Used to be that you couldn't move for SS stuff - I've built up two or three in the past, realised I enjoyed my big bouncey bikes more and sold them on but following a house move to somewhere flat and really not enjoying my CX bike, I'm tempted to build another. But where are they all? Been looking on and off for a few weeks and can't even find any suitable frames...
Am I looking in the wrong places? Any good FB groups to join? Anyone want to swap for a near pristine Genesis Croix de Fer with Hope brakes?
Waves.
Plenty of people still Singlespeed.
There is a group called One Cog on FB but its pretty quiet
You are supposed to bodge one from a pre loved frame and the parts bin in the garage
I rebuilt mine and find it great
I built a brand new all carbon one, lovely.
🙋♂️ Currently riding a Travers Ti SS with Carbon forks & wheels
Just got back into it having built up a custom (but very cheap) Marino SS. Old one didn't get used as the geometry hadn't dated well. New one is fun and perfect for winter.
My last single-speed was in 2011 it was a Ti456 and my last 26-inch wheeled bike.
I very briefly ran it's successor - a mk1 Cotic Solaris as SS, but it was clear that for my style of riding the Solaris was so much more capable and running it single-speed limited potential.
I do miss the simplicity of the riding sometimes.
I've got an old specialized tricross singlespeed which is great for jobbing about and commuting, done some light touring on it in the Scottish isles, love the simplicity and low maintenance of it and it's a great tool to get very fit quickly!
Find it a bit limiting sometimes living in hilly Cumbria especially riding with lads on geared bikes.
May be keen on your Croix de Fer if you decide to sell/px
I have an old mk2 Cotic Soul which is currently running singlespeed. It's great for an hour or so blast, but it's not a very social bike to ride as you have to really attack hills!
Sadly I am coming to terms with the fact that the frame is a bit small for me, but I think in an ideal world I'd have a similarly light and stripped down SS 29er that fit. One day.
Not now, unless you count a silly jump/pump track bike I built with the leftover bits from my most recent singlespeed.
Had a few singlespeed hardtails used regularly in the past inc the usual events SSUKs and SSWC, but my aging back won't tolerate a geared hardtail now let along singlespeed. Started by bodging a Genesis Altitude hardtail, then a dedicated Dialled Love/Hate frame, then picked up a secondhand Gary Fisher Rig 29er. Eventually accepted it was too small for me and switched to a mk2 'custard' Soul, but that's long gone now.
I'll replace my SS when it wears out, but with a steel frame, 26" wheels, UN73 BB, cup and cone hubs etc. it's looking like it'll out last me!
I swap SS for running in the darkest, dampest, coldest months as it gives me a similar experience for considerably less faff. However, come Spring and the SS is perfect for local, after work outings between bigger and more rowdy rides. Currently have a battered but light weight mk2 Scandal 29er built from the parts bin but previously have had a converted Soul, a Simple, a 456 Ti and best of all a Tranny.
Last singlespeed thread I implied that I used to do it but I'm too old for it now.
That got me a telling off from a certain member who knows my age 🙂 Hi Andy
As there's no interest in my solaris frame in the classifieds, I might build it back up SS just for quick solo local blasts come summer.
Just need some wheels and a drivetrain... and possibly brakes.
Singlespeeds are for losers. I can say that now I have been riding a geared bike for the last 4 months after almost 20 years of only singlespeed/fixed gear riding.
one SS MTB and three SS CX, and a variety of SS and fixed road bikes, and the Kona HumuHumuNukuNukuAPuaA frame in the loft that i'll build back up one day and the Kona Unit-29 frame that i need to sell to make way for another but more up to date, um, singlespeed
i was pondering the same but for fixie**** bikes, they were everywhere once and now they've all just disappeared
I'm about to sell mine due to riding much more locally which is quite hilly and linked by long gravel sections. I need gears for the hills and the flats.
Large Niner Air9 Carbon if anyone is interested? 🙂
You are supposed to bodge one from a pre loved frame and the parts bin in the garage
Sposeta, but my SS is now one of my blingest bikes!!!
Ti Travers SS.. I ruddy love it..
Great for XC racing and looong XC rides too..proper comfy!
DrP
2017 chameleon here that's never had gears on it. Used 2-3 times a week ~ 90k and ~ 2000m of climbing.
Single speed genesis flyer for commute, with few cheeky and unnecessary upgrades.
