in fact bought a s****y new Niner and built it super light
Pics please. (In fact shall we do a "show me your SS 29ers" thread ...?)
Like [url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/show-me-your-ss-29ers-1 ]this one[/url]?
Haha I did think it just 'might' have been done before.
Oh please don't make s/s'ing all exclusive to bloody 29ers too!
I'm 26" and have no intention of trying 29" yet!
Beginner SS'er here, no beard, running 32/18 on a converted Genesis Altitude.
I'm loving the simplicty of it, especially for mud riding where you can't really get a head of steam for trail obstancles on any bike.
So much so I'm considering a pre-work 5am "night" ride sometime this week.
Just because no one has mentioned it... I've pondered single-speeding, though given my local trail conditions... I would plumb for dinglespeed:
Beginner SS'er here, no beard, running 32/18 on a converted Genesis Altitude.I'm loving the simplicty of it, especially for mud riding where you can't really get a head of steam for trail obstancles on any bike.
I also converted my Genesis Altitude to SS last winter. I'm currently rebuilding it after having the frame powder coated, and very much looking forward to getting out on it again.
For the record, I'm a 50 year old biffer with a beard, running 32:18.
Do it - it's great.
Ok, so I could go relatively inexpensive with a stock build e.g. Kona Unit, Charge Cooker or Genesis Fortitude or go for a more expensive custom build e.g. Cotic Solaris, Singular Swift. I'd like something that can build up light and also geared/suspension should this rigid SS not be for me 🙂
The more money I spend on this, the less I have for a full susser
I'd like something that can build up light and also geared/suspension should this rigid SS not be for me
Not a Fortitude then, which I believe is rigid only.
You're answering your own question here.
Personally I like the idea of a bike like the Fortitude that is optimised to do one thing well and will be notably different to your other bike(s). But I don't have much use for a boinger either.
Horses for courses.
postierich has been selling a nice looking 26ss for a while, take a look at that.
You're answering your own question here.
I wish I had your insight. How so?
I love the look of the Fortitude but how would it be notably different from a suspension corrected frame with rigid forks? Or to ask it another way, what advantage would it give me to offset the disadvantage of never being able to add suspension?
As for singlespeed, are there many SS frames that [i]can't[/i] be geared some how? I like to tinker and modify my bikes, so not sure I'm quite ready to buy something that I can't adapt to other needs.
Watching this post with interest, after something for the reletively flat muddy night rides, save me wearing out more kit...
Mattig have you a link to postierichs bike, search function brings up nout??
Cheers
[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-if-rigid-forks-hope-tech-brake-sunn-enduro-ss-avid-brake ]Heres the link, [/url] I nearly bought it, the spec is awesome for the price.
The only major advantage of the non-sus corrected frame is it makes it easier to run the bars lower (if you are short).
If you really like the Genesis but want more options (i.e. front susp) then why not go for the high latitude alfine? Just buy a ss back wheel and you have a hardtail ss with a geared option. Not sure how heavy it would be as a ss (I think the steel ht alfine will be a bit of a lump).
Whatever - the one key thing is to get a reliable transmission setup that you can trust under full thrutch. The absolute last thing you want is a chain that comes off or wheel slipping in the dropouts. So for a good first off experience it might be better to go for a factory build where all that should be sorted. If going custom then think about things like a WI freewheel if a screw on hub, or nutted / bolted axle if using horizontal dropouts, good chainline etc. Also don't dismiss regular cassette hubs - Shimano LX / XT are cheap, reliable, and can be rebuilt around a solid / nutted axle for horizontal dropout duties.
For occasional alpine excursions I've made a mech hanger that fitted to the axle of a bolt in Hope ss / trials hub. It meant that the mech was 6mm further outboard than normal, but I run it with a 6 or 7 cog cassette (using 9 spd cog spacing) on the shorter ss freehub so it works fine.
There is a picture of the bike in geared setup at the enclosed link (but you need to be logged into mtbr to see photos I think) http://forums.mtbr.com/members/mickuk/albums/29er-e-stay/1987-aare/
@Stilltortoise: where in the Peak?
I ride a SS exclusively because it's the only bike I have,
Some routes I know I can't power up, so I choose my routes accordingly - I don;t seem to miss too much - pushed a bit more than most on the last Pootle, but not that much.
If you get one and fancy a singlespeed outing - let me know.
Cheers, P.
Mick-r.
I've got a Sanderson Soloist. Vertical "cupped" drop-outs and an EBB. I've been tinkering with a replaceable mech hanger to see if I could get a rear mech in the right place. I've got a Hope single speed hub and was lead to believe that you can only get 5 sprockets off a 9 speed cassette on it. Might get my motivation up if I could get 7 on there. Less expense than a new rear wheel. Partly because it would have to match cos I'm a bike tart.
Great advice everyone. Thanks.
