Who is riding Single Speed here?

[Boeing]

I am hooked. Not sure why. Maybe it is the Hippie in me.

But in SoCal I am running 33/22 now for the long steep climbs and I am a half a bagel over Clyde

it is just so simple and quiet and a different kind of pain.

Discuss you pros and cons.

Con for me is low back pain sitting and spinning out on the flats

 

[pedaling squares]

I ride a rigid steel SS, currently set up as a 96er with 34x18. I love riding SS, not sure why. A buddy suggested I try it, I did, and I liked it. Pros - well it's just a simple and easy way to ride. You realize how much you can do without when you don't have it. No cons really. I spin on the flats but I expect that so I try to find rolling terrain. I'm getting tired of the rigid thing tbh but I've already splashed out on one susp fork this year so rigid it is for this bike.

 

[Zigster]

i was forced to train on a 42x21 over the winters of '89 and '90. never again.

 

[gyrotime]

Love riding SS. For commuting on the road I use a fixed gear 48x17. Easy enough to climb with, big enough gear so that I don't spin out too much. For mountain biking I ride a 29er with 34x20. Small enough to climb just about anything (at low cadence though...) The only con is that on the 34x20 you spin out, but that is usually just when riding on pavement on the way to the trails.

I love the simplicity. I also love the lack of chain chatter when riding off-road downhills.

Well now I wanna go ride - off to Mount Diablo Wall Point trail!

 

[AngusW]

My commuter is a single speed 34x17 MTB. I spin out on the flat (when the chain isn't falling off) and the gear is just low enough to get me up the steepish 2km climb I do at the end of each day. No real drawbacks apart from being slower to get to and from work. When I do go back to my road bike I feel incredibly fast.

 

[Eric8-A]

Right here. I ride around Los Angeles in a mountain bike SS. I've added slick tires to it and added some old track like drop bars to get more of a road feel on the bike.

 

[Magnus]

I ride a SS in the winter and very foul weather. I've got 48 in front and 16/18 in the rear. 48/16 is ok around Copenhagen for rides shorter than 30 km. For longer rides I prefer 48/18.

Edit: Didn't see this was posted in the MTB section. My ss is a road bike.

 

[hiero2]

Just for simplicity's sake. I still have my single speed/fixie flip flop hub training frame. I still ride it sometimes. I used to enjoy working up the rpm's for a month in the spring. Now I just want to keep the legs turning over sometimes.

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

I suspect that I am not cool enough to ride a single speed. That has so far killed the thought of converting my old Ellsworth Sub 22 into one.

 

[ulrikmm]

I ride a Kona Explosif SS with disc brakes. This is the first SS that I have, that is purposebuild as a SS. My first single speed was a very old school (ca. 1994, long wheelbase) Specialized Rockhopper with horizontal dropouts, that I equipped with the original White Industries hubs for free wheels. I also have an aluminium SS frame, that rattles my teeth out. Steel rocks for SS - my opinion. In my terrain, 32 x 16 is a good gearing. I use the widest DH bars I can find, in order to torque the bike on uphills.

Pros: This is fun! It brings back a lot of challenge to the single track ascents. The maintenance is minimal. The weight is relatively low. You boost your bike handling technique, both on downhills (keep the speed up: don't brake at all ) and on steep uphills, where you wrestle the bike, pushing the handelbars forward for each time the pedals are in high-low position, so you don't stall. In the hilly, rolling terrain I ride, SS riding seems to be less strainfull to the body, perhaps because you switch constantly between heavy slow pedalling, superfast spinning, and downhill coasting.
Cons: You risk gaining weight (muscles enlarge in the thighs), due to the bike wrestling. A bit like weight lifting.

 

[bc_hills]

I am hooked. Not sure why. Maybe it is the Hippie in me.

But in SoCal I am running 33/22 now for the long steep climbs and I am a half a bagel over Clyde

it is just so simple and quiet and a different kind of pain.

Discuss you pros and cons.

Con for me is low back pain sitting and spinning out on the flats

My knees hurt just thinking about it! I dig the low maintenance though and the simplicity of it. There's a thread in bikes and gear where a member posted a photo of his 2x1 cross bike. I'd probably consider that (double chainring, one cog) before I'd go ss. I retired my ss road bike because it just hurt my knees too much to mash up hill. But I know younger knees don't have those issues...

Anyway, why not some photos of these single speed rigs?

 

[Eric8-A]

I like the small uphills. Sprinting up them, I feel like my sprint's better going up than in a flat. It's really fun.

 

[Boeing]

My knees hurt just thinking about it! I dig the low maintenance though and the simplicity of it. There's a thread in bikes and gear where a member posted a photo of his 2x1 cross bike. I'd probably consider that (double chainring, one cog) before I'd go ss. I retired my ss road bike because it just hurt my knees too much to mash up hill. But I know younger knees don't have those issues...

Anyway, why not some photos of these single speed rigs?

I am going to smaller cranks. going with the 177.5 m950 spiderless xtr isnt working well on the knees. and, for reasons I can only quantify from personal sensations, they don't work as well on the 29er as they did on a 26 ss. a least they dont feel like they do

 

[AngusW]

I suspect that I am not cool enough to ride a single speed. That has so far killed the thought of converting my old Ellsworth Sub 22 into one.

You don't have to be cool. I ride a single speed and I am definitely not cool.