Oh, and last Wednesday there were 4 SS riders out 😎
I used to SS (and Fixed on the road) mainly because I was skint, just started getting back into my bikes recently and as I'm not in the best shape these days I bought a great condition for it's age Genesis IO ID hub-geared MTB as a happy median.
I keep forgetting about having gears, so in some ways I'm still single speeding 🙂
Pick up a late-model 26er second hand. The geometry will likely suit realrively flat/singletrack-y type terrain you seem to be referencing, and go to amazon and buy:
A narrow-wide chainring (colour of your choice)
A single speed converter kit (colour of your chouce)
A SS chain tensioner
Shorten the chain to suit nd ride it.
My 1997 Kilauea will soon be back to SS duties having spent the last 8ish years as a child-lugger. It'll be nice to have an MTB i feel I can ride inteh winter agian, without having to worry about how much damage its doing to my chick/pivots on teh main bike (itself from 2006, so parts availability is likley lmited!)
EDIT: and if you don;t like it, you can always stick the cassette/rear shifter back on and run it 1x...
I've converted a 2014 Giant TCX SLR to single speed and use as a general rubbish weather gravel bike/commuter.
I like the look of the Genesis Flyer, but keep looking for a single speed cross/gravel bike with hydraulic disc brakes but never seem to find anything.
@akira are the Flyer's wheels tubeless ready?
@s1m0n nope but put some Hunt wheels on it to drop some weight and get tubeless.
Used to have one, then I moved somewhere where there are proper hills and I realised that if I didn't want to have an actual heart attack while riding a bike, I'd best get some gears.
My town bike is single speed mainly because I'm too tight to have a proper drivetrain as anything else. I'd be tempted to build up a mountain bike for local far to flat routes on an evening but I can't justify another bike right now.
Used to have one, then I moved somewhere where there are proper hills and I realised that if I didn’t want to have an actual heart attack while riding a bike, I’d best get some gears.
I'm in improper hills and find singlespeed works best for up and down routes, anything flat and you are twiddling
Carbon Pivot Les SS and Transition PBJ owner here.
Quite happy riding the Les anywhere and everywhere!
A few years ago I converted my 2011 Boardman Hybrid to SS (44x17) with an On-One doofer tensione. Got some BB7s for breaking duties and it's just lovely.
Some days the hills on the commute (in Sheffield) make me wonder why I do it to myself. But mostly it is bloody great. Nice and simple, always in the wrong gear, but so much less faff.
It's been even better since I converted my old 26" hope wheels to 29ers for it, and put full mudguards on.
yea still lots of ss fools out there, ssuk is at llandegla this year, which should a laugh as its a big bmx track. one cog is pretty quiet since jules went off cycling and i'm spending spare time runnin stooge owners group n stuff (still lots of ss riders there as well) kit wise it more of a hunt since an ex bikemonger sold up and became a journo/press darling, but there is still a lot of good kit being made, just need to look a bit harder
Up until 3 months ago, I had 2. A SSCX (Cotic Escapade) with full mudguards for commuting (not actually commuting anymore) and an OnOne 45650b set up SS for winter slop and quick summer blasts.
But, I needed a FS bike, so eventually sold them to fund the FS build.
But, having built up the FS bike, and having saved up, I now have all the parts to rebuild my Ragley BigWig as a SS HT. Should be a thoroughly modern, thoroughly capable, riotous thing, and very different to my first forray into SS (an old Boardman 26er HT) and then an Inbred 26er set up SS.
SS ain't dead!
I'm so interested in doing this.. i currently have (in classifieds) a hybrid type bike...
its amazing for commuting... bit too light for anything else..
fancy something a little more substantial (thinking sonder frontier) kept as light and basic as possbile, athough, not sure about commuting SS.. or riding around QECP SS... so not quite sure what my thought process is exactly
They all ride a Stooge now.
Edit - doh! what Tazzy said.
I bought a 27.5+ / 29 Kona Unit on a whim , 3 years ago and ridden it much more than my costly f/s trail bike .
Apart from a bottle cage it’s exactly as it left the shop.
I’ve even been thinking about selling my Anthem as it gets used rarely nowadays.
They all ride a Stooge now.
well I also still ride my SS jones spaceframe, and a new Titanium Olsen 29+ as well so its not all stooge based ss shenanigans 🙂
I sort of gave/lent my Genesis Io to a chap at work as it was in the way and a little small.
