Due to the forecast, I did my normal commute today on the SnowRat-SS-SnowBike™ (36-18, 26″ wheels & studded tyres). Certainly felt much slower, but I was actually only marginally slower (approx 2 mins over the hour). I normally use a 1×9 (36 – 11/32) 700c wheeled Kaffenback.

Take from that what you will!

As an experiment I did my usual 6 mile commute on 3 different bikes over a week last year. Very steep and rough Devon lanes on a geared rigid 26″ MTB on slicks, geared 29er on knobblies and my 1×1 with knobblies. The 1×1 was the fastest by around 3 mins in both directions.

My theory is riding singlespeed boosts the levels of sheer bloodymindedness such that you overcome the feeble rules of physics.

As above, tenacious rather than strong, IME.

32:18 on 26 here. Live the requirement for tenacity, and simplicity. As I’m indecisive the nature SS does me a world of good!

on a more serious note, just try it. Riding in one gear is not the same as riding singlespeed mind you, but you will be surprised at just how mnuch you can ride without the gears you currently find essential

no wondering if you;re in the right gear ?
no desperatly going for one more gear to help you up that last bit ?

either attack the hill all-out, or get off the bike and push ? (mostly the latter, very occasionally the former)

either way, you’ll usually be at the top before your mates and be recovered by the time they arrive. (You’re kidding, right?)
32:16 on my SS, rigid, with carbon forks, weighs about 19lb.

Go on, you know you want to… 😀

I’m a 10 stone shandy drinking weakling and have represented my cuntree at European level SSing, my thighs are like twigs but I did hear a blind old lady in the supermarket say I looked rather fit in my bulging skinsuit, I ride 58 x 9 on a 36″ unobtainium framed trellis bike.

a singlespeeder

I only ride ss on the road bike at the moment,think the gearing is 48/17 and with some extreme gurning can go up most climbs.
Did the Cheshire 100k on it a few years back so distance is not really a issue.

“What sort of ratio do people ride with? Where? and how far?”
Ratios are for dullards what can’t do sums.
Proper singlespeeders use metres development.

Graham
Worcestershire’s fastest veteran vegan single speed mountain bike endurance racer with a beard.
Oh, and 4.1m, since you ask.

I’ve been toying with the idea, purely to keep my fitness up in the winter and to reduce my payments to Shimano

However, the thing putting me off is downhilling

I really like to pedal my little heart out and i’m afraid i’m just going to spin out too quickly and people will get away from me

How do you regular SS’s deal with it?

i can’t recall the last time I pedalled downhill. ss is about momentum – if you need to pedal it’s because you’ve braked too hard and slowed down too much. on ss it’s all about staying off the brakes and keeeping going. it’s great for teaching you about line choice

boltonjohn,

spinrestspinrestspinrest.

Let ’em ride away from you. Get ’em on the uphills!

32×16 here, and 10 mile commute as quick on ss as i am on geared mtb.

32:16 on 26″. +1 for the gurning.

Seriously, it’s great fun, not sure I’d want the SS to be my only bike though, but it’s great as an Old Skool back-to-basics thing.

I’d not really thought about it before, but starting riding SS coincided with me taking up drinking beer instead of lager. Hmmm.

“Is impressed with CountZeros ticks”

Boltonjon; I’d lend you a go on mine but you’d probably break it 😉

You’re practically passing mine on sat am – call in and borrow it for the SH ride, see what you think!

What ratio? 36:18 on the Inbred and 44:16 on the Pompino (not for any kind of proper mtb obviously)

Where? Anywhere, until I can’t go any more (like trying to get up an 18% road at the weekend)

How far? Miles and miles.

Cheers JonV – but i’ll pass – taking the big bike out for a proper blast on Saturday!!

And yes – I would break it 🙂

bikebouy – Member
“Is impressed with CountZeros ticks”

Why, thank you sir, you are most kind. 😀

Actually, I’ve got a whole bunch of Dingbats that I found on’t interwebz, which I copied into Notes on my Pad, then I can just c’n’p them when I want something a bit unusual;
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Most singlespeeders I know seem to have well developed bike-pushing muscles

turned to SS 18 months ago never looked back.
Running 32×16 in the middle of the Peak.
Just about to test Taz’s wobbly ring on two new builds if I can ever get out on the bike.

Find what you like pedalling on the flat in, take it easy on the climbs, roll down the downbits. Congratulations. You’ve found singlespeeding.

Strength is not an issue. Fun is. Sometimes it’ll hurt. If it hurts too much then stop.

