ever wish you were strong enough to ride single speed ?

[ton]

because i wish i bloody was.

gonna need new gearing on both my bikes pretty soon. trying to buy 9 speed stuff. got most sorted, but a couple of bits are unavailable anywhere.
so i thought, i may get 10 speed. sourced a bit, but again key bits like rocking horse poo.

think i am gonna buy a couple of singulators and ss rings, and a big dose of MTFU.

[Jurassic pusher]

I think everyone is strong enough to ride single speed!
Just that the less fit you are the more walking you do.
I am 53 not very fit and a little over weight but SS suits me perfectly, I ride what I can and walk what I can't.
There is no pressure to ride every hill.
I have far more success on group start type events riding SS, I know that I will be last or near last on whatever bike I ride.

[voodoo_simon]

You get used to it and I’ll be totally honest, it’s not as hard as it looks/people make it out to be.

Thinking about it, i coast on the flat sections, don’t peddle on the downs as it’s pointless, so I only peddle on the uphills and when it gets too steep, I’ll push a bit (this tends to be the point where you’ll drop into your 20/22 front ring and you bigger teeth on the rear).

32x17 on a 29er for what it’s worth

[whitestone]

My fat bike is currently set up singlespeed - a lowly 26-18

It does tend to be a case of: " You can either ride it or you can't", the boundary between the two just changes over time. Try a "faux singlespeed" - just choose a ratio in the 1:1.6 to 1:2 range and force yourself not to change gear and see what you can do. After a few rides you'll know what works for you.

[shutupthepunx]

like others said, ride what u wana ride and walk what u dont. i enjoy it. i enjoy the simplicity. and it has really changed my riding on geared bikes for the better i feel.

i was running 3x9 before and spent 2 or 3 weeks in my middle chainring and trying to work out what sort of gear i want to have at the back for the majority of riding i do and then settled on what seemed to work.

edit: whitestome beat me to it on the 'not changing gear to see what works', except maybe they explained it better than i did

[Bearbonesnorm]

I only peddle on the uphills

I suppose that gives people chance to catch up so they can buy whatever it is you're selling ... kinda sounds like it might be drugs though

[Pirahna]

I always ride singlespeed in the winter, freewheel off road and fixed on road. Why? Because I'm as hard as nails (not)!

Off road here is thick sticky clay and singlespeed makes a lot of sense. The chain line is outside the frame tubes so I'm not using the chain as a mud cleaner if that makes sense. It's far easier to keep clean and replacement parts are as cheap as chips. On road I've ridden fixed since I was a youngster. I got started on it because of the old blokes I knew from my road club. That was probably 45 years ago. I usually ride alone or with wifey. Occasionally I'll go out off road with the local road club, I've no problem keeping up with the youngsters on their geared bikes, I'm 57.

Just give it a go.

[Lazarus]

I really like mine as there is something so simplistic about it and something so odd about struggling to pedal and then reaching a steeper bit and then attacking it

I ride 32:17 but mainly because its a more social set up as I can sit for most of the local climbs - there are still two I have never even attempted on it as it would almost all be a walk.

I think it depends on the terrain for me as I woudlnot take it on a proper MTB ride up actual mountains but its reasonably hilly locally but never more than 30 mins of uphill

[GregMay]

It's just about gearing Ton. And being stubborn. And walking hills.

Nearly 20 years on SS between track racing and MTB, you have ups and downs like everyone else. Times it is good. Times it is bad. Decidedly more anti-social, but that's not such an issue at the moment!

It's a much more relaxing form of riding to me - I just get off and push when I'm not in the mood.

[ChrisF]

because i wish i bloody was.

... you are.
It’s just a bike with one gear. (Well 3, going by the old adage - sit down, stand up, walk). After 20 odd years of single speeding, some of it fit-ish, some of it fat-ish, I reckon it’s mostly about having the right attitude.
Definitely not a bike for flatlands though - better in the hills, provided they aren’t too big.
Give it a go.

[Hamish]

Good thread... I am thinking about the same. I'm not unfit but I fuss over my aging knees. Will SSing make them hurt more? I live in a place with lots of nasty short sharp hills.

[fatbikephil]

Yes

[Hamish]

Yes

Oh well. I'm out then...

[sean_iow]

Will SSing make them hurt more? I live in a place with lots of nasty short sharp hills.

I'd say no. Do all your climbing stood up and your knees bend less than sat down with gears. The leg movement sort of matches running up hill, which the knee has evolved over 1000s of years to do. Sitting down peddling is too new for evolution to have adapted us to.

I'd always thought this but completing the CL with most of my summer training being running makes it seem even more likely to be the case?

[holdsteady]

I love the simplicity of climbing on my singlespeed as you are forced to find a nice rhythm in what is more often than not the wrong gear, or get off and walk. With a geared bike and a tough climb I sometimes find the array of gear options has a negative impact on my climbing ability as I often think I would be better off in another gear and keep changing.

I thought a Pompino would be the perfect bike for a 13 mile each way commute mainly along the River Thames but the biggest and most unexpected downfalls for me was spinning out on the flat or gentle downhills and regularly pedalling into headwinds and not being able to drop a few gears to make things easier, tried a few gear ratios but everything was a compromise and went back to using a geared bike

[ChrisF]

Will SSing make them hurt more?

