Help – I want to buy a Rigid Single speed and I’ve no idea why.

Right – I like to ride up steep hills and down technical trails. I don’t like flat. My local riding spot is steep hills and techy descents. I have a geared full suss and hard tail that are both ideally suited to this terrain. I’m not even built for flat – I don’t have huge quads and I’m quite skinny so I’d probably be useless on a single speed anyway, but the trouble is…………………

…..I really want to buy one, specifically an Inbred and I don’t know why? It’s not as if I’m made of money. This would surely be the most pointless purchase ever – wouldn’t it………

Please talk me out of it!

Do it – rigid singlespeeds are ace. 🙂

Also- flat is no good on a singlespeed- you lose out to geared bikes on the flat as you are undergeared. Hills up and down are where singlespeeds are the most fun. Just gear it according to your local hills and you’ll be fine.

Hi there!
Unfortunately Im not going to be able to talk you out of this. I went the ss route a year and a half ago and it really is great. It does take a bit of getting used to but you always have three gears, stand-up sit down and get off and push. I love the simplicity of it. You just spin along. The first few ride you’ll be looking for your shifter but youll soon acclimatise to it. Great for training and you get extra man points even if people are passing you! Most of my biking is done in the mournes in northern ireland and ive found 32-16 is a great gear for all uses.

We have great deals to be had on the IOID frames and bikes which can be run with an alfine or a ss?

Get in touch as we have a couple of frames in stock that we are looking to clear along with an alfine bike.

http://realcycles.com/m1b0s286p2974/2012_GENESIS_io_ID_Chassis_2012

welcome into the light,brother….. 😉

Genesis Fortitude

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/mountain/fortitude/fortitude-singlespeed

Talk you out of it? Sorry, can’t do that. Built a Singular Swift up last year: rigid, ss, 29er. I’m irrationally attached to it. It’s what I want to ride every time I go into the garage.

Trails round here sound similar to you: lots of hills. Techie downhills in the trail centres (inners/gt) or more flowy on the natural stuff.

There are limits though. Took it down Caddon Bank at inners the other week – can’t say I enjoyed it. Rigid forks do improve your technique but there’s a point where I just want more damping than my arms & knees can give.

I’ve just bought some forks (Reba 100mm) to try out on the gnarlier stuff. Keen to see how much extra I gain downhill vs. what I sacrifice on the ups (weight/bob).

But: I still plan to run rigid on the smoother stuff. Don’t know if its the simplicity, or direct connection to trails, or mid-life crisis – but there’s something about rigid ss that just makes me smile.

Another convert to the Church of One Cog.
It’s bloody addictive and you will change the way you ride, on a rigid SS descents become more of a technical challenge rather than how fast can I blast down here and it adds a new twist to local trails.
Enjoy!

Well, I have 100mm on the front of mine but SS Inbred is my only bike.

It has yet to fail me and there’s nothing wrong with buying new trews cause of one-gear-hill-fuelled GIANT QUAD ATTACK!

I mostly ride my inbred SS rigid (carbon on one forks)

I ride it flat, up and down – I ridden it in Canada and all over the uk

It just keeps working and I loves it

Plum

Do it, and consider a 29 if you haven’t tried one. http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/ss-better-on-26-or-29

Consider I’m looking at 29ers….

I’m wanting that SS Fortitude! Any one got one who can comment on them?

Nothing wrong with it as you already have other bikes, the only people that need to seek help are those that only have a rigid SS through choice.

FuzzyWuzzy – Member
Nothing wrong with it as you already have other bikes, the only people that need to seek help are those that only have a rigid SS through choice.

weirdos. 😳

I got a Ti SS 69er custom geometry tubeless fully rigid bike.

Not to ride, simply to be more niche than the rest of you.

It has become my bike of choice, I even sold the Audi but still feel okay about posting on here

Less is definitely more.
My SS 29er is all I seem to ride now, and I live in a hilly area too.
Do it, do it now!

Noooooooo – Now I want want even more!!
I just wish you could have 2 gears – 1 for flat to get to the hill and one for on the hill.

The Malverns are super steep which means even pumping out of the saddle id need a pretty low gear. Im guessing there is no way round this problem

Dingle speed?

The Malverns are super steep which means even pumping out of the saddle id need a pretty low gear.

* walking is part of the experience, accept it for what it is. It doesn’t matter.
* actually you’ll get up more than you expect

Do it ,I have a rigid 853 inbred with a carbon fork running 32/18 its ace.Not a lot to go wrong so it`s great in the snow

Do it. I got a 29er rigid Inbred this year and it has made riding in Epping forest fun again.

The mud used to kill the geared bike after an hour where the singlespeed keeps going.

MM

The Malverns are super steep which means even pumping out of the saddle id need a pretty low gear. Im guessing there is no way round this problem

You eventually just MTFU and get on with it. 🙂
I run a 33:18 on a 29er, which can be tough on long steep climbs, but I wouldn’t want to go lower as I’d be spinning like a fool.

It’s worth it for the simplicity and ease of maintenance- no rattley derailleurs, no clutter, no cables….
Just a direct, smooth, silent drivetrain. Always.

Dingle speed?

Just Googled that – what a good idea, as long as you can keep the chain length the same for both ratios – swapping should be minimum faff.
1 road gear to get to the hills
1 gear for riding on the hills
I like it 🙂

Noooooooo – Now I want want even more!!
I just wish you could have 2 gears – 1 for flat to get to the hill and one for on the hill.

Another alternative to the Dingle: run 2×1 (2 chain rings + 1 cog). Means you need a front mech + shifter + rear mech/chain tensioner. So less “pure” & a little bit heavier. But you can change on the fly.

Have my commuter set up like this. Very effective. And robust too: got fed up with winter road gunge chewing through rear casettes/mechs and causing dodgy shifting. Have had no such problems since going 2×1.

Depends on how far you’re willing to trade mechanical complexity for thighs of steel 😀

I have SS and love ’em. I have 10 bikes with 13 gears between them…..

I was like you and had an unusual desire to move to single speed but counted figure out exactly why.
So I bought a chain tensioner and modified my hardtail to give it a try. For a small investment I got to see how it felt.
The hills I thought I would never get up were conquered and I just loved the simplicity of it. It is amazing what you can ride if you have no other choice.
After that I invested in a fully rigid singlespeed Singular Gryphon. At this time of year when you want minimum faff it is the bike I ride the majority of the time. The only real time I go to the other bikes now is when I have multiple days of riding or more extreme stuff.
DO IT!!!!