Any SS find it hard going back onto a geared bike?

Just had my first geared ride of the year, the SS had two flats in the shed and could not be bothered to fix them for my commute in today.

I must be lazy and stupid as I found gears just weird to get on with again, having to think which gear do I need to use for which climb, kept shifting the wrong way up and down the shifters, all that clattering and miss-shifting, the rear derailleur has to have been invented by Satin!

Thats all, not looking forward to my commute home!

Why not just put the geared bike in the same gear as your SS bike and then not change gear.

Simples.

letmetalktomark – Member

Why not just put the geared bike in the same gear as your SS bike and then not change gear.

Simples.

Lol – told you I was stupid 😉

had similar problem. Went out to Cwm Rhaedr with a friend for the Cotic demo day. Went round with the geared bike and hated it. Heavy, always in the wrong gear (‘hoffed so at least stayed quiet) – also HT, so squishy front.

Fortunately had also taken my regular rideL: a rigid SS 29er. swapped over and went round three more times with a much bigger grin on my face. Weird, innit.

Why not just put the geared bike in the same gear as your SS bike and then not change gear.

i have been known to do this.

gears seem so slow after SS.

I regularly swap between SS and Rohloff.
I’ll sometimes spin like mad on the Rohloff, forgetting that I can change up a gear. 😳

I find that even if I put the geared bike in the same gear as what the SS is it still seems slower.
Must be something to do with the drag of the rear mech etc.

My three bikes are all singlespeeds now, I just can’t be bothered with gears

I know what you mean, I took a while to adjust back, but it was riding with a racer that got me back into gears properly.

I think it’s easy to be lazy about gears, which isn’t helped if they’re not working properly.
I also notice that some see gears a the ‘enemy’ or a challenge. By that I mean some will refuse to use another gear to help them and continue to press on inefficiently.
Gears really are there to help you. An easier gear is a better option than death by lactic or even walking. And what can beat a big gear when the winds behind you, the trail points down and you want to press on.

I fully understand the whole singlespeed thing, been there, but you can’t escape the logic of gears.
I also suspect that I’ll be pointed towards riders winning on singlespeeds, but without being rude these riders do tend to be big fish in little ponds.
At the top end of the sport gears are king.

I’m not in anyway knocking singlespeed, I’d go back in an instant if I wasn’t racing.
What I would say though is if you are riding everything on a singlespeed try putting a smaller closer ratio cassette on the geared bike. That gets rid of the horrible ‘lag’ in between changes. Using a road block is like driving an automatic as the gear changes are so smooth.

Interesting idea re block. Obviously not applicable to Rohloff though. I don’t think I’d blame efficiency losses, but rather a combination of being spoilt by a super light ss and forgetting how to spin _ both mentally and physically,

I find it harder to stand up when running gears as I always seem to be in the wrong gear ie either too spinny or too hard- on the ss it usually feels about right- until I have to walk 😳

even worse going from fixed road to any bike off road, forget how to freewheel spend first half hour clattering pedals off rocks and in corners

Not really but there definitely seems to be a difference between SS with horizontal dropouts and SS with a tensioner, the former feels so much nicer.

Glad its not just me, thought I was going a tad mad this morning, thinking this should be easier, but it felt harder.

Then again, I am not much better with cars either, going from an manual geared car to an auto and slamming on the brakes, thinking you are depressing the clutch!

I should be kept away from anything that needs a bit of intelligence 😉

Same here, just waiting for a new frame to arrive so have been riding the geared bike.

Fine if riding with friends as its much easier to ride at the same speed but on my own it’s hell. Did a long ride Tuesday on it and hated every second.

My cassette doesn’t have the right gear either, it’s a 17 or 20 when I’m used to a 18 (29er so not soft, well not too soft).

love my ss handjob. I fly up and down hills on it. However if i ever ride(rarely) my geared hardtail I love how much faster you can pedal downhill. Actually scares me. Uphill is all about sitting and spinning. So it is slower but over longer rides I find my legs last longer . Also much more sociable as my mates dont think Im a miserable git for leaving them at the bottom of hills. For me ss is about the simplicity of it all.

even worse going from fixed road to any bike off road, forget how to freewheel spend first half hour clattering pedals off rocks and in corners

Very much this, and just as bad going back to fixed and getting a right jolt up your leg when you try and freewheel

poor technique

Are most people going from a SS rigid to a geared hardtail, that would make a big difference.

Geared bikes are for rest days 😉

Geared bikes are for rest days

My thoughts exactly.

All is good with the world, back to the ss today 😉