Due to the current vogue of niche ss bikes,ive been giving the transition some serious thought.Simplicity,weight saving,the purity of the ss experience etc etc are all positive things but and its a big but,as a one bike rider i cant help feeling that every ride would be compramised in some way(too high geared for climbs and spinning out on the decents).On the right bit of undulating single track they are properbly great but for my local rides and most of the places i've ridden, gears are the only way .I've read a few threads on this forum from ss riders who change gear rings depending on where they are riding,isnt it easier just to have a few gear out back.
So dont think i'll be converting any time soon,your thoughts on the matter and has any one gone the other way(not gay,ss to 3x9)
Not trolling
They're not the holy grail. They're not the opposite either. They suit some, they don't suit others. They suit some conditions, they don't suit others. They're just bikes with slightly different pros and cons.
Idiots exist on both side who'll say absolutely that they're great/awful.
If I only had 1 bike I don't think i'd just have a single speed. The are however great fun!
Also, you could probably build one up very cheap using an On-One frame and rigid forks? That might be worth looking at?
It might have been the current vogue a decade ago, but I think it's pretty well established now. It's just a bike, and as such it doesn't suit everything or everyone.
What you really need is more bikes 🙂
I'd have one if I was running a few bikes, wouldn't recommend as your only bike IMO, far too big a compromise.
I'd defo try one in any case, they're a good experience, conversion is cheap so try riding it for a month and put the gears back on if you don't rate it.
TBH people have been riding and racing and everything on singlespeeds for years now, it's been a popular choice for well over a decade so I'd say a singlespeed is just another mainstream bike. I don't think anyone now ever calls themselves a singlespeeder anymore, it simply isn't worthy of definition.
Ooh like Ian just said.
I think the single speed winner at Bristol Bike Fest did 24 laps, while the overall winner did 25.
On that day, on that course, gears were only about 4% faster. If that's the sort of riding you were doing all the time, then it wouldn't be worth the cost and complication of gears.
Hence why many Bristol riders own a SS.
If that's the sort of riding you were doing all the time, then it wouldn't be worth the cost and complication of gears.
Depending on your fitness too...
good point clubber.
Yes, I've heard some of the singlespeeders were pushing up the hills at BBF. 😉
Yes i think fitness is a huge factor in ss choice,not quite there yet.
Visionaries? really singlespeed or fixed were the first kids on the block anyway.
A friend of mine uses one and can still get around llandegla black quicker than me! He does ride a lot more than me to be fair!
daznal - Member
Due to the current vogue of niche ss bikes,
Eh? Been around for years.
AS above, just something different & challenging, useless on certain rides too.
I never get why folk feel it's a tribe, seems daft to me.
EDIT
oldgit - Member
Visionaries? really singlespeed or fixed were the first kids on the block anyway.
I never get this either - SS was not on any mtber's radar till maybe 10 years ago? And it's never how anyone gets introduced to mountainbikeing - the first mtbs had gears, what the first bikes were like 100+ years ago is irrelevant to the evolution of the ss mtb.
Great winter bikes when the rides are shorter, the miles are muddier and the maintenance is more.
Well, that's what I use mine for.
I use mine for mid-week training blasts round my local country park which is not too gnarly.
Great winter bikes when the rides are shorter, the miles are muddier and the maintenance is more.Well, that's what I use mine for.
Same for me also both on and off road. By the way I don't think of myself as anything special riding SS, it's just another bike that you have to pedal.
What you have there in your thread title is a false dichotomy.
The only way to know if you're going to like SS is to ride one. It's completely different to riding a geared bike and leaving it in the same gear. If you like it, then great.
FWIW, I don't think there are many truly SS-unfriendly places to ride. They suffer on steep technical climbs and on pancake flat areas. Everywhere else is a matter of fitness skill, and willingness to acknowledge that you might not have the most efficient tool for the job.
What you have there in your thread title is a false dichotomy.
Agreed, or I might call it poisoning the well, giving only two choices one that you want and the other too ridiculous or wrong to consider.
They are both and neither depending on your POV. Its great that we have so much choice. I love it.
I ride ss everywhere as its what I like, simple really
I live in Cheshire, and it's pretty flat..
So, I ride a Singlespeed..
First time I rode Delamere, it was on my Heckler, and, it's kinda overkill..
SS seemed the ideal bike.
And I love mine..
Pimpmaster Jazz - Member
Great winter bikes when the rides are shorter, the miles are muddier and the maintenance is more.Well, that's what I use mine for.
+1
Worth trying IMO. I'm disappointed that I had to put some gears back on, cos by and large I enjoyed the challenge immensely.
People always moan they were innthe wrong gear on tech stuff
With ss your always in the wrong gear . Stops folks moanin about it !
I find it much better to ride tbh no thinking just straight power and skill to get over stuff and up climbs
With ss you're always in the wrong gear. With gears you're never quite in the right gear :).
I've just converted my ss to gears but will swap between the two.
They're different experiences. Not better just different. The same ride has different aspects depending whether I have gears or not
I never understood the whole SS thing, so I built one.
Now I get it 🙂
My local loop is 22 miles of undulating hills but with a 2 mile climb at the start. The climb is a killer with 32/14 but everything else can be spun or sprinted depending on the mood.
All in all I like the way I have to ride the SS as it's a different technique to the other geared bikes.
I learned key lessons: developing the balance and power for stand-up climbing; not braking for (almost) anything; pumping down slopes to gain and maintain speed; learning to enjoy the scenery on flat bits. All this translates to geared riding.
The lightness and simplicity of the bike was a joy.
I tend to use my SS as a way of getting my mojo back if I'm down wit the scene, man. It's just different and fun, but I only use it in certain areas - nowt too steep. Luckily the FoD is perfect SS country.
It's kinda like having a FS trail bike, a DH bike and a hardtail. Just another bike/niche to have fun on/in.
If I ride gears for more than a week or two my fitness drops as does my inclination to climb fast. A week or so back singlespeeding gets me right again. 2 weeks ago did the Llandegla red/black and it was fine.
I have a Cotic Soul so I use a magic ratio, then a tensioner as the chain stretches. Currently have a dual singlespeed set-up. 32 and 36 up front, 18 and 16 on the back. Just use 36:16 on the roads, but forgot to do the quick change yesterday so wondered why the 1st climb from Milford to the carp ark at the top of the cutting was a bit nastee.
🙄
I have a singlespeed hardtail and a geared Meta 55. Most of the time the meta gathers dust, but i do use it. for longer rides or where i'm uncertain about the terrain.
If you're transitioning for the first time then think carefully about the terrain you're riding and think about choosing an easier cog on the back to start with. I started with 32-21 but now run 32-19, which is a good ratio for West Yorkshire with flats. If you're somewhere flatter then a harder gear would be better.
Now is probably a good time to start as the ground is dry and fast.
fun-seekers perhaps?
tryhards perhaps?
I had a great ride on my SS tonight but that was nothing to do with the number of gears.
my single speed is so on trend. goes well with my cut off demin shorts, sailor tattoos and geek glasses.
if you wanna be cool you need a fixed mtb. SS MTB is for wimps who arent hard enough to take the next step.
(in all seriousness fixed mtb is a right hoot, even harder than ss)
I ride a singlespeed roadbike to an from work, its flat , not to far, easy to clean....no need for gears.