Me:- overweight ( and it doesn't come off very easily any more ), 48, rubbish at climbing, 99% of the time I ride rigid SS, not much better at climbing on a geared bike .... I go to a lot of Singlespeed events, SSUK, NKSS (dutch), BeSSC (Belgians) , SSEC (Slovenia next year).... I usually come last. I don't mind walking. Good job really.

My bikes:- favorite bike Jones Spaceframe/truss fork 29er, Jones loop bars, can be fat front, singlespeed (don't want to fit gears to the Jones ) .... this is the single most comfortable bike I've ever ridden. I LOVE this bike. This is the bike I'd prefer to bikepack on. But it's SS

Singular Swift 29er - great bike, was mostly singlespeed rigid,, then I fitted front sus and gears to our first BP test trip. Sadly It now has a crack 2/3 of the way round the top tube and had been retired.

On-One Scandal 29er - was my SS test bike, had been allsorts , rigid SS, geared hardtail, monstercross, now been reinstated as BP bike in geared hardtail format. I don't think the slotted drop outs are the best for gears and I've concerns over the gears/rear brake setup.

Kinesis Crosser - great bike, even better if it had disc brakes :(


So at the mo the Scandal is the BP bike. I've been offered a Singular Rooster at an excellent price by Sam Alison @ Singular to replace the Swift. But funds are very tight in our household :( Just sold a Surfboard which has taken me most of the way to a Rooster.... Hopefully I can run standard 29er wheels off the Swift until I can sort some 29+, if I decide to go that way.....

Or are there better 29er frames out there?

I think the SS / geared thing is a red herring ... some of the fasted people out there don't have gears

If trips are fairly short duration / single night then ride whatever you like. If they're longer then comfort will start to play a much bigger part ... which leads me to think the Jones might be your ideal bike

i quite like my charge cooker ss frame. nice steel frame with eccentric BB for tension the chine, fairy comfortable geometry so descends rely nicely. ye real good frame !

There are better frames. But who cares. Just ride what you have, they are more than adequate. Get out and enjoy. And you never know, the few grams shed on a new expensive frame, can be lost with a bit of enjoyable cycling.

Ps ime having a poor day in work!

Justchris wrote:There are better frames. But who cares. Just ride what you have, they are more than adequate. Get out and enjoy. And you never know, the few grams shed on a new expensive frame, can be lost with a bit of enjoyable cycling.

This.

Then use the money saved to take some time off work and ride your bike more!

s8tannorm wrote:I think the SS / geared thing is a red herring ... some of the fasted people out there don't have gears

If trips are fairly short duration / single night then ride whatever you like. If they're longer then comfort will start to play a much bigger part ... which leads me to think the Jones might be your ideal bike

We have a fella called Steve Day who rides with the Club ..... he's a bit good. He won Mountain Mayhem 24Hr Solo category this year. 32x 7 mile laps with 1000' of climbing per lap..... all on a Singular Swift , rigid singlespeed. But Steve isn't normal

I guess if I was out bikepacking solo, SS wouldn't matter. But if I ride with everyone else being geared, I suspect they may get irritated with me walking.

Single Speed George wrote:i quite like my charge cooker ss frame. nice steel frame with eccentric BB for tension the chine, fairy comfortable geometry so descends rely nicely. ye real good frame !

We have several Cookers in the club. On a Weds night local ride, we've had over 30 riders out ... I think 80% were riding singlespeed. I've ridden SS for over 5 years now and 'get it' But I know when it gets hilly , on a loaded bike, I'd be off and walking a lot, which doesn't bother me but ....

godivatrailrider wrote:all on a Singular Swift , rigid singlespeed. But Steve isn't normal .

Doris definately isnt normal, Was that the race he bust his forks. Never seen that before from a swift ..... Animal
You probably know of Keef Onespeed and Deaky, Cannock lads i know, that ride with you

Mart wrote:

godivatrailrider wrote:all on a Singular Swift , rigid singlespeed. But Steve isn't normal .

