[Closed] singlespeeding in mountains?

Stand up, try not to stop

Get some gears? 😛

But seriously you could change to a slightly easier ratio.

second grum - buy some gears! never understood the point of SS on a "moutain bike"; almost seems a contradiction.

SS is less suited to mountains, as you need a lower gear on the ups which will have you spinning out on descents.

You'd have to be a masochist to be honest - you'd surely have a better time of it with gears.. unless you are a climbing god.

SS is less suited to mountains, as you need a lower gear on the ups which will have you spinning out on descents.

with respect i completley disagree - you don't pedal on mountain descents. gear for the climb and you'll be fine

took a singlespeed with me to sierra nevada area - it was fine. just put an 18 out back - i only got dropped once and that was a 2 mile valley road floor to the bar.

went to the alps and a guy there was riding SS - put a bigger cog on the rear - he was fine.

taken mine to the lakes a few times. if you like putting yourself through immense pain to get nowhere near as high as you could get to on a geared bike on the ascents only then to have to start walking, or riding down the other side really really slowly...they are great.

I live in Spain, I live in the mountains, I have a singlespeed.

HTH.

OP depends on where you will be riding - how long and steep the climbs are.

you don't pedal on mountain descents

You might not 🙂

tomthumb I don't agree with you entirely about not pedalling on mountain decents, plus being under geared puts you in much less control of the bike IMHO. I'd say get gears you'll have more fun. Single ring up front with chain device if you want more reliability. 😀

get a life get 3 rings

a bike with low enough gear on the climbs, that carries speed on the downs? ie big tyres and forks. loads of ground clearance for the techy slow-mo stuff. no chain bounce. sounds like a reliable, fun bike but you'll need time to get fit )

On descents I often like to stick in a couple of pedal revolutions to make the singletrack fun.. can't do it if your gears are too low.

ok thanks. knew this would spark the old ss vs gear feud. im not overly religiously minded. i get the ss gospel but would´nt mind gears if it provided more fun. ss has won that battle so far. but i am a lousy mechanic.. just cant seem to keep that rear derailer working for more than a few months.

I never do anything to my rear mechs, they seem to work fine. I dunno what you are doing 🙂

I've ridden rigid SS in the Siera nevada,had to wait for the gearies at the top of the climbs,and the bottom of some of the descents,rode the roman road descent,slick rock and loads of other trails,I've ridden Welsh trail centers,Lakeland stuff,and the peaks,amongst other stuff,all rigid SS.I do change the rear cog,to suite the condition(I ride 2/1 ratio most places)I don't really have much trouble to be honest.
I don't have any geared bikes,and don't want any,thanks,but that's my choice.
ride what ever bike you like,as long as you enjoy it,it don't matter.

I think James-o has the right idea. I think ss bikes feel indestructible, they feel tight and non-stoppable. I think they make great big mountain bikes. Give it a go. If, after trying it, you think you'd prefer a geared bike in the mountains, then that's a great lesson learned.

You don't know till you go.

It's not about gearing, but allowing your legs to adapt. Takes a few weeks.

You may have to walk a bit at first on really steep stuff, but if so, you can chat to the geary grunting and gasping beside you at a walking pace.

I bet there's stuff that you can't climb on a SS that you can on a geared bike..!

i live in the peak and ride singlespeed or fixed pretty much all the time, climbing isnt a issue as long as you gear it right, though riding fixed is a bit of a no win situation but lots of satisfaction 😀

There was some steep and long climbing on the Contin SXC course yesterday, blokes as fit as me were riding the 50 yards or so I couldn't, and one or two went past me but once back to just steep (not very, very steep) I was able to ride away from them.

I'll be off for a big ride in the Lowther hills next week, and I'll maybe drop the gearing a little but it's easy to pump up the speed on the downs. Crap on the flat on the way back that's all...

After going out on a 2-day tour of the highlands with the legend that is Kenny Wilson, and seeing him destroy every single one of our 10-strong group using a singlespeed with rigid forks, both uphill and down, I think the answer is as follows:

Can you slam a revolving door? Singlespeed is for you.
Do you bleed when cut? Best stick with a geared bike.

I have ridden SS for 2 years now as I had to sell my geared one. You might be surprised what climbs are possible using a 2:1 ratio. Just built up my new geared bike and am without a doubt a much better rider after SS. Smoother pedalling, less gear changing and now cleaning climbs that I haven't managed to do after years of trying. I've gone from fully rigid Ti SS with cantis to carbon full suss with discs and love riding both just as much. Give it a go if you can.

