Singlespeed – Anyone Do That Anymore?

I do.

Still riding my on one from 2006? nothing comes close for the amount of fun

What is that^ and where do i get one?

@easily

it seems like a way to make things unnecessarily difficult for yourself.

IA’s response mostly covered it (IME)

I like the light + sturdy non-nonsense simple/pure feel of the singlespeed bike. And I like walking/pushing when have reached my pedal-limit. And being properly out of breath like a kid pedalling my first bike (it was a singlespeed).

At first you ride in fits and starts. Go to limit – catch breath – go to limit. Then the re-learning to ride begins to happen.

And the swinging/hanging like an ape from the bars on climbs, while gurning. You become more aware of your arms and torso so it becomes something like a meditative full-body workout on extended rides.

I live in rolling hilly country. ymmv

Most of all because I find it fun. Making things necessarily difficult for myself. Like swimming. I could hardly swim ten years ago. So going from zero to putting in 45 mins a day at the pool made things ‘necessarily difficult’ for my gasping self. Of course, I could have grabbed a float and flippers…

Old Cotic Soda converted to SS about a year ago. Ride it 2 or 3 times a week during winter. Still love it.

Downhill, you learn to coast and carry speed more.

This, it really teaches you how to conserve energy. I commute on a single speed and everytime someone overtakes me, they get caught at the next junction / corner as they don’t carry any momentum. It’s really interesting as it just shows how little people think about how they ride even when trying to go fast and drop someone.

It’s all I do.

Rigid, too. Can’t be doing with all the maintenance and costs of gears and suspensions.

I don’t have the time for MTB away-days any more, so have to stick local. Gears might come in handy sometimes, but if it all gets too much I get off and push. No shame in pushing and I don’t care what people think 🙂

Plus, there’s nothing round here I need suspension for.

I miss riding SS. I used to commute on the road SS (16 miles each way) and also ride MTB local to where I used to live

It’s hillier where I am now and I’m often in a group. Need to get fitter/stronger before taking on SS again but I really did enjoy it

Need to get fitter/stronger

See, you know what will sort that? Riding a SS 😉

Kilauea is set up SS. Swift can be, has been, and maybe should be again (but like it geared too, dilemmas).

They are useless on steep wet grassy slopes, too much torque. That’s why I gave up.

They are useless on steep wet grassy slopes, too much torque. That’s why I gave up.

This is why walking/pushing the last 400ft is fun

(with the best flat pedal shoes)

Need to get fitter/stronger

See, you know what will sort that? Riding a SS

The eternal paradox

@joshvegas having done a quick search I assume that this is @martinhandley’s bike: https://groovycycleworks.blogspot.com/2012/08/martins-ti-belt-drive-650b.html

Very, very nice!

I’ve still got mine, out in the shed. Haven’t ridden it for years, but I can’t bring myself to sell it. I keep telling myself to get it back up and running, which basically means bleeding the brakes and cleaning out the tyres and rims and mixing up a batch of sealant, then get some soft knee pads, possibly D3O ones. I want them to give decent protection without putting any pressure on my knee when pedalling, or aggravating the osteoarthritis in my knee.

Lovely little bike, someone posted up a repainted one a few pages back, On-One 853 SS, with carbon forks and bars, SDG I-Beam saddle and post, Hope hubs and 4-pot callipers with Mavic tubeless rims and Bontrager cranks. 19lb, IIRC.

Yes, and I can’t see that changing. But I’m 46 now, so the law of Sheldon permits me to use gears on bikes as well now…

My current stable has 1 dedicated singlespeed, 1 fixed-gear MTB, 1 fixed-gear CX, 1 geared CX (aka “Gravel”) and 1 geared rigid MTB. Plus one road bike for commuting/utility rides which is a big fixed-gear. Oh, and a singlespeed pub bike with such a terrible chainline that I can’t tackle any sort of gradient on it, but whatever.

The singlespeed is still my “best bike”. A Cotic Simple bought used from the Classifieds here. I love it for direct fast chuckable “BMX” handling using a shorter fork than Cy likes. I love it for adventure rides including mega portage in the Lakes etc, or for bike-packing. I love it for XC routes at trail centres which have become more BMX-oriented in recent years. I love it for being ultra-reliable. I’d be looking at something custom or boutique when I kill that frame, or when I can’t find decent 26″ tyres any more.

@simon1975

I love it for adventure rides including mega portage in the Lakes etc, or for bike-packing

How does single-speeding work out for you when carrying much stuff?

I thought twice about singlespeeding my 29er, but it’s remit includes bikepacking. I assumed extra weight = yet more walking/pushing. Unless you have the lungs of an Olympic swimming team and stainless-steel knees protected by vast vastus?

(Although since buying a Yak-type trailer this question may be moot)

Yes, I still do ride my singlespeed regularly, but no so much than a few years ago. Me became a bit lazy. 🙂

Current Unit:

First Unit that started it all:

Of course I too had an Inbred. Loved that bike, regreted to let it go.

(I hope the pics work… :/ )