[Closed] Singlespeed commuter

Genesis DayOne is all you need, and unless you go second hand there's a lot less choice of them than a few years ago when they were trendy.

Day One Disc

/thread

Don’t close the thread just yet, Kona Paddywaggon is great fun to ride, has a good steel frame and can fit CX tyres in.
Plus you can run it fixed which is great fun.

You can run a DayOne disk fixed too. I do, and despite the lack of lock ring I've never unscrewed the sprocket. Not so much leg-braking with the rear having a proper brake.

Paddy wagon is a good call too though. You can fit proper mudguards to those I assume? Absolutely essential for a commuter.

I commuted on a day one for about a year, freewheel and fixed with a six bolt cog.

It's a solid bike. Eventually I found it too solid, too heavy and stiff. Possibly stiff compared to older steel bikes due to the demands of disc brakes. That may also explain the weight. I also found the Hayes mechanical disc brakes underwhelming. I'd have switched to bb7s or trp hylex if I'd kept it, or a sturmey archer drum brake.

On the other hand the tyre clearance is quite good, good enough for mudguards and 35mm slickish tyres. Surly cross check and straggler take wider tyres and are another option.

If you'll be happy on 28mm tyres and without discs there are other options. Spa audax mono
looks interesting https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s193p4421/SPA-CYCLES-Audax-Mono

I'm still looking for the perfect winter commuter that'll take 37mm tyres and mudguards. Might even end up with a day one again, either the pre disc ones or with a different front fork if I can't find a suitable older steel touring frame to convert. Where are all the path racers?

Paddy wagon is a good call too though. You can fit proper mudguards to those I assume?

Yep, I’ve got full guards and a rack on mine. You’ll get 28mm tyres and I suspect a tad larger in with guards.

It rides so well, feels fast and smooth and can be built very light with the right kit.

I have a Pinnacle Dolomite single speed, it was the cheapest option at the time and has worked well enough as an everyday commuter.
Tyre clearance at the back is not great and no cable guides if you did decide you wanted to run CX tyres or gears - a few compromises but nothing awful.

I have always fancied something with hub gears, hopefully able to withstand the neglect that the single speed is usually subject to but a little easier going when fully loaded.

I commuted on a day one for about a year, freewheel and fixed with a six bolt cog.

It’s a solid bike. Eventually I found it too solid, too heavy and stiff. Possibly stiff compared to older steel bikes due to the demands of disc brakes. That may also explain the weight. I also found the Hayes mechanical disc brakes underwhelming. I’d have switched to bb7s or trp hylex if I’d kept it, or a sturmey archer drum brake.

This for me too. It was the right concept but I didn't really get on with that bike. Plus stuff like the wheels are of course very much to a price point. My rear hub didn't last. Ended up with a much lighter steel frame and better wheels, but still a singlespeed "gravel" bike, so essentially an upgraded version of the same thing. Not so relevant because it went miles over your budget but it proved to me that I hadn't got any "feel" benefit of steel over other materials on the Day One. Mine was initially a commuter but the upgraded version became a go to bike for gravel and road as well. My Day One was good for a sub £700 budget but there was a lot of compromise in getting the cost down. They have changed the concept over the years though. Mine was a 2015.

That Spa looks nice, another option is a Fuji Feather, Wiggle have some in stock. I replaced a Day One with one of these https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/vitus-vee-29-city-bike-ss-2020/rp-prod183574

A regrettable choice as it's not very exciting nor fast. Good value though.

Edit: and to be fair it has allowed so more interesting commuting routes 🤔

Pinnacle monzonite here, good frame, comfortable geometry, can get 28c tyresin rear, takes guards and is cheap. Currently use mine on 68” fixie

You could buy a drop-barred bike that you like the look of, and then buy a singlespeed conversion kit for between ten quid and about 35 (if you go for a kit with a tensioner included). I've converted my old Boardman hybrid. You have way more choice of bike that way.

Re. the later DayOne's,

Possibly stiff compared to older steel bikes due to the demands of disc brakes. That may also explain the weight.

