[Closed] Singlespeed - good for Training....

depends what you're training for?

you use a diferent technique for climbing on a SS and flat bits become spinations. I find I get higher heart rate on climbs with SS but overall on a ride my average is about the same as geared as you're not able to put so much into the flat bits.

For Racing. I guess not then?

SS is great training for SS, geared is great training for geared. Hello Stan.

Would SS not be any good for building power muscle then, you know, from being forced to grunt up those climbs? I only ever cruise the flat anyway.

Yip it is very good training. You look at keeping speed alot more compared to being on a geared bike.

So it improves technique as well as fitness imo.

my climbing has massively improved since regularly riding SS about 5 months ago. My legs are getting all sexy too.

Mister P aka Mister B? Hello.

You'll like this - carbon forked Genesis IO SS £300 😆

I've found SS really good training for downhill, grunting up those hills gave me the strength to stay on my bike stood up for full descents instead of having to stop every 90s for a sit-down. It's built up my arm strength for resisting arm-pump massively too. Other bonus is much better core strength etc, which is good for all biking.

For general riding it's built up my ability to generate power at low cadences, which is very handy for short-sharp sections on the geared bikes. Overall fitness must be improved too, but difficult to measure.

The best thing is that it's not as hard as people imagine, so they think you're awesome, when really you're just moderately determined. And if you try to explain that they think you're being modest. Win-win!

The best thing is that it's not as hard as people imagine, so they think you're awesome, when really you're just moderately determined. And if you try to explain that they think you're being modest. Win-win!

Just ride up the hill and don't change gear.

I found my SS road bike improved my bike fitness a lot but I was starting from quite unfit anyway so for somebody who's already doing quite well it may not be so beneficial.

[quote=_tom_]I found my SS road bike improved my bike fitness a lot but I was starting from quite unfit anyway so for somebody who's already doing quite well it may not be so beneficial

Just get bigger chainrings!

singlespeeding is great for attracting the ladies

This has been mentioned already but the key word to SS'ing is 'Momentum' and this is exactly what getting into SS riding has taught me.

It teaches you to keep momentum as you really have no choice and it;s something you didn't quite have to think about with gears as much because of the luxury of changing gear to suit, my fitness has definitely improved too and I can now stand for long periods of time.

I think that in the same way you can transpose skills learned on a HT to a FS, you can also transpose what you have learned on SS to gears, I can now ride in a much bigger gear to navigate bumpy singletrack in a SS style on my geared bike, pedal uphill while standing in a larger gear rather than spinning a lower gear, even on my FS bike in pro pedal mode.

In a race over flat ground, there's no doubt gears would leave the SS standing but there is a tortoise and hare type situation going on when you encounter something like a trail centre with as many uphill sections as downs, I seem to get round my local centre easily in the same time roughly as gears with the SS, I note how easily I seem to pass people on the fireroad climbs too.

As far as training goes, I would think any string you can add to your bow will always be beneficial.

We seem to ride a lot harder on our 2hr mid-week night-blasts. I think if your running gears there is the temptation to take an easier gear, whereas if your climbing on a ss your commited to keeping going or getting out the saddle & muscling up. I've always preffered getting out the saddle, & getting my FS bike out the other day after a winter of rigid ss was an eye opener. Boing boing.
I prefer ss on my 29", dont know why but to me it just seems to work better, & the 29" certainly seems to climb better when out the saddle.

single-speed good for training

I point you in the direction of those paid to ride bikes.

Use the gears you have, accept it is going to hurt and do NOT use granny unless you have no alternative. rather than spin a gear learn to push a slightly bigger gear to build strength. etc.

You don't need a singlespeed to develop any technique, just know when not to change gear.

For the last 9 weeks I have exclusively rode single speed and with no other changes have lost 8 kg in weight.

