It works VERY well for me. I wouldn't want it as my only bike, it'd spoil the novelty. Sometimes it's a right pain in the neck. Sometimes (like tonight actually) everything comes together and it's the best feeling in the world.

On the right day it pushes me harder and feels so much faster. It gives me a warm, happy feeling inside (and an equally warm but slightly less happy one in my legs).

Woody has it right. It's no failure to not like it, it's clearly not for everyone and somewhere like calderdale which is typically steep sharp climbs followed by steep sharp descents is not ideal singlespeed terrain by any means.

Not very fit, not exactly flat round here and only ocassionally spin out. SS does me fine. But its not the most sociable way to ride a bike.

I like it as a training once a week bike, makes me work harder than the geared bike and I reckon it's helping teach me to be a better climber, expecially trying to get the balance right with popping the front wheel on a climb or spinning the rear wheel.

There is a really steep climb on my local loop, on the single speed I have 4 or 5 goes at it till I can get up without dabbing, on the geared bike chuck it in the granny ring, up first time with no where near the effort.

To much on it does hurt my knees though.

I like it, but Cannock Chase lends itself well to it.

It nearly always gives me a good feeling although I wouldn't want to commute on it.

Makes my offroad routes more challenging but it's ace in the winter 'cuz you can ride it, leave it covered in shite and then just grab it and ride it the next time with no seized gears or stiff suspension (yes it's rigid too).

Still use geared bikes for racing and riding out with geared mates – well apart from the outings to the velodrome anyway –

Here goes, and after several pints ……. single speeding is shite, as is single speeding on a rigid hard tail. You need to purchase the most expensive blinged up kit you can with lots of gears, lots of travel and massive disc brakes. There nuff send…..dashes of to put rim braked,rigid single speed in van for run to SSEC 2mora YAHOO !!!! here we come, fun times and only one gear……

I agree with SSS it's shite keep your gears it's not worth bothering with…….

Think of all the lovely people you'll never get to meet also singlespeeds have one thing in common do you know what it is ?

Enjoy what you do however you choose to do it tho !

As takisawa2 suits Cannock a treat.

All those saying its shit chill out and post something useful

I did it for awhile. Then realized it was purely a fashion thing for the geeky types.

Singlespeeds are so 1990s now though.

I just dont get it. It holds all the attraction of exploring someone else's nostril with my index finger. Shove it up yer arse.

Ooh that's more like it a few people who have been dusted by a singlespeed probably ?

my commuter is a single speed fixed gear, it's very good for low maintenance and relatively flat terrain, good call in the winter as well

but in the summer or if you are in a hilly area then gears are where it's at

I went onto 1×9 recently and it was surprisingly good (got round the llandegla black ok), maybe it's the sensible solution for those wanting simplicity but need to save knees/get up a 1 in 3

My my we appear to stepping on some toes here boys… at the end of the day its all about ridding bikes and lets all just play nice and accept the hard fact that we band of good single speeders are actually gods sent to earth to stick it to you techno freaks who no matter how much you spend will still be crap but will continue to line the pockets of the marketing men.

Only time a singlespeed passes me is if its strapped to the back of a car.

I tried 1×9 as "best of both worlds" but the easiest gear is still pretty hard on steep climbs and due to poor chain line, wears out chains really quickly if you're on the extreme ends of the gears a lot.

Only time a singlespeed passes me is if its strapped to the back of a car.

Round of applause for mooman …………….

……………..for missing the point entirely 🙄

Oh, I forgot .. the point is to look different 🙄 .. like one of those people who says "Im mad I am" and your just looking at then thinking "no, your just sad" 😆

Wrong. That is your perception. The reality is, I couldn't give a **** what you or anyone else thinks of what bike I ride.

Did it for a few years – went back to gears as an experiment and liked it so much I stuck with em.

I don't know if it's my imagination but I'm sure ss components have got pricier as it's got more popular. But then I guess components have as a whole.

Space Hoppers, Clackers, Rubik's Cubes, singlespeeds…
Fads come and go.
Not that I've got anything against them. They're OK for peasants who don't like derailleurs, but can't afford a Rohloff.

When golfists go out for a round, they have a selection of golf bats for different Batty jobs

Surfers have quivers of boards for different waves and styles of surfing.

We need a variety of bikes in our stables. And a ss is a great bike to have.

It's possible to only ss but it obviously has it's limits – I rode from the English channel to Aviemore on a ss and found it ok, tough but doable.

It's also not really a "them and us" thing. We are not that different. If you want to have a go at anyone it should be those damned midgets. I have had it up to here with them (holds hand at hip height)

Bow to charly's wisdom.

SS in south of the UK yae… SS in south of France nae…

Rohloff.

