[Closed] Singlespeed - why do we do it?

singlespeed - you do it cause you can 😉

someone has to.

I don't bother any more after coming to the conclusion that I'm too old and fat to be able to get away with just one gear in a hilly part of the South West. I stuck a 9 speed drivetrain on the bike last summer. It doesn't look as cool or feel quite so direct when you stamp on the pedals but being able to spin a lower gear when tired after a long ride is much nicer 😀

Always loved mine for the simplicity, quietness, not having to worry about which gear your in and being able to relax on the down hills as there was no point peddling.

Sadly I'm too unfit at the moment to ride one round the cotswolds 😥

Because I just replaced my entire SS drivetrain for £26, less than the cost of a decent rear cassette on the other bike. 🙂

Chicks dig ss.

Cos I haven't cleaned my SS since October (admittedly not doing "real" mtbing but it's plenty cacked up) but it still just works.

My only other bike, a roadie, needs to be cleaned every time I take it out for a ride as the gears/brakes/cables are all covered in crap and I dread how it would feel/behave next ride.

I don't think riding SS does anything other than train you to ride SS. Well obviously as long as you are riding anything you are maintaining or improving cardio fitness. However I don't find that I can ride hills any better on my geared RB than I did before SSing.

I still love it though, just fun.

whilst on subject - a slight hijack - anyone run SS on a diagonal dropout? like this one:

[img] [/img]

Is the half link chain thing neccessary?

Because......Every time you change gear God kills a kitten 😉

Is the half link chain thing neccessary?

Given that the dropouts look quite short in that photo, I would say you want at least one half link in your chain. You might find you don't need it with certain gear combinations, but you might find that you run out of dropout space once the chain gets stretched a bit.

I do it cos I live in a flat place it makes sense, off road i tried and I failed, but after seeing a clutch of singular swifts recently and the 29er thread I have to say I'm a little tempted to try again.

Bikes look cleaner with less cables!

I don't do it. And never will.

Because I can.

And having Delamere on my Doorstep I do.

Plus it gave me the excuse to buy another bike.

Why ride fixed? Why ride gears? Why ride on the road? Why ride on the track? Why ride 'cross?

Because I love riding. That's all 😉

Just started to commute on a SS for the first time. Two weeks in and enjoying it. No big hills on my route although it can be a drag with a headwind 🙂

[img] [/img]

My only other bike, a roadie, needs to be cleaned every time I take it out for a ride as the gears/brakes/cables are all covered in crap and I dread how it would feel/behave next ride.

I very much doubt that it [i]needs[/i] to be cleaned every time.

I do it because i'm an attentionwhore.

I do it because it's the latest fad.
I'll soon drop it once something new comes along.

SS is old fashion now, the new fashion is 1x10. Get with it.

I get lazy with gears and my fitness level drops. I put the gears back on in mid Dec for our annual 3-day lakes ride (deffo gears for a long weekend around Hawkshead) and went back to SS yesterday. Last night's ride was fantastic. Back out of the saddle again for the steep bits. I could feel the strength returning.

I think all the people who ride with me will (reluctantly) say it works for me and makes me a better rider.

Everyone has their own reasons. Personally I loved the simplicity and demands of it though it's not made me any fitter! Sadly I have put 9 gears back on due to developing knee issues. I my try again later in the year.

"Surly singleator"

DMR Tensionseeker II is a similar design.

I do it cos Ive got Swinley nearby which isnt very hilly. Saying that I had a year off the bike recently and found the ss very hard work when I got back on it, hills that never used to make a dent killed me, a few rides later tho and the strength just flows back.

Had my first ride since before Christmas earlier today, hard work, I really noticed how doughy my belly felt.

I sold my gears to pay for crack....

DrP

simple - it's simple.

I do it because my other bike is f*cked and because I can't afford the parts for a full build.

who need's lot's of gears when you can have one. i'm faster now without mine and never going back to them either

Mainly because I don't really like spending a lot of time cleaning bike drivetrains when it's muddy...

I'm not really much of a singlespeed cultist though - if it's dry I'll take my geared fs thanks very much 🙂

probably an exaggeration but singlespeeding gets the women moist.

I like it, been riding SS on my commute for a year now and SS off road since May last year.

It has in my mind turned me into a better rider as you have to pick lines better on tricky climbs, makes you use the trail features better to maintain speed and is just fun.

Also really like the look of my SS's too 😉
[img] [/img]
[img] [/img]

I first built up a SS as a hack/pub bike, then wondered how folk could ride them off road, so built up a SS to give it a go. Found I liked it, so stayed with it. Makes for a less complicated/cheaper/more reliable bike for flattish stuff, although I still use a geared bike if I go anywhere with hills.

Just something different, innit? Not better, not worserer, just different.

if i rode gears as much as i ride SS, and in the mud, i'd go through several groupsets a year. i ain't that rich!

I do it because it makes people look at me.

I do it to prove how much better I am than geared riders and
i love to see grown men crying by the side of the trails when fail to keep up

sofaking - Member
I do it to be like my hero tollah

singlespeedstu.
YOUR LUCKY I DONT REPORT YOU TO THE MODS MAKING COMMENTS LIKE THAT !!! 👿

Sorry.

That realy was taking it too far wasn't it. 😳

No one wants to be like tollah.

Cause in some races (Strathpuffer 2011) it can be an advantage,

Being in a pair with no support may have even made riding a singlespeed an advantage(!) Neither of us had any mechanicals, swapping brakepads occasionally and a quick chain lube each lap was all the bikes needed.

[url= http://www.oneblackdot.com/ride/index.php/2011/01/25/strathpuffer-24/ ]More on the Strathpuffer here[/url]

I like it because it's nice

Because my hub gears have frozen solid in the Swedish winter. Meaning that I only have one gear. Unfortunetly it seems to be one of the higher ones and I live at the bottom of the hill.

Because it gets me fit. But really because I was sick and tired of snarled up muddy derailleurs. And a Rohloff is too heavy.

If I'm on a road bike then gears are a no brainer. Off road they just become a PITA with all the mud and wetness that is around.

I ride ss because I have a 5 month old baby and the other half is on maternity leave so were living on half our regular income, I simply couldn't afford to replace my geared drivetrain so went for the cheaper single speed option.

Oh, and I like it too

I started riding ss for low maintenance and reliable winter riding, I found out that even around a trail centre (dalby) I'm nearly as quick on my ss as on my full susser; and it's fully rigid.
I've watched my mate go from a spesh enduro to an on one ss and he has become twice the rider both physically and technically.
I do think a 29er helps when ss'ing because they roll well and negate the lack of gears a bit. They also help if you're fully rigid as they roll over stuff better.

Could not afford it?? Sorry maybe you ride more than me but I bought a chain tool, swap the chain when it gets stretched and now the drive train lasts 3 times as long for the small price of a chain.

Singlespeedstu does it so he can be like his doppleganger.