[Closed] Did anyone stick with single speed?

Yep. Took 3 weeks to get used to, haven't looked back. Went rigid a year and a half ago, suits me fine.

Makes you strong like ox :).

SS off road, fixed on. Rigid, but my stainless steel-plated wrist says some bounce would be nice. Probably a Lauf fork in my future, the Rekon is in a box.

I ride rigid a lot.  But not SS.  I do however like using big gears and heaving on the pedals standing up, on rigid, cos it's satisfying instead of annoying as it is on a FS.  I love putting my whole body into the climbs.  However I still change gear to do it 🙂

I don't ride it but SS is definitely here to stay.

I really do see the lure of it and would love to try it one day.

Go for it!

I love putting my whole body into the climbs. However I still change gear to do it 🙂

Sounds sensible.  I know what you mean about getting your whole being involved in the climbs, and having mostly been based in the West of Britain I grew to enjoy climbing.  This  (32/16?) is a trial by burning lungs though, and halfway up to British Camp I was jogging alongside the dog.  I've got that Kate Bush song in my head again...

If I didnt have to wash and vac the car and get it into MOT by 9am tmrw I'd be off out again on this black be-girdered bobbins of a bike right about now.  Confusing.  Haven't felt this way since the Raleigh Tomahawk 🤔

I joined in with my local riding mates a few years back and converted my Boardman HT to SS. Loved it and kept it like that through one muddy winter season, but as it was my only MTB at the time, it just became a ball-ache putting gears back on for trips away to steeper terrain, so left it geared for a few years. But always had a hankering to go back. An old Inbred frame came my way for nothing, so decided to gather the parts for a SS build which I did over several months, and it's been running this winter.

It's also rigid. Love it. Will definitely keep it. It's a touch too highly geared (32/16, 26 wheels) but I feel proper Old Skool (and seeing as I wasn't into MTBing when old-skool was new and modern, am enjoying it all for the first time now). At the ripe old age of 50, I also think my gnarr tendencies are on the wane, so enjoying the SS Rigid in a more XC/pootling kind of riding.

At the moment it's the only MTB I've got again ... have got the parts to put together a Prophet FS build which will do the 'proper' MTB duties, but will keep enjoying the SS until my knees go pop!

It's the only damn-fool niche I haven't done. I guess it's only a matter of time tbh

Respect for a SS in Malvern, I once rode from great Malvern station up to worcs beacon and then home via evesham to Bromsgrove on a SS, that was silly & needed an emergency pie on the way home. Love SS but find it's only good for solo rides. So I don't do it exclusively

Yep, a singlespeed is still one of the fleet and reach bike racks up an equal share of the miles 🙂 (through confidence rather than planning)

Only on the road now. I had 3 or 4 Genesis iO single speeds as I'd buy one, get bored, sell it but then miss it.

Yep, started on fixed gear in 2003, moved to SS MTB in around 2005 as wanted to ride off road then changed to an SS CX bike as the off road where I live is not challenging and then moved back to a fixed gear and use that off road and on road.

So have ridden solely single geared bikes for 15 years.

I think I've been SSing for about 8 years now, although not exclusively.

Started with my old DMR Trailstar, then a Kona Kula. That cracked and got a Unit in 2013. That had a Reba for a while but is back to rigid with a 29+ front end.

Love the simplicity.

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moved back to a fixed gear and use that off road and on road.

So have ridden solely single geared bikes for 15 years.

Mad respect.  ie you are clearly mad, but I respect that 😉

Mine needs new brakes and the forks probably need a service, so it rarely gets ridden these days.  I just love riding my Ti456 too much and as I've not been getting out much, the gears, dropper post and bigger forks are great skills compensators.

yup. little green bike is always rigid SS and is bloody magic.  Peregrine is still SS from a race last year, and it'll stay that way for local rides until/unless it's need for something longer or loaded, when it'll get a cassette back..  Jones might get a go SS in the summer.

Yes, still love it. Current SS is possibly my fave MTB ever but it's not a do-all bike.

