- SS do I need to MTFU or get gears?
I’ve got a 120mm 26er HT singlespeed @ 36:19. I ride around Marsden into Wessenden and the North Peak. I plan on riding in the Dales soon though.
I am 19 and 6ft1 @ 11.5 stone so not a fat biffer.
I am no longer enjoying the hills, as I just get tired and the ride becomes a slog. Also on muddy terrain or technical climbs the rear wheel slips as I stamp on the pedals.
Do I just need a lower gear, or should I go 1×9 (I’ve got a 9 speed shifter and mech)
Posted 5 years agoI don’t know what the tidings like there but why don’t you try 33:19 I ride SS and would not want to ride 36:19 where I am
Posted 5 years agoIf it’s stopped being fun get some gears. You can always change back if you want to.
Posted 5 years agosurely thats why gears were invented…
you use a computer / laptop / phone regularly (along with many other modern inventions) but insist on having a single speed on your bike?
easy answer really!
Posted 5 years agoI think 36:19 is a bit of a monster gear round there, try a larger rear sprocket?
Posted 5 years agoMiddleburn Duos will ensure you still look like a cutting edge outsider jay boy, while offering you less extensive cartilage and ligament damage.
😉
Posted 5 years agoI think you need to get some gears then matey, it’s always a compromise with SS! 🙂
Posted 5 years agoThe thing I’m thinking about going to a lower gear is that I won’t be able to go fast on the flats/downs, the bike feels slow as it is.
you need gears.
I think with SS you have to accept a compromise between gettign up stuff and speed on the flat. Down stuff I always found that I was no slower than geared bikes on the whole. On along with no techy bits an SS will always feel slow.
Posted 5 years ago‘the force is weak in this one’……. 😉
Posted 5 years agoI think you need to be getting those gears back on, sounds like you aren`t enjoying it.
Posted 5 years agoSeriously, you will find some sort of gearing improves life massively. And I wasn’t joking about the soft tissue damage!
Posted 5 years agoOn along with no techy bits an SS will always feel slow.
nah , learn to spin properly and you can still keep up with the geared boys unless they are strong and can turn the big ring quickly. 😀
Posted 5 years ago36:19 sounds quite brutal for the Peaks. I was happy twiddling along on 32:16 until I moved to Dartmoor and now use 32:18 which seems about right for most of the riding I do locally. I do now also have a geared bike which I used for longer and tougher rides but it probably still works out 60/40 in favour of the singlespeed.
For the sake of a cost of new rear sprocket you could try gearing down a bit – try a 19 or 20 on the back, and if it doesn’t work out then just go back to your gears.
Not worth beating yourself up about either way – the whole point of singlespeeding is that it should be fun, so if it’s no longer so then don’t do it.
If you go back to gears you can always build up a cheap singlespeed from the parts bin / classifieds should you want to give it a go again.
Posted 5 years agoI blame my lack of beard
There you go. When you’re old enough to grow a beard, the time will be right for ss 😉
Posted 5 years ago2:1 – it’s the law! If it feels too high for the climbs, then get off and push. If it feels too low for the descents then brake less. I’m back on a singlespeed and loving it 😛
Oh, and no beard here 😆
Posted 5 years agobrake less
spot on, is works for me and is much more fun to flow rather than pedal-brake-pedal-brake
Posted 5 years agoBrakes ! pah !! true SS’ers don’t have brakes 😉
Posted 5 years agoNah they have beer stops,
Posted 5 years agoI run silly low gears (25:15) & accept I’m going no where fast
Posted 5 years agoIt could always be N+1 time,you know its a ideal excuse to add to the stable.
Posted 5 years agoWell there you go then. You’ve resolved your own conundrum. I proscribe a Merlin Cycles XT groupset and an immediate trip to Honister pass to experience the joy of gears…or not.
Posted 5 years agoThe
gears…gears
sheep are round quickly on the injured wolf, circling slowly awaiting the demise of the blooded canine. But suddenly, into the meadow leaps Tazzy, his bloody thirsty howl drawing Keef unto the fight. Battle lines are drawn. It begins…
Posted 5 years agoThe young one is not ready, oh brothers of the chainline. Release him back to the wild. In time, he shall return.
Posted 5 years agotakisawa2,
Posted 5 years ago
last time I saw Taz in a meadow,all the sheep were leaving out the other end,very quickly………..muttering something about the scary mans back again
Posted 5 years agoIt strikes me that the solution to not having enough gears is probably to have more gears. Though I wouldn’t know, having never been daft enough to not have enough gears.
Posted 5 years agoGears are for………..indecisive people
Posted 5 years agoNorthwind – Member
It strikes me that the solution to not having enough gears is probably to have more gears. Though I wouldn’t know, having never been daft enough to not have enough gears.
I’d vote for this gentleman.
Posted 5 years agoGears are for………..indecisive people
The problem with singlespeeds as they are never in the right gear.
But then, neither are geared bikes.
Posted 5 years agoI ride 32:16 down here in the flatlands of Surrey. Never had a problem with the bike not being fast enough on the descents. 😕
Posted 5 years agolast time I saw Taz in a meadow,all the sheep were leaving out the other end,very quickly……..
short crank, high cadence, I’d finished with that lot already 😀
Posted 5 years agoThe problem with singlespeeds as they are never in the right gear.
just one really nice speed
Posted 5 years agoIf there is only one gear, it is always the right gear.
Have you tried eating rough-cut marmalade?
Posted 5 years agoI love how some people have no concept of how gear ratios work. 36:19 isn’t really a tough gear is it? Bigger numbers not always harder! Ratio innit? 😉
Posted 5 years agoI love how some people have no concept of how gear ratios work. 36:19 isn’t really a tough gear is it? Bigger numbers not always harder! Ratio innit?
Well thanks for clearing that up 😀
1 or 2 teeth difference in either chainring or sprocket size can make a big difference to rideability on a singlespeed in my experience. 2:1 is just a starting point for general riding. The OP is already running a slightly higher ratio than that in quite a hilly area.
Posted 5 years agoYou are indeed correct muckytee. I think a few of the earlier posters have missed the reference to 26″ in the op, 36-19 is hardly a monster gear.
Posted 5 years agostick a 20t on the back and man up, More people use an easier gear than you. 2-1 is a benchmark but seen and ridden with loads of people that run easier. They are fine on the flat as they have learn to carry their speed better.
But in all honesty your questioning your own ability, not good 🙁
Posted 5 years agoCorrected. I did indeed misread the original post – I had it in my head he was running a 39T ring for some reason.
He should therefore MTFU or get some gears
Yours dyscalculically (?)…
Posted 5 years agoMy advice is that you just get out and ride more.
Posted 5 years ago
You could spend weeks changing your gear ratio getting it “just right”.
Or just go out and ride more and get used to the gear.
I’ve always found that tyre choice plays a bigger part on a singlespeed or going rigid really helped me on the climbs.
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