Singlespeed – should I?

In my eternally confusing quest to replace my stolen hardtail I’ve found myself considering singlespeed. Everything about it appeals, except the obvious chink in the armour which is pedalling up hills. On the road bike I’m a bit of a grinder, but surely off-road is a different proposition entirely. There’s plenty of technical climbs near me that can’t simply be ascended using brute force and I can’t quite get my head round how singlespeeds cope when the terrain goes up AND gets technical.

Any anecdotes from the singlespeed masses to help with my decision? I’m in the Peak District if that bears any relevance.

Do you have any facial hair?

Do it.

just give it a go, you’d be surprised how much more you can ride once your used to it.

Try a slightly easier gear than 2:1 to get you started on the hills.

Then just have fun,

Speaking as both a beard wearer and Suffolk inhabitant I’m probably a more natural candidate for SSing than someone from the Peaks I guess. 😉

Having said that if you get a frame with a slot dropout or similar you can always try it and if it’s rubbish for you stick some gears on. 💡

Technical climbs become more about momentum and moving your weight around on the bike (you’ll develop a kind of hip thrust thing) rather than spinning an easy gear and trying to balance.

Try it, If you don’t like it no harm done.

You’ll be surprised how well brute force can work on steep bits on a ss. Shifting balance to find traction becomes intuitive , and the direct nature of the drivetrain helps no end.

However, the vertiginous and lumpy nature of the peaks will push a ss to it’s limits. You’ll still see plenty of them in the peaks though. [just make sure you put a suspension fork on the front! I did the Peak District on a rigid ss…………….Once!

Ok so what SS should I get that I can add gears to if needed? I like the look and simplicity of the Kona Unit (and the price!)

I’m selling my complete dialled love/hate bike if you’re interested? (mk1 with a gear hanger)I was going to list it next week as a split. Emails in profile.

Inbred or Scandal slot dropout, Singular Swift, Dialled Love-Hate can all be run SS or geared. All nice bikes.

I’d say the chink in the armour is flat fire road, not hills….
There’s nothing to differentiate yourself there apart from a taller gear, but when the land points up, you can rely on your Great Pistons Of Power you call legs to fling you up the hill to victory….
In fact I keep some spare chainrings and cassettes in my bag, just to use the weight as an additional handicap…..

DrP

q1: yes

q2: I had a Love/Hate (see above), it was lots of fun. If you want a 29 look at Singular Swift.

I use a 456 as my single speed. Just use a tensioner and any hardtaul frame will do. And pushing is a perfectly valid way to get up hills with a one-er. 🙂

I built one and loved it now I’m buying a proper one and have developed an impressive tache in doing so.

It’s great, but on the first few rides my right thumb twitched and on a few hills, but that’s passed now.

Absolutely. It’s a lot of fun

……and I can’t even grow a beard!

do it, but as a 69er

I’d say the chink in the armour is flat fire road

+1 any flat bits really

…on the first few rides my right thumb twitched and on a few hills, but that’s passed now.

but then after a few SS rides on my Swift I put gears on, and found I mostly stood up and pushed 32:18 anyway.

I’d say the chink in the armour is flat fire road, not hills….

Hmmm, this sheds new light on my thought process. A lot of my from-the-back-door riding does involve flat stretches joining up the fun bits e.g. old train tracks, towpaths etc. I’d not even considered that singlespeeds would be a considerable weakness on the flat. Might need to rethink this…

[EDIT] …or just try it anyway and find out for myself 😆

Spin out, chill out.

It’s not a weakness.

It ain’t a race. Just sit and spin and take in the scenery and the sounds on the flat.

Do it!

I’ve just taken the ss plunge. It’s not “better” than gears, but it adds a new dimension to your riding over the winter. I wouldn’t want a specific ss bike, but its fun in its own way.

On my second single speed, first 29 er, and is my bike of choice at present. Living in Devon I have a lot of up and down stuff, so freewheel or pedal like #### are my two options. Everyone should have a singlespeed. And you never have to clean it.