While I'm a staunch singlespeed supporter, I'd certainly think twice about taking one to some proper mountains. I very much doubt I'd take an SS to the lakes or the Pyrenees.

On descents I often like to stick in a couple of pedal revolutions to make the singletrack fun.. can't do it if your gears are too low.

Try braking less... Back to the OP, you'll need a bigger rear cog. It will be hard and painfull. As al have said, it depends on how long/how steep the climbs are..

I bet there's stuff that you can't climb on a SS that you can on a geared bike..!

Yea and on the same I bet there is stuff I can climb you can't... OP if you've been singlespeeding you'll be just fine with a bigger rear cog (like a 20 or 21). You might want to try a Q-ring in 33 on the front, as the torque position apparently is very good on technical climbs (to take from the usual pinch of salt of stuff you read on forums ;)).

Don't bother with downhill, secret of speed is in looking ahead and cornering, not pedalling.

A lot depends on your cardiac limits and your technique

I ride my SS mostly in the local forest where the maximum ascent is 40 HM. for that short climb I can exceed my cardiac limit for a minute or so and blast up. Once the climb is closer to or over 100 HM that technique won't work. The issue then is, without a lower gear to go to, how do you decrease your output to your cardiac limit ad stay on the bike? I noticed that a riding-god friend of mine is able to hold a very low yet relaxed looking cadence on his SS. Once you're within your cardiac limit you can go on and on (sugar permitting). This is what I am learning at the moment. ofc riding those longer climbs will also help your cardiac limit so the two complement each other

another mate of mine simply seems to have the cardiac limit of a mountaingoat and blasts up everything in sight, no matter the length / steepness, I can't work it out. We had an opening climb on an unfamiliar trail 2 weeks ago that only one of the geared riders got up in one go ... and this guy on his 29er fully rigid SS. We were somewhat in awe I can tell you.

so,

[b]gear selection[/b] I'm using 32:18 and pretty happy with it. The two I-can-ride-anything-riding-god mates of mine ride 32:17 on a 26er and 32:22 on a 29er respectively. As said; once pointing down spinning out is the least of your worries. Concentrate on line selection pumping the trail and correct braking, you shouldn't fall behind
[b]Develop a low energy slow cadence climbing technique[/b]. I think of it as "gearing down my legs" work to keep your heart and lungs within their limits. Takes time, careful of those knees. Until you have this worked out you will be stopping intermittently on longer climbs
Finally your cardiac limit will naturally come up, It's quite amazing what the human body is capable of.
[b]be patient while your cardiac limits develop[/b] (darkside is good training for this ... sorry, it just is)

and MTB / SS is a contradiction? Once they were all Singlespeed. On the road; the TDF was raced single/fixed until the modern era, I think it was Eddy Merkcx who said "gears are ok for older guys, I guess" or somesuch.

not going to go into gears vs SS, but can say that for riding in the Alps my SS has a 32:21. You can get away with 32:19 for a week or so but after that you'll be gratful for something a smidge easier. Sierra Nevada climbs are similar(ish) in scale to around here so that'll probably hold true there too. You'll have to spin like a frog doing a handstand in a food blender on the flats but it's all good for the souplesse. Have fun!

[i]

molgrips - Member
I bet there's stuff that you can't climb on a SS that you can on a geared bike..!

That's true 🙂

But that sort of stuff on a geared bike is no faster than a walking or running pace for me, so it's not worth the bother of having gears.

I was marshalling at the SXC in Contin the other day, and I had to hurry to get to my post (on foot). I ran up most of the View Rock descent and I noticed that I was able to keep pace with most of the riders on the steeper parts of the climb. If I had been 20 years younger, I reckon I could have passed a few 🙂

In other words, don't dismiss the value of walking/running as a bottom gear 🙂

We were just talking about this last week. I don't see anyone here on SS. Nobody. We were discussing if that was because of the terrain or just a cultural thing.

I have done it but mostly to prove a point.

Whats the worst that could happen? You might have to have a rest or walk up a couple of climbs. If it's a major issue when you get there then hire something else.

I was singlespeed only for near on ten years and whilst places like the Peak or Wales weren't a problem I'd have thought twice about riding it in the Alps.
I know I could have used it, but then again I know a geared would be far more fun.
As for pedaling downhill on a s/s you run out of gear and all those geared bikes you grunted ahead of come hooning past.
I've seen staunch singlespeed supporters that would advocate the singlespeed as 'the' bike for the Alps walking hills in the Chilterns 🙁

In other words, don't dismiss the value of walking/running as a bottom gear

Why not just ditch the bike altogether then? 😛

We stopped in the alps (Berner Oberland) on the way back from SSEC08. The long climbs were possible but rather burny on the lungs and legs meaning lots of pedal-lungs explode-stop-pedal-stop-repeat until dead or at the summit.