 

[Boeing]

You don't have to be cool. I ride a single speed and I am definitely not cool.

although telling people you single speed often kills a conversation faster than an auscyclefan post kills a thread

 

[Thorn Cycling]

I don't ride singlespeed personally, but many of my riding buddies do. From what I've heard, the only con is sprinting at xc race starts and doubletrack/road descents/flats. For the anything singletrack and especially ultraendurance races, most list the low gear as a benefit because of the simplicity and not being tempted to hammer during a descent halfway through a 12 or 24 hour.

 

[Martin318is]

yep - a mate also rides a fully rigid SS in endurance MTB racing. Its a steel frame from the mid-90's and he has magura hydraulic rim brakes on it. Very interesting bike and he seems to be faster on it than when he was on his 'modern' geared bike.

 

[Boeing]

I don't ride singlespeed personally, but many of my riding buddies do. From what I've heard, the only con is sprinting at xc race starts and doubletrack/road descents/flats. For the anything singletrack and especially ultraendurance races, most list the low gear as a benefit because of the simplicity and not being tempted to hammer during a descent halfway through a 12 or 24 hour.

my original reaction to SS was that spinning out and the inability to sprint was a huge negative. however the recovery is a benefit.

the one thing that I have to adjust to (and I can only speak for myself) is the bouncing pounding one takes spinning high cadence on rough terrain on a ss in the saddle. I want to spin but feel the saddle further and further up my youknowwhat. tough to juggle out of the saddle coasting with the need to spin.

frankly I am not sure how much longer I can do the SS thing here is socal. I have already added a Reba and moved on from full rigid. for a guy my height keeping momentum on these long long climbs here limits the areas I can ride. got better got fitter but still admittedly hike a bike a lot of sections.

it has taught me a lot though. Riding rigid has given me an appreciation to my line descending. rather than mashing everything like i did on a fully. and the gearing has made me stronger.

I am no expert but the biggest benefit I find as it applies to road riding is the ability to recover climbing under load. Meaning on a SS I have learned to back off a bit at a lower cadence and recover with resistance even out of the saddle. It helps a bit on the roadie. I can pace myself better and not eject into the granny when I go anaerobic as before. in addition better balance out of the saddle if that is worth anything

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Only when my MTB downtube snapped at the BB during a ride. With the RD and FD cables running through there, the bike did not like shifting after that.

 

[mad black]

Right here. I ride around Los Angeles in a mountain bike SS. I've added slick tires to it and added some old track like drop bars to get more of a road feel on the bike.

Post a picture of that contraption, please!

 

[powerste]

Steel 29er with a Fox RLC fork, usually 32/18 but have a 20 for my winter wheels with homemade studded tires on them.

It's one of three bikes but my only MTB. I was away from MTB from ~96 until I picked this ride up a little over a year ago and I'm glad to be back. I look for rolling terrain and try to avoid pavement (duh!) and sustained climbing - not too difficult to achieve that around here (NH).

No computer, no mapping my rides - it's just simple, a good workout, and...FUN!

And no I am not the least bit cool

 

[Boeing]

Steel 29er with a Fox RLC fork, usually 32/18 but have a 20 for my winter wheels with homemade studded tires on them.

It's one of three bikes but my only MTB. I was away from MTB from ~96 until I picked this ride up a little over a year ago and I'm glad to be back. I look for rolling terrain and try to avoid pavement (duh!) and sustained climbing - not too difficult to achieve that around here (NH).

No computer, no mapping my rides - it's just simple, a good workout, and...FUN!

And no I am not the least bit cool

on the sustained climbing note: I just put a rear derailleur on my SS in a 1x9 set up. the socal climbs are just too long and I like the steel hardtail so much I wanted to keep riding it. So it's official I am not riding SS for now

 

[powerste]

on the sustained climbing note: I just put a rear derailleur on my SS in a 1x9 set up. the socal climbs are just too long and I like the steel hardtail so much I wanted to keep riding it. So it's official I am not riding SS for now

I've contemplated that but not taken the plunge yet. My ride is a Niner SIR9 which has an eccentric BB, braze-ons for derailleur cabling, and a swappable hanger for the rear right drop-out. I love the SS setup but OTOH a 1x9 would give it considerably more range, especially with my legs powering it. We'll see what spring brings...

 

[Boeing]

I've contemplated that but not taken the plunge yet. My ride is a Niner SIR9 which has an eccentric BB, braze-ons for derailleur cabling, and a swappable hanger for the rear right drop-out. I love the SS setup but OTOH a 1x9 would give it considerably more range, especially with my legs powering it. We'll see what spring brings...

to be clear, 1x9 32/12-34 is no gimmie either. for me anyway

 

[AngusW]

I rode my s/s to work this morning. On my way there I met a few friends for breakfast. I walk into the cafe in my lycra and one of the first things one of my friends says to me is "Hey, are you not on the singley today? Is that why you're wearing the roadie gear?" Now this guy has been riding a single speed for almost as long as I've been aware that they existed (he also has a road bike and a MTB with gears and full suspension so he's not a purist single speeder, although one of the first things he asked me when he saw my single speed was why did I put road tyres on it).

I wear roadie gear no matter what bike I'm riding unless it's a really short bike ride (< 10 minutes) for two reasons: 1) it's comfortable, 2) it's all I've got to bike in that's comfortable.

I mentioned earlier that I am not cool; now I have to admit I'm ignorant too. I wasn't aware that there was a single speed dress code. Can any of you single speed riders enlighten me as to what the dress code is?

Thanks.