No.
I’ve had bad knee problems in the past including 3 cartilage ops. I reckon hilly SS riding has made my knees stronger. Occasionally get knee pain now but only after riding a geared bike.

[ScotRoutes]

I recently converted an old Ti 26er to SS and have been riding it on some of the easier trails, into town etc. It has taken some getting used to; not pedalling furiously down every hill, carrying momentum, pacing pedalling effort. I can see the attraction, especially after every muddy ride when it just gets blasted with the hose. Not sure that I'd take it loaded up or anywhere more hilly though.

[BigdummySteve]

No why? Beyond knob waving I really can’t see why you’d want to put yourself at that disadvantage. If you want a bulletproof drivetrain there’s always rohloff. I’ve a well calibrated idea of the sustainable effort which I can put out over a long period,, I change to a lower gear to avoid blowing up either fitness wise or knee wise.
I’m one of those 90rpm spinners with glass knees, a year in plaster and operations makes me actively look after my joints,

You can make anything harder than it needs to be if that’s your bag, I’d rather just ride more or carry an extra beer, I’ll never win a race with that attitude.........

[composite]

I snapped a gear cable last Sunday after 130km and had to ride the last 75km basically single speed.

Single-speed is never having the right gear... I really don't understand the attraction for anything other than a city bike.

[jameso]

Well since we're onto the pros and con and whys... and all this comes from a southerner - the Chilterns aren't the most fearsome hills.

SS does take some getting used to but it's probably not as hard as some might think. Mainly since (most) SSers don't ride the steep, technical climbs that geared riders think of as the hardest climbs. If I ride my SS on group rides there's usually the odd walk up a steeper hill but there's usually another rider going at that sort of pace anyway, it's fine.
You'll gear it for the hills you have locally and spend a lot more time spinning an easy gear so it's more a case of saving your energy for a few harder efforts in the ride. I've tracked my average heart rate on a longer 'for fun' SS ride and it can be a level lower than a similar attitude geared MTB or road ride. It will spike fairly high but the general level is lower. There's a limit to how low a cadence you can climb at before you stall, or (locally for me at least) there's a limit to the number of hills that are just right to keep you at threshold and make it a really hard effort. They're often optional on a solo ride anyway. All in all I'd say it just redistributes your effort, rather than it being harder overall.

My favourite bike is my rigid 29er SS. It's been my main MTB for almost 10 years and has only had a the usual chains/rings/BBs, brake pads and rotors and tyres in that time so it's worked out very good value.
I love the simplicity of it. I can ride it a lot in winter w/o wrecking it. It's quiet. It's always in the right gear for getting out of a corner fast. Riding becomes about momentum and carrying speed more than what gear or pedalling so it's made me a smoother rider. I know it'll sound stupid but rides on my rigid SS have more of a flow to them, it's more engaging even if it's slower in many places. I couldn't say "less is more" and keep a straight face but there's something in it.

Single-speed is never having the right gear... I really don't understand the attraction for anything other than a city bike.

SS on road is a bit rubbish tbh, unless it's a regular commute or around town use as you say. I thought the speed range was too high on road for one gear to work well. For some reason the idea of SS road touring has always appealed to me though. In reality, it wouldn't : )

[benp1]

I don't have a SS bike anymore sadly, ran out of room and not riding enough to justify it

I had a home bodged SS flat bar road bike I used to commute on, 32 mile round trip on the road. Average time on the SS was the same as when it was geared strangely

Also had a SS MTB for local rides, was also my dog bike for riding with my previous dog. Loved that bike, didn't need to worry about clean up after mud and gloop. Was too similar to my current MTB so ended up getting sold. Still miss it. Will get another when I have the space

[voodoo_simon]

I only peddle on the uphills

I suppose that gives people chance to catch up so they can buy whatever it is you're selling ... kinda sounds like it might be drugs though

showing my old road roots....

Surprised that some people above didn’t like road singlespeed, always enjoyed it but it had to be done solo.

Never ever got on riding fixed on the roads and never even contemplated riding fixed off road

[Bearbonesnorm]

I used to ride ss a lot but for some reason I no longer recall, I stopped. Reading this has made me remember how much I enjoyed it - as someone who favours simplicity above whistles and bells, it was perhaps the ideal bicycle. I shall drag it out of the workshop over the weekend. Maybe a return to ss will be just the thing to reignite my mojo.

[Cheeky Monkey]

I used to ride ss a lot but for some reason I no longer recall, I stopped ....

It's because you're an early adopted Stu and jumped on the technological advances of 1x drivetrains.











I maybe taking the pish

[sean_iow]

When I first learned to ride a bike, I'm guessing aged 7 ish, it had one gear and I didn't know any better. I rode it everywhere I was allowed by my parents, pavements, the park, in the woods and round our garden. I just got on and rode, if it was too steep I got off and pushed and on the descents I just coasted.

I didn't know there were gears, this was just what riding a bike was, and above all it was fun, all the time.

This is the fun I rediscovered when I started single-speeding. It's just riding your bike, you get on, pedal and you get to your destination. I think overall it's easier than gears as you get to recover on the flat and downhills. It can be frustrating on the flat if you are in a hurry.... but unless you are in a race why hurry? If you have to rush about on your rides you need to start earlier so you have more time