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Bought a GT Peace 29er rigid SS autumn last year due to main bike being upgraded. Rode all through the winter, Afan, Brechfa, SDW etc on the GT and loved it.
Now I've finished a new build, 1x9, I actually dont want to ride it cause its got gears and all that sh@t.
Am I strange ?
I dont have a beard or any sandals either 😆
4 years ago and I ain't never goin' back, ya hear me ('cept road).
I got an Alfine hub, no mechs but still ot gears, it's the future.
Just gone back to gears now that Winter is over. Was SS all last year, but this year I just can't cope with being dropped by small children at the first sign of a long flat fireroad. Getting older I guess. Or wiser.
Gave up the gears about 8 years ago, never felt like going back.
[i]4 years ago and I ain't never goin' back, ya hear me ('cept road). [/i]
Aye, pretty much for me too, although I've been riding SS for 11 years now.
Out of 7 bikes, 4 are singlespeed. Of the geared bikes, one is a fast roadbike, another a tourer and my geared mountain bike never gets ridden.
Yep, did it after getting pissed off with gears, they either worked for a few rides until the mud got to them and you had to put up with crap shifting for the next 12 months, or you had to throw money at them ever other week to keep on top of the chain stretching.
Now find that SS adds an added challenge to rides, where 'normal' people see a sharp hill they just thunk it down into the bottom gears and spin, on the SS its a challenge keeping it upright and usually will involve a few other skills as you need momentum a lot more so you have to ride sections faster than you would otherwise like just so that you can keep going.
Got into SS by accident (thought I was applying for the Luftwaffe), when my shifter decided to malfunction one ride. discovered it was actually ok, and I din't die, so i built up an SS bike. When I go out on my geared bikes now, I forget to shift. 🙂
Loved it. But had a knee problem, so back to gears. Will try again.
40% of my bikes will never have gears.
not quite been SS as long as many on here(I have time though)I think ive had it about 6 months. Not even thought about gears? What would you need them for?
Loved it on my road bike but haven't been able to get into it on my mtb. It was great for Cannock but anything hillier and I'm a mess. I think it would be a lot easier with spds though so may try it again some time.
If you love it then that's all that matters.
''if you're riding your single speed and nobody sees you, is it still cool'' is another question 😉
One SS and the other bike has just been rebuilt as 1x9. Was very close to just pimping the hell out of the SS and getting rid of the other bike, but there are occasions where [b][i]personally[/i][/b] I'd rather have the option of gears, 1x9 was the compromise, will see how it goes.
Out of the two the SS definitely has more miles under it though.
Loving it on the road bike - makes hill climbing so much more satisfying!
And loving the simplicity - only changed the brake pads in 2 years since new...
I've been riding pretty much exclusively singlespeed for about 3 years on both the road and MTB. I've always kept a gearie in reserve for "proper" mountain trips etc though. Pending move to Devon is going to involve a very hilly commute over Dartmoor though, so the Roadrat is going 1x9.
Surly is staying resolutely 1x1, albeit adding a couple of cogs on the rear.
The BB threads in my Inbred frame were shot, so I went 1x9 and Loctite to try to get some more life out of the frame. I also thought I'd give them new-fangled suspension forks (2004 Bombers for £35) a go, and see what the fuss was about wider bars and shorter stems.
Project Gnarr was born:
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It was okay. I liked the wider bars and shorter stem and even the forks, though I'd not want any on a bike doing a proper long ride.
The gears let me ride one or two climbs in Swaledale that I'd not manage on a SS, but I can't see that I'd ever need lower than a 1:1 ratio ever.
And then someone nicked it.
The replacement will be a rigid SS, with comedy bars again. (Maybe with the option of gears for some rides.)
(But, I might build a cheap 1X9 sus forked bike again one day, for playing.)
some people, yes 😀
I've got 4 bikes, 24 gears between them and no deraileurs.
I love the simple pleasure of riding ss, possibly more than a geared bike, but there are places I wouldn't take it (like the Lakes) because I'd be walking a lot and I don't like to be forced to get off on climbs because I'm overgeared.
Mainly for that reason I'll always have a geared HT too.
Stop telling the muppets about SS !!! You will kill a whole industry that makes over engineered stuff that people dont actually need.
Went SS way back in the day and I haven't found the need for gears since and yes I do ride in the lakes and the borders.
No, saying as you asked. Happy with my 18 gears, they dont clog up, need money throwing at them, they arent hard to maintain and mech hangers rarely rip off in my experience. They allow me to get up and down hills quicker.
Plus, my hanger has a built in bottle opener, so I look cool too.
(wouldnt buy X0 though...)
10 Years SS on my MTBs. I have mechs on my cross/ all purpose bikes. I just cannot be doing with the constant replacing and fettling.
I will be buying an Alfine at some point though for an MTB.
SS isn't about being weird for me its just about making things work.
Been riding SS as a winter option for 4 years and a couple of years ago converted the Ti summer bike to ride SS at the Mayhem. It never got converted back.
Yes (I've tried it and have two s/s) and No (still like the gears).
Got into SS by accident (thought I was applying for the Luftwaffe),
HaHa - that's where my train of thought was going too!!
Out of the two the SS definitely has more miles under it though.
mmmm - might have gone further with gears?
.
.
.
Moscow perhaps?
I tried SS once, realised I wasn't a Ludite and have never looked back. Gears are good.
Me! Bought a Swift last year that I was going to put an Alfine on, got frustrated with the delays so had it built as ss. Cant see myself going back to gears on it now.
nope, had an SS bike for a couple of years, proved to myself I could ride it just as well as a geared bike, then got bored of it so built up a 1x9 and gave the SS to my brother. He loves it, says it's the best bike he's ever had.
Kev
Part time SS on the second bike - trailer duties and commuting aren't so good on 32:16 so it has to sprout gears for the summer.
I love the silence and simplicity but practicality in all circumstances trumps it over the spring/summer/autumn months.
Race MTB = SS
Winter MTB = SS
CX = Fixie / SS
Building up another bike for more burlier stuff that will be 1x10 for big hills as I got tired of swapping the SS bits for a 1x9 setup for the occasional trip to Wales.
Took a (borrowed) road bike for a spin at the weekend and thought it was lovely, though gears slipping and found the hills less of a challenge and after a while found I missed my fixie.