Doris definately isnt normal, Was that the race he bust his forks. Never seen that before from a swift ..... Animal
You probably know of Keef Onespeed and Deaky, Cannock lads i know, that ride with you

Yep that's the race ... was certainly a strange place for the Swift forks to shear .....

Yep Keef and Deaks are both good friends of mine, and the club. Great blokes.

Knew I had a picture of it somewhere .... Doris's Swift for, during Mountain Mayhem. He still won the Solo category :)

been bikepacking with singlespeed on the wrt, didn,t hold anyone up, and me and mart have alfine 8sp geared hubs which you can put on ss setups cheapish option if you think of going a bit further, jay went with us on his ss didn,t do anymore walking than us just spinning alot as you expect when on the road

if i know the route is going to be hilly i just put a 20t on the back instead of the usual 18t gear . slower on the road but gets you up a few more degrees of incline haha and easier on the knees on the long bikepaking rides

Have you looked at a Stooge?

Single Speed George wrote:if i know the route is going to be hilly i just put a 20t on the back instead of the usual 18t gear . slower on the road but gets you up a few more degrees of incline haha and easier on the knees on the long bikepaking rides

I use a 16 tooth, no wonder my knees don't like me

If I had a Jones, I don't think I would ride any other bike off road...(well, I would but I'd love a Jones)

Solo wrote:Have you looked at a Stooge?

Yep, we have one in the garage We had one of the first ones, a singlespeed only one for my son :) great bike !!!

voodoo_simon wrote:

Single Speed George wrote:if i know the route is going to be hilly i just put a 20t on the back instead of the usual 18t gear . slower on the road but gets you up a few more degrees of incline haha and easier on the knees on the long bikepaking rides

I use a 16 tooth, no wonder my knees don't like me

If I had a Jones, I don't think I would ride any other bike off road...(well, I would but I'd love a Jones)

The Jones is vaguely exciting. Fits me and my riding style really well....

Clearly the answer is to get another Jones, then you can have one with gears and one SS.

And since you're buying in bulk, pop one in the basket for me too.

Charliecres wrote:Clearly the answer is to get another Jones, then you can have one with gears and one SS.

And since you're buying in bulk, pop one in the basket for me too.

Would love another one.... CBT had a diamond frame one at a very good price..

I'm closing in on a Singular Rooster at the moment.... just run it straight 29er rather than 29er+ for the time being ...

There was a blue rooster on Fleabay but its gone now - keep your eyes open

Has Cheeky Monkey sold his yet?

Nope

See here for details:

http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpBB ... f=9&t=6024

Cheeky Monkey wrote:Nope

See here for details:

http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpBB ... f=9&t=6024

Cheers, did see this.... I have negotiated a VERY good price from Singular, just need a different headset and pretty much everything else should transfer from the Swift.

godivatrailrider wrote:

Cheeky Monkey wrote:Nope

See here for details:

http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpBB ... f=9&t=6024

Cheers, did see this.... I have negotiated a VERY good price from Singular, just need a different headset and pretty much everything else should transfer from the Swift.

Can't argue with that

Try looking at charlie the bike mongers website the warbirds frame is less than half price with carbon forks.

godivatrailrider wrote:My bikes:- favorite bike Jones Spaceframe/truss fork 29er, Jones loop bars, can be fat front, singlespeed (don't want to fit gears to the Jones ) .... this is the single most comfortable bike I've ever ridden. I LOVE this bike. This is the bike I'd prefer to bikepack on. But it's SS

Nowt wrong with SS

If thats the bike you find most comfortable, it should be the best candidate for taking bikepacking.

For the cost of a new bike, you could kit yourself out very nicely with some lightweight kit and some Wildcat luggage* and not feel any great disadvantage over a geared bike. Step up a couple of teeth at the back to, say, 20t and away you go


*other bikepacking gear companies are available

--

I remember Steve Day from Trans Scotland a good number of years ago (possibly 10 in fact). He placed a couple ahead of me, but I was amazed how quick he was but mostly for the fact that he seemed to do it in the most casual style imaginable.