Most of my riding is in the Chilterns and rigid SS works well. Keeps winter riding fun where the geared HT just didn't do it for me. There's other places I go that are better on a 1x11 hardtail but the simplicity of the SS for local rides can't be beat. Keeps me on top of basic fitness also - the same hills, the same bike, the same gear over a number of years - there's no hiding it when I'm slacking.

Don't ride solely SS any more. Maybe I'm getting a bit old.

But still do the StrathPuffer 24 hour on a SS and most of my road work.

I like a S-A 3 speed hubgear on a general purpose bike these days. Low is the same as the mtb, middle gear is equivalent to the old standard for a road gear, and top is the same as my fixed wheel. Three bikes in one.

Or another way of looking at it, one gear for uphill, one for the flats, and another for downhill and tailwinds. 🙂

Love it, have owned singlespeeds on and off through the years, but quite often end up selling because of knee problems, only to get lured back at a later date.

The current singlespeed (Charge Plug) is fast becoming my favourite bike of all time, basically a singlespeed road bike with mini-Vs and space for 38c tyres and guards. It's genuinely the best 'all-weather' bike I've ever owned and has got me out in some horrendous conditions because I've honestly got no excuse not to.

Recently I've been favouring gears again though, allows me to rest sore knees while still getting out on the bike...

I’ve had a couple, a mix and mash ss and a Kona A full sus, anyone remember them? I have been considering a ss for a work/shop bike eventually. I enjoyed them, not so much a fixie as I like coasting.  I agree with above about full rigid and climbing too.

^^ Pre-existing joint probs?   I last night read an old STW thread re does singlespeeding cause bad knees, and the consensus seemed to be (overwhelmingly) that it was mythical?

One thing that will limit my singlespeeding options is joint probs (pre-existing metatarsal damage/neuroma/deformity) so the extra torque required on SS has had me grinding teeth with pain the following couple of days.  But that's what gears are for and I'm fixing up an old 3x9 for longer rides.  So this SS thing will probably never (never say never) be a 'one bike' option for me, but do see it as a go-to trainer/cruiser for those 1-2hr late-night circuits that I've grown to love.  Makes huge sense as a winter hack.

Pre-existing joint probs?

Yeah, first time round I was sure it was the fault of the singlespeed, but at the time I was fit and strong enough to sit and grind the single gear up hills, which was silly.

This time around, I think one sore knee was just poor position on the bike (twisted pelvis) and the other was just overuse, I was increasing distance and intensity every week over a 6 week period with no breaks.

Buuuuuut.... if you do end up with sore knees, it's easier to nurse them when you have half a cassette of lower gears at your disposal. Back on the bike next week and it'll be gears for a couple of weeks then just commuting on the singlespeed

I have a love / hate relationship with my, err, Love/Hate.  I find it great, as mentioned, for solo rides up to about 1000m climbing (I'm in the Basque Country, it's hard to find anything less than that), but when it gets steep and technical or slippy I'm cursing the thing because you can't put power down with any subtlety, it's all or nothing, so you can't clear sections you'd do easily with a low gear. It's also a pain doing any long flat sections, spinning out at 25kmh.

Has to be solo though, attacking every hill at the bottom gets pretty antisocial.

Used to SS when lived in London, both off road & on road, mix of SS MTB & SS CX, works a treat in the north London clay during winter.

Now live somewhere hillier & so now just SS commute (Vitus V29er) and convert my Private Jake to SS for the odd CX race.

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90% of my riding seems to be on the rigid SS these days.  It seems wrong to take the geared bike out through the winter slop when the SS just shrugs it off with ease.

Mine's an ageing (had it about 8 years) Genesis Altitude 853 with Exotic carbon forks.

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It's the first winter I haven't had one, after my Pace frame cracked.

It's also the first winter for a long time that I've hardly done any off road stuff, doing mainly road rides instead.

You could possibly link the two?

I've convinced myself - a SS is in my summer plans......

I really enjoy riding SS although I have just put new 1x10 stuff on my (only) bike and enjoyed the first geary ride in about five months yesterday so I'm currently feeling like I've sold out 😆 I was glad of the spinny gears uphill into the headwind on the way home mind... I'll probably leave the geary stuff on until the start of next winter when I'll go back to SS.

edit- you can have my gears, but don't you dare touch my nice forks and dropper.