It’s not about going fast or winning stuff. It’s about rolling along, enjoying the view, smiling and going…hmmmmmmm. Nice…..

Sweet.

Been riding two years, only ever on singlespeed. 32:16 Inbred. Can’t wear jeans now but it’s all worth it.

Ups- All in the head… And “core”. 🙂

Flats- Can get a spectacular uptake of pace plus a “super thigh induced extra acceleration” only known to singlespeed folk.

Downs- Smash it, hard, on the zenith then get to spin out point asap before forgetting about brakes and smashing past the mincers.

Good technique, no fear.

Samurai pins it.

Sounds great Samuri, if only it were possible to do the same with gears! Oh…

Get bike out of shed like this…

IMAG0200 by pten2106, on Flickr

Ride.

Put bike back in shed like this…

IMAG0200 by pten2106, on Flickr

About sums it up. 🙂

I’ve been toying with the idea, purely to keep my fitness up in the winter and to reduce my payments to Shimano
However, the thing putting me off is downhilling
I really like to pedal my little heart out and i’m afraid i’m just going to spin out too quickly and people will get away from me
How do you regular SS’s deal with it?

Not sure about everyone else but riding SS taught me to lay off the brakes on downhills and try to conserve speed. You can’t flat out pedal on an SS downhill unless you’re running a ratio which would be crap at anything else, instead you concentrate on line and flow. Again its a different technique but loads of fun – sometimes you’ll be faster than the gearies, sometimes not….

Just ride, if you don’t get up a hill no worries try again next time, you get up it at some point. Enjoy the simplicity.

I ride 35-19 on my 29er and its always the wrong gear. That’s fine because everyother set of cogs is wrong as well.

I find marketing bull#### helps a great deal, clown wheels and funny shaped chainrings. 😉

Just ride, if you don’t get up a hill no worries try again next time, you get up it at some point. Enjoy the simplicity.

I ride 35-19 on my 29er and its always the wrong gear. That’s fine because everyother set of cogs is wrong as well.

I find marketing bull#### helps a great deal, clown wheels and funny shaped chainrings. 😉

It’s not about going fast or winning stuff…

Sorry, you’ve lost me there. 😕

Asthmatic arthritic grandfather here rides 32:16 in Brecon Beacons.

I’m a skinny, asthmatic, wonky-legged singlespeeder.

32:17 on my 26er, riding (sporadically) Swaledale and Hamsterley. Sometimes on the same ride.

I recently did some of the power tests in the Allen/Coggan book.

Depsite a lot of singlespeeding I actualy had Ok 20min (FTP) and 5min (V02 max) power , but crap 1min (anaerobic) and 5s (neuomuscular) power.

Ok – low Cat 5
Crap – didn’t even register on the scale!

So it seems ‘strength’ has little to do with it, just ana bility to sufer for longer climbs.

boltonjon – Member
However, the thing putting me off is downhilling

I really like to pedal my little heart out and i’m afraid i’m just going to spin out too quickly and people will get away from me

How do you regular SS’s deal with it?

Pies, Pasties, Cake & Beer seem to help build up momentum on the downhills…

Don’t reckon you need to be super strong or fit (luckily, 😉 ) to enjoy SS riding, just smooth on the bike and determined.
The kind of people you see mainly at trail centres, who drop down to the granny and spin like mad at the first whiff of a climb, would probably be faced with a steep learning curve, however. 😀

FWIW, I ran 32:17 on the 26″ and now use 33:19 on a 29er.

And 33:18 on 29er here, but it’s a wobbly snake-oil special from honest-tazzy.

I’ve worked out the gear I need to be on my geared bike to simulate my SS
ratio and leave in there when going up hills.

Hardcore*

*prays chain doesn’t break.

if you don’t get up a hill no worries try again next time

never……gurn ’till you puke and then keep going…sometimes even a bunny hop on a stalled climb can get you going again…pushing up hill is for fat boys with DH bikes*

*unless the said ss rider has had a shandy or 3, in which case drunkly meandering holding onto the bike for support is perfectly acceptable 😀

awsome singlespeedy hints from a bearded racing master

Oh yeah, only “whole food real” beer is allowed in yer camelbak or bottle, organic of course.

[/url] image by artaylor910, on Flickr[/img]

I’ve worked out the gear I need to be on my geared bike to simulate my SS
ratio and leave in there when going up hills.

Trouble is, that doesn’t work for some reason I can’t explain. Unless you take the gears off you can’t replicate the feeling. It’s easier than you can believe.