Singlespeed – Anyone Do That Anymore?

Used to be that you couldn’t move for SS stuff – I’ve built up two or three in the past, realised I enjoyed my big bouncey bikes more and sold them on but following a house move to somewhere flat and really not enjoying my CX bike, I’m tempted to build another. But where are they all? Been looking on and off for a few weeks and can’t even find any suitable frames…

Am I looking in the wrong places? Any good FB groups to join? Anyone want to swap for a near pristine Genesis Croix de Fer with Hope brakes?

Waves.

Plenty of people still Singlespeed.

There is a group called One Cog on FB but its pretty quiet

You are supposed to bodge one from a pre loved frame and the parts bin in the garage

I rebuilt mine and find it great

I built a brand new all carbon one, lovely.

🙋‍♂️ Currently riding a Travers Ti SS with Carbon forks & wheels

Just got back into it having built up a custom (but very cheap) Marino SS. Old one didn’t get used as the geometry hadn’t dated well. New one is fun and perfect for winter.

My last single-speed was in 2011 it was a Ti456 and my last 26-inch wheeled bike.

I very briefly ran it’s successor – a mk1 Cotic Solaris as SS, but it was clear that for my style of riding the Solaris was so much more capable and running it single-speed limited potential.

I do miss the simplicity of the riding sometimes.

I’ve got an old specialized tricross singlespeed which is great for jobbing about and commuting, done some light touring on it in the Scottish isles, love the simplicity and low maintenance of it and it’s a great tool to get very fit quickly!
Find it a bit limiting sometimes living in hilly Cumbria especially riding with lads on geared bikes.
May be keen on your Croix de Fer if you decide to sell/px

I have an old mk2 Cotic Soul which is currently running singlespeed. It’s great for an hour or so blast, but it’s not a very social bike to ride as you have to really attack hills!

Sadly I am coming to terms with the fact that the frame is a bit small for me, but I think in an ideal world I’d have a similarly light and stripped down SS 29er that fit. One day.

Not now, unless you count a silly jump/pump track bike I built with the leftover bits from my most recent singlespeed.

Had a few singlespeed hardtails used regularly in the past inc the usual events SSUKs and SSWC, but my aging back won’t tolerate a geared hardtail now let along singlespeed. Started by bodging a Genesis Altitude hardtail, then a dedicated Dialled Love/Hate frame, then picked up a secondhand Gary Fisher Rig 29er. Eventually accepted it was too small for me and switched to a mk2 ‘custard’ Soul, but that’s long gone now.

I’ll replace my SS when it wears out, but with a steel frame, 26″ wheels, UN73 BB, cup and cone hubs etc. it’s looking like it’ll out last me!

I swap SS for running in the darkest, dampest, coldest months as it gives me a similar experience for considerably less faff. However, come Spring and the SS is perfect for local, after work outings between bigger and more rowdy rides. Currently have a battered but light weight mk2 Scandal 29er built from the parts bin but previously have had a converted Soul, a Simple, a 456 Ti and best of all a Tranny.

Last singlespeed thread I implied that I used to do it but I’m too old for it now.
That got me a telling off from a certain member who knows my age 🙂 Hi Andy

As there’s no interest in my solaris frame in the classifieds, I might build it back up SS just for quick solo local blasts come summer.
Just need some wheels and a drivetrain… and possibly brakes.

Singlespeeds are for losers. I can say that now I have been riding a geared bike for the last 4 months after almost 20 years of only singlespeed/fixed gear riding.

one SS MTB and three SS CX, and a variety of SS and fixed road bikes, and the Kona HumuHumuNukuNukuAPuaA frame in the loft that i’ll build back up one day and the Kona Unit-29 frame that i need to sell to make way for another but more up to date, um, singlespeed

i was pondering the same but for fixietwat bikes, they were everywhere once and now they’ve all just disappeared

I’m about to sell mine due to riding much more locally which is quite hilly and linked by long gravel sections. I need gears for the hills and the flats.

Large Niner Air9 Carbon if anyone is interested? 🙂

You are supposed to bodge one from a pre loved frame and the parts bin in the garage

Sposeta, but my SS is now one of my blingest bikes!!!
Ti Travers SS.. I ruddy love it..
Great for XC racing and looong XC rides too..proper comfy!

DrP

2017 chameleon here that’s never had gears on it. Used 2-3 times a week ~ 90k and ~ 2000m of climbing.

Single speed genesis flyer for commute, with few cheeky and unnecessary upgrades.

