[Closed] Singlespeed vs geared, which is faster?

Gears [i]should[/i] always be faster.

A racer will be faster with gears as they will pick the gear that makes them go fastest
A pootler will go fatter single speed as they pick the gear that makes it easiest.

Off road at least I am faster on a single speed as I have to sprint up hills instead of sitting and spinning.

Ever seen a TdF rider competing SS?

Riding singlespeed will make you ride gears faster...

Faster...? I don't understand.

Don't you mean Funner?

Ever seen a TdF rider competing SS?

Good point, but who won The Puffer and on what?

Horses for different types of ready meal.

The winner of the Strathpuffer this year was on a SS, make of that what you will.

EDIT: beaten by a minute!

fast riders are fast....regardless of the bike.

On fastest race lap times I'm quicker geared, but also know on longer endurance races I finish higher on SS as it stops me going absolutely batshitmental on the first few laps and then hurting like a hurty thing and means I can keep a really consistently good time each lap.

So for me..short xc races= gears

long enurance things SS

Yeah but who has most fun ? 😉

Muke- it's not about fun!! it's about the deadly earnest business of riding a bicycle...no fun allowed....on puritanicalbicyclemiserytrackworld or you may end up being accused of being a slacker nichewhore 😀

The rider

breadcrumb - Member

The winner of the Strathpuffer this year was on a SS, make of that what you will.

That's quite relevant to a question about road bikes.

ive always assume that geared are faster which is why SS'ers tend to have a separate class. That said a good rider on a SS will be an average rider with gears.

A pootler will go fatter

Have you been studying me then...

I'm faster until I'm spinning out.

I haven't ridden a geared bike for years, one of the reasons I like SS is the fact that you're forced to attack the hills. I wonder whether I have the mental fortitude to maintain a fast uphill pace when the option of changing down a gear is available. I hang my head 😐

I've been trying to emulate SS on my gear bike by not changing down beyond the same ratio as my SS. That should give me the best of both worlds, but the temptation is always there.

Kryton - so theoretically could I use a single ring up front and a retro-fitted cassette with the smallest cog being 18t?

slacker yes
nichewhore not yet

😉

Geared. However there's a Strava segment that I hold KOM on riding a singlespeed. No matter how much I try I can't get anywhere near the time riding my geared Zesty

Zesty weighs 10 lbs more than my SS

tazzymtb - Member

puritanicalbicyclemiserytrackworld

I stealing that and putting it on a T-shirt.

slacker nichewhore

And that. And I'll have you know I resemble that remark. 🙂

Its not about the bike.

It's about the drugs.

I think so dsa. Don't get me wrong I'm talking about 2 bikes - one a dedicated SS 32/18, the other a 2x 10 geared. I'm just saying that in order to get up the hills faster I'm resisting the temptation to change up beyond SS ratios.

I'm not simulating a SS permanently if that's what you mean.

Northwind - Member
[i]breadcrumb - Member
The winner of the Strathpuffer this year was on a SS, make of that what you will.[/i]

That's quite relevant to a question about road bikes.

Doh.

That said a good rider on a SS will be an average rider with gears.

noooo a fast SS rider will be faster with gears as they've learned how to keep a high cadence, suffer like a dog, sprint all climbs and the special secret of SS maintain flow and momentum.

see SS makes a man of you, gears are for ....*looking for phrase...it will come to me in a minute*

got it!

gears are for weak limbed little lambkins that couldn't mosh even at a motorhead gig

😀

Pedantic certainly, but..

Ever seen a TdF rider competing SS?

Tdf 1903

This picture clearly proves that a flat cap is faster than a straw boater.

[img] [/img]

All my race wins have been single speed, two were single speed races, two against geary folk.

I've been riding fixed gear with my road club for about 18 months and hold my own with the fast boys. Just built up a road bike and I struggle to keep up with them now...

My well maintained TCR (geared) is about 2mph faster average over my normalish commutes but my fixie Langster with a very dodgy BB/back wheel, rusted chain and worn pedals is faster up the 3 Strava segmented hills that the commute takes in, make of that what you will, I'll add that's it's very frustrating and makes me hate the TCR!

That's a great picture Charlie

Tbh I reckon if the ratio is appropriate to the hill, fixed will always be faster.

depends on the conditions but as Tazzy says racing endurance SS helps you not blat off at the start, but unless you're super human (the singular racing guys/terrahawk) its hard to win stuff overall!

[url= http://chris-noble-mtb.blogspot.co.uk ]chris-noble-mtb.blogspot.co.uk[/url]

Over a long distance, gears should allow you to be more efficient and crucially, keep the same power output going on the flat / downhill as on the ups. However I, as most do, use gears to slack it up hill and cruise along the flat whilst still freewheeling down. Granny gear ftw!