Last year I went back with the same bike and an Alfine hub - much more pleasant.

We've ridden in the Spanish Sierra Nevada plenty of times. I've done it with 1 x 9 no problems and have contemplated whether ss would be OK. You'll probably get more out of it with a small smattering of gears but if you are a decent technical rider then no way do you need 5" travel and 27 gears to have lots of fun.

Anyway - any chance you can give me some tips in return? We are doing a Scandinavia road trip and have things pretty well planned. Looking at a few days in Silkeborg - any tips for mtb rides around there? Also longer stays at Hemsedal (Norway) and Flam / Gudvangen for some mtbing.

Thanks

C'mon for a holiday (I assume that's what it is) it's got to be a geared. For a group of guys suggesting singlespeed is the way to go there's an awfull lot of different gear ratio suggestions being thrown in.
And freegan Bikefascist chill dude that's like a degree course you've set him there.

Also you have to factor in multi day riding, I know for a fact that some super hero riders feel caned after just two days consecutive riding even with gears.

Try braking less...

🙄

Yea and on the same I bet there is stuff I can climb you can't...

Juan, you really do have issues!

Don't bother with downhill, secret of speed is in looking ahead and cornering, [b]as well as pedalling[/b].

Fixed that for you 🙂 No matter how fast you corner, you can always get more speed by pedalling on a straight. That's why DHers have pedals, and gears, and they train for power sprinting.

Develop a low energy slow cadence climbing technique

I think that is not as efficient though. Whilst SSing the world's biggest mountains is surely possible for some, the question is, is it fun and/or efficient? If you are happy to walk up steep bits, then fine. For me though, walking up something is failing.

Doug, I singlespeeded a couple of winters ago, simply because the weather was so damn awful. Clogged, non working gears, snapped chains, ugh. Singlespeed kept me out on the bike. The Basque country is just too steep for singlespeed to be sensible long term though. Ive never seen anyone else riding a singlespeed. I still ride on the road on a singlespeed, get quite a few comments from the locals.

Concentrate on line selection pumping the trail and correct braking

thank you that man.

No matter how fast you corner, you can always get more speed by pedalling on a straight

it's not all about speed some of the fun can be from flow. like knowing you came down really fast - without pedalling once - but you will pedal - how low do you think these gears are? we are still talking middle ring and halfway up the casette here.

chainless BMX anyone? those guys are real slow! 🙄

with respect i completley disagree - you don't pedal on mountain descents.

WTF? Have I been mountainbiking wrong all these years? I thought I was meant to pedal?! Crikey I've spun-out a 46x12 combo on countless occasions! Sure on the really technical descents you might not get as far as the big ring, but when you do hit the long open stretches and some of the nice flowy singletrack sections if you don't have the extra gearing length you just sit there like a complete nonce as the rest of the pack waz past you without trying and can carry more speed into the next section.

Incidentally I've SS'd in mountains and would do it again (my SS sits at home currently but it's going back into use having trashed the drivetrain on my FS, but you do have to be masochistic as noted, and for short one-off fun trips I'd take gears.

grum - Member
[i]"In other words, don't dismiss the value of walking/running as a bottom gear"[/i]
Why not just ditch the bike altogether then?

Good question 🙂

But c'mon I was talking about really steep stuff, and the geared bikes were travelling at pedestrian speed anyway.

Unless you are racing, surely it's more pleasant to walk when it's like that.

if i went to the mountains on holiday and had to pedal down the hills i'd ask for a refund. if you have to pedal it means the trails are boring. (or you can't ride!!)

nice flowy singletrack sections

WTF? Have I been mountainbiking wrong all these years?

sounds like it!! try pumping the trail. 😀

surely it's more pleasant to walk when it's like that

Not for me - I like the challenge of being able to ride that stuff. It's not (as noted above) about getting to the top as fast as possible necessarily, it's about achievement.

On the downs, I like to travel as fast as I can, and sometimes that requires the big ring and a few pedal strokes even on technical stuff. At least, when I do it it does 🙂

if i went to the mountains on holiday and had to pedal down the hills i'd ask for a refund. if you have to pedal it means the trails are boring. (or you can't ride!!)

HAHA! That has to be the most sweeping generalisation about mtbing I have heard 🙂

I'm not talking about long fire-road slogs, I am talking about a few pedal strokes on singletrack.