Oh, and last Wednesday there were 4 SS riders out 😎

I used to SS (and Fixed on the road) mainly because I was skint, just started getting back into my bikes recently and as I’m not in the best shape these days I bought a great condition for it’s age Genesis IO ID hub-geared MTB as a happy median.
I keep forgetting about having gears, so in some ways I’m still single speeding 🙂

https://www.biketart.com/bikes-c1/hybrid-city-bikes-c36/genesis-flyer-2021-p52579/s171175?utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=genesis-flyer-2021-s-size-s-size-s-gn21250sm&utm_campaign=froogle&cid=GBP&glCurrency=GBP&glCountry=GB&glCurrency=GBP&glCountry=GB&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyKu-t8nP9QIVjO5RCh2iGAquEAQYAiABEgL9r_D_BwE
If you still enjoy Genesis

Pick up a late-model 26er second hand.  The geometry will likely suit realrively flat/singletrack-y type terrain you seem to be referencing, and go to amazon and buy:

A narrow-wide chainring (colour of your choice)
A single speed converter kit (colour of your chouce)
A SS chain tensioner

Shorten the chain to suit nd ride it.

My 1997 Kilauea will soon be back to SS duties having spent the last 8ish years as a child-lugger.  It’ll be nice to have an MTB i feel I can ride inteh winter agian, without having to worry about how much damage its doing to my chick/pivots on teh main bike (itself from 2006, so parts availability is likley lmited!)

EDIT: and if you don;t like it, you can always stick the cassette/rear shifter back on and run it 1x…

I’ve converted a 2014 Giant TCX SLR to single speed and use as a general rubbish weather gravel bike/commuter.
I like the look of the Genesis Flyer, but keep looking for a single speed cross/gravel bike with hydraulic disc brakes but never seem to find anything.

@akira are the Flyer’s wheels tubeless ready?

@s1m0n nope but put some Hunt wheels on it to drop some weight and get tubeless.

Used to have one, then I moved somewhere where there are proper hills and I realised that if I didn’t want to have an actual heart attack while riding a bike, I’d best get some gears.

My town bike is single speed mainly because I’m too tight to have a proper drivetrain as anything else. I’d be tempted to build up a mountain bike for local far to flat routes on an evening but I can’t justify another bike right now.

Used to have one, then I moved somewhere where there are proper hills and I realised that if I didn’t want to have an actual heart attack while riding a bike, I’d best get some gears.

I’m in improper hills and find singlespeed works best for up and down routes, anything flat and you are twiddling

Carbon Pivot Les SS and Transition PBJ owner here.

Quite happy riding the Les anywhere and everywhere!

A few years ago I converted my 2011 Boardman Hybrid to SS (44×17) with an On-One doofer tensione. Got some BB7s for breaking duties and it’s just lovely.

Some days the hills on the commute (in Sheffield) make me wonder why I do it to myself. But mostly it is bloody great. Nice and simple, always in the wrong gear, but so much less faff.

It’s been even better since I converted my old 26″ hope wheels to 29ers for it, and put full mudguards on.

yea still lots of ss fools out there, ssuk is at llandegla this year, which should a laugh as its a big bmx track. one cog is pretty quiet since jules went off cycling and i’m spending spare time runnin stooge owners group n stuff (still lots of ss riders there as well) kit wise it more of a hunt since an ex bikemonger sold up and became a journo/press darling, but there is still a lot of good kit being made, just need to look a bit harder

Up until 3 months ago, I had 2. A SSCX (Cotic Escapade) with full mudguards for commuting (not actually commuting anymore) and an OnOne 45650b set up SS for winter slop and quick summer blasts.

But, I needed a FS bike, so eventually sold them to fund the FS build.

But, having built up the FS bike, and having saved up, I now have all the parts to rebuild my Ragley BigWig as a SS HT. Should be a thoroughly modern, thoroughly capable, riotous thing, and very different to my first forray into SS (an old Boardman 26er HT) and then an Inbred 26er set up SS.

SS ain’t dead!

I’m so interested in doing this.. i currently have (in classifieds) a hybrid type bike…
its amazing for commuting… bit too light for anything else..
fancy something a little more substantial (thinking sonder frontier) kept as light and basic as possbile, athough, not sure about commuting SS.. or riding around QECP SS… so not quite sure what my thought process is exactly

They all ride a Stooge now.

Edit – doh! what Tazzy said.

I bought a 27.5+ / 29 Kona Unit on a whim , 3 years ago and ridden it much more than my costly f/s trail bike .
Apart from a bottle cage it’s exactly as it left the shop.
I’ve even been thinking about selling my Anthem as it gets used rarely nowadays.

They all ride a Stooge now.

well I also still ride my SS jones spaceframe, and a new Titanium Olsen 29+ as well so its not all stooge based ss shenanigans 🙂

I sort of gave/lent my Genesis Io to a chap at work as it was in the way and a little small.
I missed it so built an old Kona Steely into Mullet SS 27.5/26″.

Id like a 29er SS and have been keeping an eye out for something used with no luck.

Part of 10 singlespeeders that will be descending on the Welsh Valleys this weekend. Love it, you can’t be lazy on a singlespeed 🙂