Love the concept of the Genesis High Altitude Alfine but SOOOOOOO heavy. Granted a lot of that weight would be the hub gears, but no point paying for them if I want SS 🙂
Been thinking on it and I reckon the Kona Unit looks the best bet. Looks good, great reviews, not too expensive and I've wanted a Kona for over 20 years.
P, I'm in Leek, but have been known to venture Hope Valley way.
Never ridden around Leek - what are the trails like?
Shout if you are heading this way, would be nice to ride with another SS rider.
I've been singlespeeding for eight months (on the road) and my thighs and calf muscles are now too big for my skinny jeans 🙁
Offroad, I can see the point (simplicity, fewer moving parts to break) but it doesn't suit my style of riding (mainly going as fast as possible up, down and on the flat).
Hi bigblackshed
If you google it / trawl through mtbr there are lots of people modifying cassettes to fit ss hubs (Hope, King etc).
For best results you need to use an XT style cassette where the top cogs (4 or 5?) are on an aluminium carrier. Machine / file off some of the rear of the carrier so the sprockets run closer to the spokes (be careful how much you remove). With some invention, I managed to bodge a reliable setup with 34-13 7 speed cassette using 9 speed spacing.
I'm sure there is someone on mtbr that managed to get 8 speeds on there using a 10 spd cassette.
I've managed 5 and 6 speed setups previously using regular 8 speed spaced cassette with no machining (an old Sachs one where the cogs clipped together).
Wheel removal can be a faff, but the Hope hub helps due to the 10mm axle bolts - remove them and the wheel comes out of the dropout in any direction you want.
Shimano make an axle mount hanger that works-ish. However the drop of the hanger is less than regular mtb so the top jockey wheel might clash with sprockets in some setups.
Hope this helps!
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.
And a steel SS will be no lighter than an aluiminium/carbon/Ti geared bike.
And when you're at the end of a long day, whereas previously with gears you'd drop onto the granny just to winch up that last climb, whereas now you'll be pushing...
This isn't going to be my only bike, it's really for local messing-in-the-woods duties as well as family rides, with the occasional foray onto bigger/harder rides. Leek is not a mountain biking mecca unless you put some road miles in first and then you're in Macc forest terrain and of course the southern Peak District. Doorstep riding depends on how cheeky you want to be.
i want something that I can throw in the shed still covered in mud/snow and know it's going to work next time I take it out. I'm used to riding rigid and happy to take a punt on SS
Ah, so you want a pub bike with knobbly tyres really.
Ah, so you want a pub bike with knobbly tyres really.
Not really. In my mind pub bikes are of the [i]so-cheap-and-nasty-it doesn't-matter-if-you-lose-it[/i] variety. The bikes I'm looking at are not what I call cheap. However I am after a [i]don't-want-to-be-too-precious-about-it[/i] bike. It will be used for "proper" mountain biking from time to time, but it will not be my "main" mountain bike. If I'm going for a big day out or a weekend away, the full susser will come with me.
(cont'd)...I had a alu hardtail with carbon forks and gears. It was nice and light, I wasn't too precious about it and it got ridden a lot, even on big days in the Dales. I did get a bit fed-up with gears not working that well, hence the SS option now. Also, the chainstays were a bit narrow so I could only fit 2.1 tyres in there, which made for a harsh rear end and pinch punctures. Hence why I'm now thinking steel.
This reasoning is quite a cathartic exercise 🙂
Steel won't solve your snakebites, don't believe the marketing...
[img] http://followingthechainline.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/build-progress.html [/img]
My second SS build but this time a 29er. Just need a few more bits to complete it. The frame, an On-One Scandal, would probably suit what you are looking for in a frame that is versatile enough. The drop outs can be changed so it can be run SS or with gears. Not stupid expensive either. 😀
Jez www.followingthechainline.blogspot.com
Do it you'll enjoy it. I do love my SS, simple, light, cheap but the only thing which is stopping me only having a SS is that in a race it just isn't competitive enough as I find you just spin out on a short 10 mile ish lap.
My SS is a chameleon. That's got a pretty stiff backend, and I don't get many pinch flats - but partly that because riding SS teaches you about conservation of momentum, which means learning how to handle the bike so you don't smack into rocks and slow yourself down
Do it, I have just built up a 29er scandal with carbon rigid forks. I have been to delemere and llandegla up to now and have had no trouble regarding SS just missed some front suspension at llandegla especially on the rocky sections. Loving the smooth and quietness of it though!!!
Do it, learn about momentum, grow a beard, buy new trousers for your MASSIVE QUADS.
And have some fun.
By the way anyone in the north east and yorkshire might be interested in this link 😀
Join if you want to!
Getting excited. On One Scandal which satisfies my slight weight obsession or Kona Unit, which ticks the "steel is real" niche too? Both 29er and both will be rigid.
Which one would be the best for doing wheelie/manuals on?
Id only think light weight if you intend to race your ss
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 - MemberI 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 - Memberjust 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.
