilliant fun.
I still ride SS but less than I used to.
Like @nickc above, my initial route into SS was, in the wet, wanting something that was cheap, and I could just chuck back in the shed after a muddy ride and not need to worry about pampering /costing time and cash.
However I do love the directness, lightness and simplicity in any conditions. There is one local ride we have where SS hardtail in the summer on buff trails is the absolute perfect tool for the job. Flowy undulating singletrack where the directness and total lack of having to think about anything other than pedal, break, operate dropper, just feels amazing
I ride ss less now, mainly due to gravel bike. When I was riding ss more, it would be on the usual local tracks which can get v muddy. The gravel bike helped me discover that covering a lot of ground on better surfaced tracks is usually more fun than schlepping through tough mud.
Plus the gravel bike also has better mudguards, so generally come back cleaner and more comfortable, and needs less maintenance than other fs/geared bikes...i.e. meets that same original objective, but in a way I generally prefer
I run the dog every day by the river using a single-speed On One Inbred (Fire-engine red).
I am not saying it's muddy, but often I'm going through hundreds of meters of brackish tidal water.
No longer MTB with a ss though - but maybe I should.
My winter bike is a Sanderson Soloist 853. It's a beautiful thing. So beautiful in fact, that I'm seriously considering visiting my local frame builder and asking him to make me a 29er version.
I tried singlespeed on my hardtail after smashing the rear derailleur up. Had thought about trying it so it seemed like the perfect opportunity. It was my commuter bike at the time so as I usually have a bit of a rush to get to work in time I put the chainwheel/sprocket combo on to keep the speed up on the road in the mornings. Needless to say found it all too much hard work 5 days a week, felt exhausted by the slightest breeze. Off road it was too highly geared so even less fun there! Also very noisy, perhaps it was a chainline problem, sprocket on tensioner so far out it twisted slightly. Even a cheap derailleur ended up preferable!
I'd be tempted to try singlespeed again for commuting, but it would need to be a light/fast rolling more road orientated bike, and money/storage issues.
It was certainly a thing today, in fact any day. I only have an SS.
I love the simplicity and the quietness of a rigid SS - just the hum of the tyres…
Scurrying down a lightly rutted chute taking extra care in picking the right line can even make the ride home from work fun.
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@sirronj noisy?? Mine was the quietest bike I've ever owned,still is.
I think that's what made it enjoyable,not having too think about changing gear,chain chatter when changing.Pure Simplicity.
Yes it was a triggers broom of old & worn 9 speed parts turned singlespeed! QR dropout rear so needed the tensioner... Nothing so nice as that one above!
I hope it's still a thing as I intend to give mine a spin before the weekend is out.
Apart from my fatty, my rigid SS 29er is my only MTB. It’s perfect my local riding. I have even thought about SSing the fat bike.
Sliding drop outs on the 529 and 627. Both steel.
Apart from my fatty, my rigid SS 29er is my only MTB. It’s perfect my local riding. I have even thought about SSing the fat bike.
Do it, logically it's the worst of all worlds (a heavy bike that's now even harder to accelerate) but in reality it works because the way you ride a singlespeed translates over as well i.e. it's as much an extra dose of the fun bits trying to conserve momentum and exaggerated body language to get it through sections as it is an impossibly heavy bike to get started on a technical climb. If I had the space for both a hardtail and a SS I'd definitely be looking at a SS fat bike.
Had this 5 or so years now. rarely miss suspension on my local trails( Cannock Chase ) and only 3 chains to boot. Lack of faff is a gamechanger in the soggier months! I know...shed needs attention!
Since we are doing pictures... 9.5kg of fun 🙂
Another one here. Apologies to the gravel averse. I still have the gears on my hardtail as I tend to take it to steeper terrain, and it has more of a sit'n'spin geometry.
what’s that beautiful thing @DanW?
One of the last Swarfs. Painted by Andrew Armour I believe. The paint inspiration was a Prova Ti with a faded anodization finish. Adrian made flippin great frames and it is such a blast to ride. Everything I always wanted in a bike but couldn't find off the shelf.
Two ss here. An 853 inbred
https://flic.kr/p/QY8yT3
in the shed and this more recent RG evans Frameset
https://flic.kr/p/2nTZCM3
To add; I would like a stooge at some point too.
I commute on a fully rigid Lynskey Ridgeline.
I get off and push up a couple of the steepest hills that I used to ride up, but it's definitely still a thing for me.
@DaveyBoyWonder,
yes,Stooge - a Speedball. Great bikes!
I’d always ran it with the truss fork but I had the bi-plane fork too and thought it about time I tried it with that.
Feels a little more spritely but that could be more to do with the lighter faster rolling tyres added at the same time.
Still a thing for me, previously owned Kona Unit x 2, Ibis hardtails (i'm not typing the name) x 2, Trek Stache,
Surly Steamroller, On-One Il Pompino, Kona Major One and now on a Salsa Stormchaser which is ace. Anything Salsa have with an alternator dropout can run one gear.
Still a thing for me too. Originally started as a winter thing to save my other bike, but use it all year round now.
My local area doesn't really need gears or suspension, and the simplicity and purity of a rigid singlespeed on dry, swoopy, summer singletrack is a great feeling.