Did Llandegla today on my Sanderson Soloist. Nothing better than flying past a geared bike on a climb, listening to the clunk as they try valiantly to find the granny. Basically, you’ve got what you’ve got and as long as you’re set up right and your tension is good you’ll be surprised how far those legs will go before you give up and get off. It just makes you wonder if you’ve been going too easy on yourself!

Daisy_Duke just wait till spring, you will be hooked on SS, anything else just lacks something

Jonny did this week avoid hospitals? 😀

SS rocks. I’ve just moved to 29er SS so my old chameleon SS is up for grabs – mail me if you want to get in before the ad goes up.

Is that the original Singlespeed? No trip to Wrexham A&E today. I still say we should have pulled the dislocation back into place ourselves. I had a YouTube demo and all!

Not the original, a mere impersonator, yea you should have given it a tug. Sounds like you all had fun, what a day too. See you some time soon

I like SS. keeps the bike looking and feeling clean and love the simplicity.

I’ve switched a few weeks ago and after the initial shock I’m really enjoying it, at first it just felt slow on the flat bits and hard on the up bits but a little change in attitude and it’s all good,
Chill on the flat bits, enjoy the downy bits and push harder on the uppy bits,
The silence is nice too..

I’m not a beardy

Had two SS builds over the last 15 years or so – don’t currently have one but thinking about it when I have a couple of days spare (like that will happen)

Never had them for ‘trendy’ reasons – just fitted my riding at the time and that I think is key – i’m not an evangelist

The plus points – great for fitness, riding technique and winter mud
Bad for riding in a group when there are flat bits and long downhills and your buddies have gears.

Uphill you can generally beat most geared bikes after a bit of practice

Steep downhill ditto

Gentle downhill you will get mullered

khani +1 well said

Give it a go.Start on an easy ratio-I,m still on 32/20 an go from there.

Any anecdotes from the singlespeed masses to help with my decision? I’m in the Peak District if that bears any relevance.

I rode a singlespeed almost exclusively in the Peak for a couple of years and it’s eminently doable even on steeps as they’re never that long or that steep for long. You need to be tactical, it’s about riding smart not necessarily brute power – people tend to throw themselves at everything flat out when they start ssing, but it’s often better to just turn the pedals over steady and keep something in the tank for when there’s a techy step you need to power over – look at it this way, if you’re already on the red-line, there’s nowhere to go when you need to up the power.

People glamorise it and try hard to make it seem really difficult or somehow mystical, but it’s not. You need to be stubborn, develop a good eye for the line with the most traction, but otherwise it’s just like riding a bike.

I used to ride 32:16 in the Peak and could ride the climb out of the ford on Jaggers going towards Hope Cross with it and I’m honestly quite an average rider. Now I run 32:17 because I don’t ss as often. I found 32:18 too spinny, though it’s not a bad starting point, and as for 32:20… ridiculous, you’ll be spinning like demented hamster on the flat.

One thing no-one really mentions is that ss has a rythmn of its own which means on group rides you tend to climb faster than geared bikes – until your legs fall off anyway – and on flats and easy descents you tend to spin out. Makes it nicer riding with other singlespeeders.

That’s my take on it anyway. Give it a go, you’ll be surprised at how easy it is once you’ve got over the initial shock. 😉

And you never have to clean it.

See, you shouldn’t mislead people like this – tell the truth

I have to clean my chain twice a year 🙁

I’ve considered it but have concerns about how it will affect my knees over time.

New to the SS game myself. The first few rides took some mental adjustment. But I’m loving it now. No slapping chain every time you hit a bump. Line choice and carrying speed through corners is your friend.

Climbing is less about the reason why you can’t make it up, more about the determination TO get up.

A mate told me 2 secrets of SS.

1: You can agonise over your choice of ratio. Which ever one you have it will be the wrong one.
2: You don’t have 1 gear, you have 3. Sit down, stand up & push.

Try it. You never know.

jonnycritchley

My new* soloist is coming on Tuesday. It’ll be rigid for a while until I can buy some suss forks.
What are you running and do you have a SS specific hub or just spacers?

Post up a pic please, I’d like to see your build.

Can’t wait to ride it 😛

*new to me that is?

Thanks for all the positive encouragement. I’m even more tempted now 🙂

As for the offers from a couple of you for second hand bikes, thanks but I’m after a new one.