If I had to choose just one of my 7 bikes, it would be this one. But I might be tempted to put a bouncy fork on it, if it was the only one.

I used to love my SS when I lived somewhere with rolling terrain and mud. I moved to somewhere with hills and haven't ridden SS since. I miss it sometimes, but not on the steep climbs.

I love ss, but normally tend to limit it to winter mtb only, switching back to gears when drier trails and/or events and races start. But this year I was injured at the start of the winter, so stuck to gears. Then I cracked my geared bike so geared the old ss instead. So for the first time in many years, I don't have a ss.

what i like about single speed bikes is the cheap maintenance which is why I keep one around. It's just hard to use on hills

it's the only way to roll

Yep, still singlespeeding, have been for years, doing the  Dirty Reiver SS again for a giggle and ride for a collective of global SS idiots that do things like the arrowhead 135 and iditarod on SS fat fatbikes. I did have a brief dalliance recently with a gear dangler and bloody hated it.

Got my rigid SS Cannondale 2 Summers ago now and gradually upgraded with better brakes, chain, freehub and crankset. It is now pretty bombproof and I love mashing it up and down dale. Great for full body workout/cardio/weight loss. the old 5 spot hardly gets a look in these days, it feels like a heavy spongy sofa coming off the SS.

Respect for a SS in Malvern

👍🏼 - Full disclosure - when I say 'rode it around the Hills ' I was being quite literal, and by road 😂 It's a start though...and committed to at least 4 times a week.  To give an idea, I'm so out of shape and 40lbs overweight that what was realistically a 13k bimble took me approx 1.5 hrs:

Including drink breaks. Coughing guts up. 🤣.  And a visit to the Telephone Box Community library.

*edit tazzymtb bringing the SS pr0n.  Is that a (green) Stooge basking by the pool with a friend?

Single speed on the Klunker 42x18... god it was, still is hard work at times but the simplicity of it all is so much fun. Takes me back to when I was a kid.

You get fit pretty fast.

edit tazzymtb bringing the SS pr0n.  Is that a (green) Stooge basking by the pool with a friend?

yes its large punkstachio Mk3 along with my medium death disco black one 🙂

singlespeedordeath onecog cycling and steel is real are good facebook resources for SS pron as well

Shelved it years ago on the MTB - once the Teds got hold of it it was time to go. That being said, the hat is still off to anyone who can turn the SS pedals in anger. Easy to build up a SS and ponce around the woods on it, but taking it out properly demands a lot of strength.

Do quite fancy the idea of fixed off-road and mean to try it - I like fixed on the road a lot and reckon it would work well on the right trails. Take care on the descents but you could prob get it round rolling stuff no prob.

I’ve been riding rigid singlespeeds for the last ten years, sometimes pretty much exclusively and sometimes mixed in with long travel hardtails and now, with a Liteville 301.

To be honest, most of my most enjoyable rides have been on my singlespeeds, especially one of my Singular Hummingbirds (currently using the Ti one) and various people that I ride with are of the opinion that I ride my Hummingbirds better than I ride anything else. To be honest, I think that they’re right too - I think that at 65 I’m too old to get much advantage out of 160mm of travel and all that stuff....

I’ll certainly never be without one, that’s for sure, as long as I keep riding. If it wasn’t for my singlespeeds I’d probably have given up years ago.

On and off SS for 20 odd years.

Now got<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;"> a road SS too. Funnily enough a roadie told me I should be riding fixed .</span>

on the knee issues thing I was having a lot of grief, A good phsyio and a proper bike fit sorted it, turns out I was so quad dominant I was pulling my knee caps out of alignment and it was sitting 1/2" too high and wearing away.

@tazzymtb - I'm looking at doing the Dirty Reiver SS as well 🙂 Currently it's set up as 39x16 but I might go 39x18 as I strained my back a couple of months ago on it.