I missed it so built an old Kona Steely into Mullet SS 27.5/26".
Id like a 29er SS and have been keeping an eye out for something used with no luck.
Part of 10 singlespeeders that will be descending on the Welsh Valleys this weekend. Love it, you can't be lazy on a singlespeed 🙂
Just had a look through my Flickr account.
Looks like last time a rode a singlespeed was around 7 years ago.
Maybe I should build up a singlespeed DH bike now I'm living in an area with some proper trails and an uplift service. 😀
Genesis IO ID hub-geared MTB as a happy median.
Mine is SS with a carbon rigid fork. I didn't get on with the Alfine boat anchor. Replaced a stolen Kona Unit 29er.
Yep. V2 Scandal with a Reba fork and light wheels. Would swap the fork for a rigid carbon one if they weren’t so expensive.
Great to ride in the winter slop and the light weight plus steep geometry makes it more fun around trails that are pretty tame on something more capable.
Re-furbed Indy Fab steel deluxe frame re-built with all new components.
oh hi @ayjaydoubleyou
Last singlespeed thread I implied that I used to do it but I’m too old for it now.
That got me a telling off from a certain member who knows my age 🙂 Hi Andy
Gentle reproach more like 🙂 To be fair I was your age when I started riding a singlespeed 22 years ago and when I can actually ride a bike again I will still be riding one now and again
Sposeta, but my SS is now one of my blingest bikes!!!
This. I counted up what my SS owes me and it's a bit embarrassing for a fully rigid steel 26er with no gears. I love it though.
Yep, still riding mine. I had a couple of Inbreds but moved on to an original Lurcher which is built up rigid and quite light. I love the direct feeling of it.
It’s my most ridden bike. Often get stick from those I ride with for bringing an inappropriate bike for group rides in the Peak but I just enjoy it and it does everything so well.
SS Switchback rider here!
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That's my old one, the current one is gunmetal 😎
OP I was planning on finishing a Love/Hate singlespeed project but recent car MOT failure/fund-failure means it’s prob up for grabs/swaps whatever. PM’d
You are supposed to bodge one from a pre loved frame and the parts bin in the garage
That (until you run out of parts!)
I brought a Charge single speed 29er off the classifieds on here about 6 years ago and it’s been great for my local riding. I like to mix up my riding, fat bike on the beach, gravel bike for local bridleways as well as plenty of miles on the road. I believe that riding single speed makes you stronger and forces you to dig deep which you never do on a geared bike.
I take this old bugger for a rag every now & again
Great fun.
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the only bike i ride off road
though not bad in the winter but they have a few drawbacks so I think they make better summer bikes.
Bought a basic Orange P7 singlespeed hardtail from classifieds during a lull in my biking interest and it instantly turned me into a convert. Actually rode it 25 miles home from collection and it was the most fun I could remember having on a bike for ages. Discovered what I’d been missing. Just grab the bike pedal and smile. And then push it for a bit up that hill. Then try again. And again. Then nail it and smile through gasps. Just like being a kid again.
Hell yes. My hardtail (SC Chameleon) is exclusively singlespeed. Used to be a lot more off the shelf singlespeed frame options out there, less so these days unfortunately. Some example singlespeed bikes/frames:
Santacruz Chameleon
Brother Cycles Big Bro
Kona Unit
Salsa Timberjack
Trek Stache
Kona Honzo DL
Specialized Fuse
And if you are feeling flush, Starling Beady Little Eye
Pretty much had a singlespeed/fixed wheeled bike of some sort since 2005. It'll be a sad day when I'm too old/fat/unfit to be able to ride it.
It's just the purest form of cycling you can do, just like when you were a kid. You just ride your bike with no having to think about gearing.
Cheap too, which for a tight arse like me is perfect. 😜
The only new parts of my Stooge build back in 2016 was the frameset and tyres/tubes. Everything else was either sourced from my old Rock Lobster or was lying about in my part box. Just the way it should be. Until of course I start upgrading bits as the old ones break or wear out.
Can you get narrow/wide cogs for the back now? And if so would that mean (when combined with a N/W the front) you could run a chain that’s almost tight enough without a tensioner? Just random evening thoughts
If we’re doing pictures….