A singlespeed bike is lighter so it will be faster

Assuming the entire ride is uphill 🙂

On a geared bike i do my 11.86 mile route in roughly 57min (in winter). On my ss bike I do it in roughly 1 hour 2 min. Same route every time. Many factors affect this, wind speed, diet, how much over time i've done that week, how much cycling i've done. The route is 80% off road with some very tough climbs, one being a river- mostly end up dismounting and running this. I would say gears are faster, s.s much more satisfying.

tazzymtb - Member
Muke- it's not about fun!! it's about the deadly earnest business of riding a bicycle...no fun allowed....on puritanicalbicyclemiserytrackworld or you may end up being accused of being a slacker nichewhore

Oh can I be a slacker niche whore, I've got my own stick on beard and even more than one pair of sandals..

Surely it depends upon the what your legs power curve looks like?

If you can only develop peak power at one rotational speed, then you will be quicker when geared (as you can pedal at that speed no matter what your ground speed) or if you can provide the same power (note power, not force/torque!) across multiple rotational speeds then you will be fine on an SS.

ron- you are a slack whore, I've seen you giving love for beer to Belgians at the European championships !!

Is the single speed a 29er?!

For me I regularly podium when I ride marathons (as they are known over here) on my SS and not just the SS class either but I know which events suit the SS better. For me I think the main reason is that physically my body prefers grinding up the hills rather than spinning. When I ride marathons on my regular race bike which is much lighter than the SS I often get serious cramps after around 3-4 hours in the saddle. Never happens on the SS. 😕

The SS I speak of is a Pompino, being used on a city commute of 15 miles. I'm trying to talk myself out of purchasing an uber light road bike by convincing myslef that it won't be substantially faster...

The Yak rides a single speed and he's always faster than me.

All things equal (rider, bike etc) Singlespeed is more efficient and therefor faster on the specific gradient that corresponds to the gear ratio you have picked + 1 or 2 degrees either side because of the weight advantage. any other gradient - Nil-Pwa

Unless you're doing a flat commute then a singlespeed road bike must be pretty limiting? Even on a moderately hilly route, the range of speed on a road ride can be vast..
.gears are always quicker imo not that ss doesn't have it's place (usually at the back 🙂 )

no Tom

(usually at the back )

The SS I speak of is a Pompino, being used on a city commute of 15 miles. I'm trying to talk myself out of purchasing an uber light road bike by convincing myslef that it won't be substantially faster...

my pompino isn't much diferent to my gered bike. Wheels make a big difference though - so upgrade those instead. 😉

82.4% of the time, gears are quicker.

brakes - Member
82.4% of the time, gears are quicker.

I like that kind of statistic......... 😉

Hmmm, in the simplest sense SS is not “Faster” I’d say over nice flat route my 2:1 geared 26er is at least about ~2mph slower than my geared bike chuck in some hills to go up and down and the average speed for the SS probably creeps down further relative to the geared bike... But then that’s rather a narrow view to take of the whole thing.

As others have stated the benefits of an SS go beyond simple calculations of ground speed:
My SS is much faster in terms of time spent on maintenance, and in terms of fitness benefits I’d say 30miles on the SS probably has a far greater impact on my fitness than the same 30 miles would on my Geared MTB, not only that but it forces you to find efficient ways to use (and conserve) your energy when riding, all of this is directly transferable to a geared bike...

So an SS will make you faster on the Geared bike (Over time)...

Of course ground speed is not the only measure of enjoyment, but it is one...

But if the aim is to get to and from work quickly on the roads, get a sensible geared road bike, the novelty of an SS will probably wear off within a week or two, and a geared road bike is a far more flexible tool than an SS TBH...

Gears are faster, unless it's a short/sharp hill in which case SS forces you to go faster, but there's nothing to stop a geard bike doing the same, it's just the rider knows they'll be faster overall if they spin up the hill slower and overtake/leave the SSer to get his breath back at the top.

Surely it depends upon the what your legs power curve looks like?

If you can only develop peak power at one rotational speed, then you will be quicker when geared (as you can pedal at that speed no matter what your ground speed) or if you can provide the same power (note power, not force/torque!) across multiple rotational speeds then you will be fine on an SS.

Interestingly (or not) my critical power curve falls off mahoosivley below 5 minutes, i.e. I can ride well at threshold, but not sprint. This despite riding SS for 2 years.

I think you're thinking of quadrant plots though. I've only just started looking at power stuff, but haven't actualy found anything to say you should be on the line the whole time, just that cadence changes between different styles of ride/race, so training should try and match the race.

SS is faster because SS riders are fitter.

Ahem.