I think SS makes sense for the really cold fat bike races - Aidan Harding was second on the ITI a few years ago on a single speed Puffin - as I really wouldn't want to be fiddling with a rear mech in those sorts of temps and generally they don't involve steep gradients (or not for very long). However I used gears on the Rovaniemi 150 and it worked fine and I think most on this year's ITI 350 were geared, not sure how many on the Arrowhead were SS this year. I've played around with "faux single speed" on the fat bike - it's surprising what you get up when you put your mind to it!

Started 7 years ago when I converted my old 26"V-braked bike by using a tensioner. Now have a 29er with sliding dropouts.

Love the simplicity of it, and proving you can get up more stuff than you think with a bit if technique and a bit of grunt

I’ve also had a single speed bike in my collection for the last 18 odd years. Used to race almost exclusively on them when I was younger and actually won a few races. There also used to be a lot of marathons with a single speed cat but now there is only one race I can think of round these parts and the last time I raced we were only two people in the category where before there were more than twenty. I now have a Niner Sir9 with a carbon fork for the winter which I convert to 1*10 and a suspension fork for spring to autumn. I have become increasingly tired of riding SS around where I live as it’s predominantly flat and I end up spinning like a loon and not going very far. But for the winter it’s nice just jumping on the bike and riding in the grot  and not worry about ruining expensive forks or drive trains.

I had a Dawes Edge One for a few years and it was good fun. Terrible for anything technical but they're about as light as a cheap MTB gets, and it was fun seeing what you could get up and down on it.

I still ride a singlespeed once or twice a month and it makes a lot of sense for certain applications. If you're riding with kit attached, for example, having a bike that's already a couple of pounds lighter is often a good thing, especially when you have to hoy it over stiles or carry it on your shoulder.

I've occasionally converted my PA to singlespeed, might do again now I've got a new hardtail...

Mostly tho I've got a Genesis Day One decade for winter off road mud duty & Felt Dispatch for on road duties, had a Langster waay back in the day, sold that. However when I broke my femur I wanted something to build my strength back up quickly so got the SS Felt Dispatch for commuting & haven't looked back.

yeah, i've got five of the buggers, and one full suss. ss get's ridden twice weekly, the fs once a month on average.

I really, really wanted to love SS. I like the look of it, the lightness, the quietness, the cheapness, the maintenance-freeness.

I've converted to SS numerous times over the years, sometimes by choice, sometimes after mech issues, but every time I last about a month before I get fed up of having to get off and push occasionally on brutal climbs and then spinning like an idiot on the flat.

Been riding SS for 40 years - Ive never owned a bike with gears - nothing against geared - I guess I'm just set in my ways .

I still SS every winter, and still love it! On the posh bike you sit there slopping around in the mud, on the less technical trails, grinding away at slower speeds and don't get much out of it. Riding single speed makes the tame trails fun again, and the lack of maintenance is a bonus.

I put a -2 headset and a dropper on my El Mariachi this winter and it made a big improvement in its capabilities.

SS would be worse for me in winter.  I'd spin out in the mud standing up and heaving on pedals.

molgrips, not true. I ride both and SS has infinitely more grip on muddy hills than you expect. I guess something to do with lower instant torque or other sciency stuff.

SS would be worse for me in winter. I’d spin out in the mud standing up and heaving on pedals.

Sounds like a battle that could be settled by physics.  AFAIK (not a lot) offroad vehicles rely heavily on initial low-end torque to clear obstacles at low speeds, but good traction is also achieved with a combination of optimal weight displacement (on a bike this would ideally be biased over the rear wheel) which increases friction/grip?  To achieve the best grip (optimal tyres a given) you'd probably need to be 1. Seated and 2. Pushing some low-end torque.

Either side of this sweet-spot would result in slippage

So I guess the short answer is 'depends on the gear'.  I certainly couldn't wrestle my SS ratio up a muddy bank whilst seated.  Probably not even out of the saddle.

Back to that Kate Bush tune.. 🎹🎼 - it's all hike-a-bike exercise/fun for me, but I get not for everyone.

I have had at least one for the last 15 years. Currently riding ss less than ever as I'm down to twice a day commute and about once a fortnight off-road.