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My mtb keeps switching between SS and geared. Been thinking of putting it back to single speed for a while
My commuter is a surly cross check, here in CX/gravel mode but now its got fancy wheels and is fixed with road tyres. Its not getting much love now i don't commute so occasionally used to do short trips instead of a car
I have an io id and a charge skinny. both 26inch and both ridden the most out of all my bikes maybe.
Tweed valley is made for singlespeeding i reckon. atleast the mincy bits are.
Got my rigid 26" inbred recoated last summer. Didn't ride it much during covid but now I'm back to working regular hours on site I'm doing more night rides and it's getting more use. Great for the easy but filthy trails I have available on an extended commute home.
My normal commuter is a Cotic Roadrat SS. Super reliable rarely needs maintenance so is ideal for a utility bike.
No its 1x9 now. Still fairly cheap and simple as its ridged as well. Too many flat gap between the small bits of interesting local stuff for SS.
inbred recoated last summer
@jonba That colour is ace. Custom or RAL etc?
Still riding my Surly 1x1, waiting for some mudguards for it to arrive.
I refurbed my ancient 26” singlespeed 853 inbred last summer with a rigid carbon fork, new tyres, and some oil on the chain. It’s ideal for the gentle hills round here in Oxford - I love it.
It was a "special" coating but one that could be chosen off the shelf - not RAL. Cosmic sparkle. A pearlescent pink base with a glitter gloss top coat.
If you are going to go custom, might as well go glittery and pink! £130 all in from BettaBlast in newcastle.
some great stuff on their page. They were building a new colour wall with loads of special options. I've had them do basic RAL stuff in the past as well
^ Nice! Thnks for the info. I had a (93?) Raleigh Apex, (stock) colour* similar to that but it sort of had a vivid magenta sheen to it also. I remembered being surprised at how much I liked it. The whole bike, in fact. (Rust In Pieces)
*eg:
It's not been out for a while, but an old yellow Kilauea with Z1 BAM and magic ratio. Doesn't feel as bad as I thought it would swapping back from modern geometry and bigger wheels.
Got a Cove Stiffee that is probably about to go SS as there are a few pump tracks popping up locally.
Yep, still riding SS. I've just recently evolved my SS build as I wasn't really using the previous iteration. It was not quite capable enough to be fun for technical trails and it would only get ridden on one particular local xc route where it was absolutely perfect. That was a Solaris MK1 with 100mm travel forks.
I was tending to find the gravel bike was better for easier trails or in the winter (or go running)...For other stuff usually I'd end up taking the short travel FS.
Anyway
To try to get more use out of it I've just moved all the bits over onto a SolarisMax frame with 140mm pikes and gripper tyres. It is hugely more capable than the last version and no slower xc that I can notice.
Really looking forward to riding it over the coming months, it's a bit of a weapon, locally.
I think the last one I ran singlespeed was a Trek Stache. I'm in the Surrey Hills, so the ups aren't very long and it's generally pretty top for singlespeeds.
However.
Either because I went to 29er or had kids and rode less as a result, I've struggled with getting the 'right' wrong gear. Also riding with mates who have gears can be a bit antisocial on the ups.
Still likely to singlespeed my Fuse at some point, though. It'd be rude not to.
Part of 10 singlespeeders that will be descending on the Welsh Valleys this weekend. Love it, you can’t be lazy on a singlespeed 🙂
Don't forget "ascending the Welsh mountains"
Will miss the riding (and the pushing) and the bants - have some custard for me.
Part of 10 singlespeeders that will be descending on the Welsh Valleys this weekend. Love it, you can’t be lazy on a singlespeed 🙂
Don't forget "ascending the Welsh mountains"
Will miss the riding (and the pushing) and the bants - have some custard for me.
I think the last one I ran singlespeed was a Trek Stache. I’m in the Surrey Hills
I think areas like this are ideal as terrain. Constant short ups and downs, plenty to keep excited about either bombing down or sprinting up. Areas with large flat areas in-between suck for SS.
Areas with large flat areas in-between suck for SS.
They seem to manage ok in Holland 😉
Still, just about. Steeper hills round here than the Chilterns where I rode SS 95% of the time for my MTBing over the last 12 years. A move to the Stroud valleys had me swapping the cog for an extra 2 teeth within a few weeks, it's still hard work but SS is about being stubborn and I'm not too old for it all yet. I am old enough to enjoy a walk with my bike here and there so all's working out ok.
. I am old enough to enjoy a walk with my bike here and there so all’s working out ok.
First rule of singlespeed, eventually everyone walks