That's my assumption too, if you can find an early 'V' brake one, they're definitely lighter. I've had both, the early one got smashed up in crash with a car.

DJ bike with a dropper, surely?

I quite like the look of the Ribble 725 Urban Single Speed. Has clearance for 700x40c looking at the specification.

I quite like the look of the Ribble 725 Urban Single Speed.

Really? It looks very odd to me. Something about that totally straight front fork looks very, very wrong to my eyes. I thought forks need to have some offset?

Kona Paddywaggon is great fun to ride

My favourite. But nothing lasts forever. Now discontinued. Yes you read that correctly. Mine is highly modified and an absolute joy to ride. The later ones have softer geometry for slower steering.

following a horrible ride to work - I'm in this market

high priority - SS, mudguards, rear rack & 'gravel' capable
other - drops, discs, in stock

doesn't seem to be a lot about - the Spa Cycles Audax Mono £750 or the bargsin Vitus Vee £300

any other recommendations?
as the horrible ride in was followed with a cold shower, my current budget right now could be stretched to something lovely...

I own the Virus (2020 version); it's not as nice or fast as the Genesis Day One it replaced and my BB lasted about a month before needing replacement but for the money it's a good commuter...

The 2020 version has 2.1 MTB tires so I do take it through the woods on my way to work a lot, all parts except BB seem good, nothing exciting but functional.

Cheers

Edit: I would add that I got the large size and at 6'2" it's close to being too small for me - quite short TT

soobalias
following a horrible ride to work – I’m in this market

high priority – SS, mudguards, rear rack & ‘gravel’ capable

That was what the old On-One Pompino was perfect for.

That was what the old On-One Pompino was perfect for

Or the Cotic RoadRat? now discontinued I think? Probably still pick one up though I'd imagine. I run one single speed with full rack and guards.

2021 Day One is due into stock in a fortnight. Too long to wait?

oooh, thats useful to know, a quick google earlier didnt bring any good news.

always wanted a pompino and was gutted when they stopped making them. kinda shying away from 2nd hand as i dont want to inherit any issues.

10-15yrs ago (when i didnt buy a new pompino) i built a SS commuter from my dads old road bike. too small for me, centre pull brakes, badly cross threaded BB shell. I made it workable and its done its job since then but the drive train is dire and
having swapped the self-thingy-BB, chain, brake blocks, it sounds like a bag of spanners on the freewheel - so i flipped the rear wheel to fixed - first remembered that as i set off! I was not prepared to ride FG in heavily worn cleats......

2021 Day One is due into stock in a fortnight

That's not a singlespeed, it has gears. The Flyer on the other hand...

the genesis site is really confusing... Day One appears to be SS, but not (yet) available, but eh Flyer (whose links from the front page are dodgy) is...

as i left work the LH Crank arm hit the floor. hardly confidence inspiring for the ride home.
1. return bike to SS
2. order new bike

The 2021 DayOne has hub gears, the Flyer is the single speed this year. And they've got aluminium frames. And are butt ugly (IMHO)

Day One appears to be SS

Huh? Where are you looking?
https://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/genesis-day-one-vargn21230

Flyer
https://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/genesis-flyer-vargn21250

There's always a few SS Day Ones on eBay. I keep looking.....

ok, so normally the phrase 'hub gear' would be the give away.

ive clearly had a really bad day, probably just as well i didnt click a buy-it-now /facepalm

😁

That was what the old On-One Pompino was perfect for.

my ex-commuter is a 2006 Pompino. ex as in no longer have an office to commute to thanks to CV-19 and permanent WFH..

I commute on a Day One 10 (the yellow one)

It’s great, can spin it up to speed quickly and it will shift when you want it to.

My commute is pretty flat (Dublin City centre) so not sure what it would be like on a hilly commute!

I upgraded the cranks (originals were recalled) and tyres and also the mudguards (originals were flimsy and broke)

You need to keep an eye on the hubs (cup and cone, loose bearings) but as long as you keep them nipped up and give them a grease they are fine.

That’s not a singlespeed, it has gears.