This is a timely post for me.. I love singlespeeds and rode them pretty exclusively for years, but over the last few years, family life / work etc has got in the way and I'm generally just not riding as much. My fitness has dropped off quite a bit and when I do get a chance to ride, it's always one of my geared bikes I end up on (I live on Dartmoor which is pretty hilly!).

If you'd suggested to me even 3 years ago that I sell my old faithful Surly 1x1 I would have laughed in your face but now I'm considering doing just that even though it's genuinely one of my favourite bikes ever.

Basically my dilemma at the moment is whether to man up and use the singlespeed to get fitter, or to swap it out for something I can put in some decent miles on to reach the same result (Yes - I've got a gravel-bike itch - it's the new golf).

Like some of the others have mentioned, some of my favourite rides ever have been singlespeed, but at 45 I am starting to think that I've just got too old for it.. sad, but it was definitely fun while it lasted.

Stupid idea.

Tried it.

Liked it.

Don't know what took me so long to give it a go. Run a MTB SS over the winter. Considering SS on a road bike too...

Bought a 26" Voodoo Wanga setup SS/rigid a couple of years ago on a whim for £150 just to see what it was like. Ride it almost every day to commute (flat, 4k) and usually most weekends as well. The big geared FS only generally gets used for more serious riding.

It makes a nice change from normal geared full sus. I’ve recently put together a Nukeproof Scout 290 as a singlespeed, but always had one on and off for probably 15 or 20 years. Superb fun as a quick hour or two straight from the door into the woods.

Love it 🙂 SS is how I do most of my biking. Knees have never been an issue, and it forces you to attack hills a bit more.

Around my way in East Devon there's only a couple of hills I can't thrutch my way up.

Just and a quick tally and it's a 7/1 ratio in favour of SS in my garage.....

Surly Krampus - SS

DMR Trailstar - Cheating a bit as it's dingle speed

DMR Bolt - currently geared, but 50% of the time it's SS

Pompino - fixed/SS on a flip-flop hub

Indy Fab SS Deluxe - SS (of course!)

Dialled Love/Hate - guess what? SS 😉

Transition Klunker - SS + rear coaster brake for extra fun

The odd one out is my Genesis Vagabond - 2 x 10

I'm still riding SS cause I'm always broke, and to be fair most people I know still ride SS. I do have gears on my crosser/gravel thing that I have to kick to change.

but at 45 I am starting to think that I’ve just got too old for it

You're only 45 🙂

I think it's getting a lot less coverage as all the cool kids have moved onto fat bikes. 😉

I did it a lot on the road (fixed obviously) but snapped the frame a few years ago and never replaced it.

I've done it off road and found it an utter waste of time. Slower almost everywhere. Except where the gear ratio was *just* right. Which wasn't often.

and it forces you to attack hills a bit more.

That's a rider mindset problem, not a gears problem.

@ghostlymachine - I know someone who I think rides exclusively single speed, I can't remember him saying that he'd got a geared bike. The only time I can outpace him is on the flat on road or dead easy BWs like old railway lines when he spins out. He is very good though and even among his peers is reckoned to be bloody fit!

I certainly wouldn't have just a mountain bike SS around here (Dales) as there's too much variation in gradient, if something's fine for the steeper stuff then it's just going to be silly for the flatter stuff and vice versa. It's not too bad on the roads if I avoid those with double chevrons on the map.

Blimey, just realised I’ve been SSing for 10 years now. I have geared bikes too but can’t imagine not having a singlespeed.

I prefer to be incredibly fit to ride exclusively SS if I'm to get any real satisfaction out of it.

I'm not even a tiny bit fit at the moment though, so only my hack bike is SS for round town, daily commute and an occasional jaunt across the hills and through the woods.

@yunki

yes this is my problem. 10-15 years ago I was almost 100% SS with 2 x mtb and 1 x fixie gravel (pompino) but then I was fit and had no back issues. I was fine keeping up with other geared riders. Since then I have let myself go through various injuries and lazyness and now would be an embarassment on a group ride with a SS.......

SS riders take the best photo's as well.

Basically my dilemma at the moment is whether to man up and use the singlespeed to get fitter

Do it. I reckon it takes about 2 weeks/ 4-6 rides to get singlespeed legs back. Obviously this time gets a bit longer as I get older, but it's just a short but tough period to get through and then you are good again.

