I tried it 3 years ago. I’d just had my hardtail stripped and powder coated, and as I was stood in the garage one evening gazing at my naked frame I thought – well, it’s now or never.
I bought a kit off Charlie and fitted it out as a ss thinking that after 3 weeks I’d have scratched that itch, I’d be able to recoup 2/3 of the outlay from some other gullible fool on here, and would be qualified to rubbish it as nichemongering from a position of strength. I was convinced that ss was only for those with legs hewn from tall oaks, and lungs like dustbin liners. Not for the likes of I, who tend to get our clothes from the far end of the clothing racks.
But it wasn’t as hard as I thought. With a dose of bloody mindedness I could get up far more than I’d imagined, and the stuff I couldn’t get up – well it was the bike’s fault of course. Once I’d overcome the idea that there was one gear but three alternatives (sit, stand, get off and push) and all were equally valid methods of propulsion, it got easier still.
I did in the end convert the HT back to gears. But only after I’d bought a dedicated ss frame. Why do I do it now. Because it’s fun. I don’t particularly have a bike for specific tasks (I have a FS, HT and ss) and while some rides might be better suited to one of the others, I’ve raced, done all day rides, and one hour blasts after work on it. Some days I fancy it, some days not. It’s just a slightly different sort of bike in the end.