Id only think light weight if you intend to race your ss

I'm not after an uber-light build since (a) it is too expensive (b) I'd break it. However I don't want a 30lb sled. Sometimes I have to push/carry 😯

My other thought process is that I will probably fettle this bike back into geared/suspension "just because" and if and when I do that I don't want a hardtail that weighs more than my full susser. I have an unnatural aversion to any bikes that weigh over 30lbs if they have to be pedalled uphill.

I'm pretty fit and can climb hills better than most I ride with, but no way would I be contemplating SS if I rode regularly in The Peaks - at least not The Peaks that I know.

Such as the Pennine Bridleway climb out of Hayfield, or tbh pretty much any climb out of Hayfield - you'll just be pushing, and from near the bottom.

I used to think that, well, apart from the bit about being 'pretty fit and being able to climb hills better than most I ride with' that is, but you really do get used that stuff with a singlespeed and I've ridden all of it. It wouldn't be my first choice of bike for a 50-mile day in the Peak, but I have mates who ride ss all the time in that terrain and cope just fine. You adapt and there's a brilliant simplicity to it.

I'm not allowed on anything with a derailleur, pivots or hydraulics because I'll break the lot in record time.

If, like me, the capacity to destroy components is in your Ham-fisted nature, choose the strongest bits you can and roll away.

I like singlespeeding (I have 2 & a fixie) but I'm lazy & like full suspension so my main bike is running an alfine in the Peak

The only downside I think is setting up the rear of the bike. chain tension and rear wheel alignment were for me at first anyway, a PITA. I have xt rims with a QR rear axle, in hindsight I would now prefer a bolt up one to get a real firm hold of the wheel.

[quote=lee bee ]The only downside I think is setting up the rear of the bike. chain tension and rear wheel alignment were for me at first anyway, a PITA. I have xt rims with a QR rear axle, in hindsight I would now prefer a bolt up one to get a real firm hold of the wheel.

Chain tugs are your friend

thepodge - Member

I like singlespeeding (I have 2 & a fixie) but I'm lazy & like full suspension so my main bike is running an alfine in the Peak

How does that work? Do you use a derailleur to account for the rear suspension altering the length of chain needed?

I did on the trance but now I have a frame that pivots round the bb

The internet would have you believe that I now have the world's heaviest & most inefficient bike... The internet is wrong, I actually prefer this to my previous bikes & I'm still bang in the middle of my riding group where I've always been

Singlespeed_Shep - Member

just give it a go, you'd be surprised how much more you can ride once your used to it.

Try a slightly easier gear than 2:1 to get you started on the hills.

Then just have fun,

This..

Oh and I much prefer normal dropouts instead of horizontal / track ends, not quite as clean looking but far easier when swapping wheels.

I changed about a year ago and wont be changing back. Single speed is great.

I reckon I'm faster on mine (it is quite light) than on a geared bike in a race. So long as there are no long, gradual downhills.....