You making me awfully tempted to get one Yak! Something that would challenge me, and mean I can be riding with the children at the same time! The only problem is persuading J another bike would be a good thing!

How cheaply do you reckon I could build one up for? (rigid)

Gary Lager - You cant have been that committed to it if you sacked it off cos it became fashionable.

Im not sure why some people seem so obsessed with image and what others are doing.

I ride both and SS has infinitely more grip on muddy hills than you expect.

But you have to stand up on steep hills don't you?

phil40 - i'm not sure it's good for riding with kids. You'll be like a rocket uphill, or grinding slowly.

Cost -  guessing a cheap steel something from the classifieds - a couple of hundred? Looking at an inbred or similar. If it's going to be keeper then spend a bit more and get something nice like a swift with some better wheels. When cogs etc wear out then treat it to surly/velosolo stainless stuff for more durability. KMC 3/32" for chains.

@phil40 - have a look around for one of the charity cycling shops and see if they've anything. Doesn't really matter if it already has gears, you just need to add the cost of a SS conversion kit. If the bike has track dropouts then it's just the cost of the cog and spacer otherwise you'll probably have to add a tensioner to the basket as well.

The SS conversion of my old Pompetamine cost £20.

I've dabbled in SS over the last 10 years but more on the pub bike than anything else. I missed offloading my C456 but the 26" crashed so it sat in the shed un-used. I eventually put some horizontal drop-outs on it and planned to use it for canal duties however after smashing up a wheel on my #1 bike and the seatpost failing on #2 i had to put this into action for a day round Coed Y brenin. In all honesty the hills were fine with a bit of effort and it was downhill i struggled due to running some rather s**t fake Jones bars and grips that kept moving. thats all fixed and ready for another outing. Its surprisingly easy once up to speed to keep going and i got loads of PR's on climbs as you have no choice but to go a bit faster.

Embrace the singlespeed

https://flic.kr/p/Hhxk3S

(no idea how to embed images any more 🙁

I did til I moved to Wales.

How cheaply do you reckon I could build one up for? (rigid)

Nowhere near as cheaply as buying a complete used one (especially if you don't mind 26" wheels)

I have a rigid SS el mariachi for local stuff here in north London. It's relatively flat (650ft per 10 miles) and tame so it makes it more fun and more interesting. Also makes it easier in all the slop

I singlespeeded my Voodoo Bizango in November 16. As above  it makes local rides more interesting, and best of all, reduces maintenance.

But you have to stand up on steep hills don’t you?

But you're also using a much higher gear than you would be if you had a geared bike and you were sitting down. And the higher the gear, the lower the torque, the less easily the rear tyre starts to spin.

It kind of cancels itself out: fundamentally, you need a certain force between the tyre and the ground to get yourself up a slope, and that's independent of gearing. Singlespeed means more force at the pedal, but it's consequently less likely to get out of hand.

Having ridden the same local trails both geared and singlespeed (even on the same bike) the climbs that are tricky to clean are tricky on both, and in the same places. The SS needs more strength; gears needs a bit more pedalling finesse.

But it's not the case that SS inherently means you lose traction.

I found I loved the idea of Single Speed but not the reality (2017 Kona Unit) and I've wimped out and gone 11-42 1x11.  Using the stock 32t front ring.  It's getting me out on the bike more, which means come summer IllI have had a lot of time on it, which means come winter again I might convert it back and see how I get on.  In the deep snow we had and very sticky mud it was less bother as I had plenty of chain clearance and nothing was getting boggy and gritty on the bike.

I still like the simplicity and idea of it, but for me (who as an unfit unmotivated rider has been using group rides to get out more) at this time at least, gears are better.

I'll likely try it again once I've dropped a few stone and gained fitness.

And the higher the gear, the lower the torque, the less easily the rear tyre starts to spin.

That doesn't make sense. You would get lower torque at the wheel for the same torque at the pedal, however when SSing you put more torque in at the pedal.

If there were less torque at the wheel then you'd be going slower up the hill.