So it is, how embarrassing. I'm glad you know what you are talking about.

Might be worth keeping an eye out for a Surly Steamroller. I loved mine, and had a Kinesis disc fork and SLX hydraulic brake on it for much of my ownership and it was brilliant. Plenty of clearance too.

A steamroller had some features that are good but lacks mudguard and pannier mounts.

thats a no from me then. panniers & mudguards essential

clearly my legs are still recovering from this weeks FG escapade - as im getting drawn towards something with gears, with a view to disposing of my current SS (rack'd & guarded) and road bike (geared)

I know that N-1 is frowned upon tho

I've had both a Day-one and Paddy Wagon and they were both very different. The Day-one was bomb proof and actually not bad off road, the Paddy Wagon was more like a sorted rough-road bike. Both very good but I'd pick the Day-one all day long as a commuter.

I bought a 1989 British touring bike last year in VGC. (tubing - Reynolds 531)

It’s light enough for a bit of Audax so would be a breeze commuting.

Happily use it on unpaved tracks and common land on 28s (Marathons at the mo) but it should take 32s.

Horizontal dropouts. Easily singlespeeded

Kool Stop Salmon brake pads.

New Lizardskin 3mm tape

Brooks Pro Special

Full guards

It’s a dream. A keeper. It eats miles and makes me smile. Now just wants a hub generator for lighting.

I bought a new day one for commuting last winter after jumping gears caused a massive otb on my genesis vapour (and broke it).

I've been happy with it, but agree it's heavy. Also very stable, which could be a plus to some but I found it made the commute a little less fun. I liked that it came with massive mudguards already fitted and have found the brakes plenty strong enough. The stock gearing is quite low, 25mph is really pushing it but I have one hill that's justified not making the change. If your area is truly flat I'd factor in cost of gearing up.

It's ticked the box of needing no maintenance other than tightening the chain once. Overall happy but maybe the other suggestions on here are better.

there was a thread recently which asked about purchases and decision making

requirement - replace SS commuter with rear rack and mudguards.
even without leaving the genesis site it goes something like.

Flyer - SS, direct replacement....out of stock
Day One - hub gear (little more money but maybe a little more flexibility), better colour, in stock but if im going to go geared then maybe...
CDA - geared (sod it, shift both the SS and the old roadie and have one bike to do it all, on the road...) orange is ok, and a little cheaper than the Day One, but out of stock so then...
Croix de Fer (steel is better than ally)....... and the CdF 50 is a nice colour, fortunatly out of stock as its now five times my original budget

I dont dare check out the competition.

I'd be looking at that cheap singledspeed on chainreaction to keep until stocks are back.think its 150 or 200 iirc

I picked up one of those jobby Mango bikes in the end for £50 with bullhorns. Wasn't expecting much but it is actually quite fun to ride. Pretty sure the components, especially the wheels, will give up at some point. It's only got 25cc tyres so I've had to adapt my route a little and I thought I'd hate the Bullhorns as they look so Hipster tryhard but I like the feel. Still probably wouldn't have them on another bike though.

Still no closer to want I want though. Thinking that I might take the plunge and I try and build my own from an old steel audax frame as suggested earlier in the thread.

ovoderbars

....Thinking that I might take the plunge and I try and build my own from an old steel audax frame as suggested earlier in the thread.

If you're like most STWers, you'll probably end up going offroad with it. Consider an old British touring frame such as the Dawes Galaxy. They use Reynolds 531 ST which makes for a frame which can handle more abuse and a bit stiffer for better handling when you hit the double vision sections too fast. Raleigh also made some nice touring frames.

If you get one that has canti mounts, then you get the bonus of better brakes than long reach road brakes.

There’s so few bikes like this now, I was looking to change my arkose Ss recently and kept it because it’s basically genesis flyer (downgrade on what I have), find second hand day one, singular, kona, pompino etc, older steel frame but then no discs or custom

Real shame as it’s such a good bike. Single speed, hydro discs, rack, guards, dynamo= bombproof and never needs working on. Mine managed 400m climb and 40km a day but gets tiring after 3 days in a row!