Oh so you want to look like a singlespeeder then but haven't got the legs for it. The 'Hoff it's like a turbo trainer but more draggy. 😆

Re Charlie;

There is a golfing equivalent of SS. One club and a putter (could do just one club but the greenkeepers get shirty when they see you putting on their manicured greens with a 5 iron)

We used to do this as kids when I played golf regularly, and just like bike ss-ing it's different, a bit of fun and improves certain aspects of your technique at the same time.

Yeah its crap, its hard, and makes you ache, But i get bigger smiles and that post ride ale always tastes better

If i wanted the easy option i'd get a bike with a motor

Singlesped LLandegla Black/Red yesterday, and felt like a god amongst men.

Until this morning, when my legs failed to work and I fell out of bed 😀

Surely there's nothing stopping you from standing up and heaving up a hill in a high gear when you have lots of gears? Seems that if you mix up sitting and spinning in a low gear and standing up and pumping in a high gear you also mix up the muscles you're using.

yes, geared people can be ssers, but ssers can't be geared, so just get gears.
PS fair play to you charlie, that's a long way way, and a funny height joke 🙂

How about bodging up a 1×2, 1×3 or 1×4 or whatever with ss cogs and spacers. Better chainline than a 1×9 but you've still a selection of ratios.
You can change or pseudo-ss if you want by not changing. Best of both worlds?

I've been thinking of converting to ss for a while now but the long commute to any of the trailheads would pretty much suck with ss. This seems like a plausible solution. Draw back is that it would probably cost more than just to buy a regular 9speed freewheel though. But buying new shiny gear is good…right? 🙂

Keyboard warriors in "must take polarised positions" shocker!

I love the simplicity of a SingleSpeed but it kills my knees, I still own 2 (29er Rigid and a Cross) but they are only used for flatish rides now.
As a compromise I ride 1×9, which works well for me.

Doug

I think a lot of people who are anti-SS for some reason are trying to over-rationalise it. If you look at it sensibly and try and talk about working muscle groups, etc then it doesn't make any sense at all to take of your gears.

You can't explain the fun of a SS like that. Because it doesn't make sense, kind of like taking the long way home to ride over that big, rocky hill that's over -> there doesn't make sense either.

I can see why some people don't like it, it hurts, you can't have much of a rest without stopping and when you're running low on energy it's positively gruelling. But, if it works for you then it's bloody ace. It gives you a bloody great rush and you'll buzz like a kid at christmas.

more force thru your knees.

don't think so tj – the force is defined by the size of your quads is it not?

i really dont't get on with gears on flat terrain – they work in the mountains but not on the south cosat of the uk. was out last night 3 singlespeeders 3 gearies (me included) all i wanted all night was my singlespeed ratio back 🙁

oh and my knees are killing me from riding gears 🙁

if i get out work early enough today the gears are off and its SS for tonights bivvy 🙂

gears are for the indecisive! SS riders are dynamic, sex gods of riding, who know what they want and how to achieve it through only the power of manly thighs, facial hair and few pints of something cheeky.

you wishy washy gearie riders with your clunky chunky oingly boingly bikes are just jealous 😉

I'm off to pack for pushing my bike round some woods with some other bearded ramblers

It's also not really a "them and us" thing.

It obviously is for some people. Can't understand it myself as I wouldn't dream of going up to someone and telling them they have too many gears.

Check the posts above to see how much more chilled the pro s/s posts are compared to the rather 'stressed' rantings of some in the the 'you must have gears' brigade. I know which attitude I prefer and who I'd rather go for a ride and a beer with.

Surely there's nothing stopping you from standing up and heaving up a hill in a high gear when you have lots of gears?

On my little bridleway/road loop at home, there's a big hill I always power up in the highest gear I can as I can carry momentum as there's a downhill just before it. Many times have I been cranking hard up it and my gears have skipped or chain snapped, and it totally ruins it as I'm always worrying whether its gonna break or skip! With SS there'd be no worry as I'd run a stronger bmx chain and have no derailleur to be poorly adjusted!

Dunno why I'm "defending" SS as my bikes currently got a 2×9 on it and I'm loving it apart from aforementioned issues 😆

I sold my ss awhile ago, and i miss it. 🙁

Defo going ot build one up this summer, but it will defo not be a rigid this time, it will be a hardtail.

I bought a ss to cover commuting and off-roading for a while, as my commuter frame broke and the forks packed up on my hardtail at the same time.

A year later I still haven't bothered to fix my hardtail, as I'm enjoying ssing more now. It's ideal for forestry riding (Cannock, Wyre Forest, FOD, ) which make up the vast majority of my cycling.

I'd still want gears and front sus for trips to the Peak / Lakes etc, but I haven't been travelling to ride much of late.

I miss my 69er SS but was too rubbish to ride it in the Peak for any distance. It was also hopeless for the 15 mile road approach.

Gears for me round here and big rides, but SS is something fun to flirt with IMO.

Still- if I lived somewhere SS appropriate I'd probably be more enthused as the 'no pratting about with gears' approach to climbs was fab, unlike the feeling of imminent collapse if it was steep enough.