Riding purely ss for the last 4 years has somehow made me suprising good at road criteriums.....dunno how that works 😕

Don't belive the hype. As far as I know no elite cyclists us a traditional 2/1 mtb gear to train. If your quite fit it will help with strength on climbs, but the rest of the time you'll be coasting. Ride one if thats what you enjoy, but it won't improve a fit riders fitness.

taxi25 - Member
Don't belive the hype. As far as I know no elite cyclists us a traditional 2/1 mtb gear to train. If your quite fit it will help with strength on climbs, but the rest of the time you'll be coasting.

SS riding is not about hype, what you say is more than likely true regards elite riders not training on a SS bike but the point I would make is that SS riding might be useful for some amateur that does not, as yet, climb out the saddle often enough, elite riders will already do this, the OP might not, that's where SS'ing might be of some use, the 2:1 gear ratio makes perfect sense on most singetrack which is why people do it.

taxi25 - Member Ride one if thats what you enjoy, but it won't improve a fit riders fitness.

Very bold statement here considering most seasoned SS riders can leave a geared rider standing on a long climb, I've seen challenges offered on forums to those that sneer as SS bikes but, the geared riders decline, what actual proof do you have to back this statement up that SS riding will not improve fitness?

@mm, what you say about singlespeed may be true for a few riders, but I would say the reality is that many riders will not accept that to get fit involves effort. Too many people are looking for short cuts.

As I said earlier don't change gear to early, accept the pain push gears rather than spin, put a bit of effort in and you will get far fitter than you will by riding single speed.

I've been riding SS for a while now and noticed a couple of things at Wiggle Enduro 6 as it was the first time I'd mixed with a bunch of fast geared riders.

Geared riders will drop down to a low gear at the bottom of a short steep climb and crawl up it.
SS relies on inertia, so I would have to build up speed before the climb.

Geared riders will slog up a medium hill in a low gear.
I would walk up the steeper ones, then get back on and overtake people who had just ridden past me. They seemed to be stuck in that slog mentality, while I was thinking "At last I can get on and pedal".

Geared riders will slog up a long shallow hill in a low gear.
I was forced to get out of the saddle and put more effort in to keep riding and avoid walking.

So, SSing trains me to attack hills, attack crests and push a higher gear than I would normally choose.
Stronger will power would do exactly the same thing. 😉

elite riders are all about speed, maybe thats why they stay away from SSing. They are superb for lazy riders, there is no easy option. They are great for technique as its all about maintaining momentum.And above all they are great for annoying keyboard warriors!

@mtg, I think what you are seeing is that a number of riders fail to understand that you don't have to use easy gears when you go up hill. There are plenty of hills I know that many people say are hard, reality is that if they used a bigger gear and kept momentum they aren't that bad. Likewise I know people complain about a few rough tracks, but pick a big gear and roll it you float over the bumps. You need to understand what is and is not possible, when to change gear when not to, for me single speed does not give flexibility, to get a gear you can get up a hill, you suffer on flatter tracks and downhill.

I rode SS throughout the winter, had planned to do lots of road riding for training but that didn't really pan out, and with just my ss commuting (only a couple of miles, but going all out), and a few real rides, I've really noticed a difference at my first race of the season last night!

Perhaps hadn't helped my overall fitness too much (probably didn't do enough) but I felt like I had a lot more power in my legs!

Riding purely ss for the last 4 years has somehow made me suprising good at road criteriums.....dunno how that works

Unusual that though Rorschach, most roadmen I know say any MTB'ing scrubs a bit of speed off.
I just found that singlespeeding just made me a better singlespeeder.
Then again I supose it depends how fit you are anyway, not you of course Rorschach, but any thing 'extra' will help.
And MTG gears are what you make of them, but I know what you mean MTB'ers tend to use gears for assistance. Like in a cross race, you often see a person granny'ing up a hill rather than run or grunt it out.

It depends on where you ride and how you ride no? If you're based somewhere hilly and tend to attack climbs, it's great for power, upper body/cores strenght on the bike, lactic tolerance and sheer bloody-mindedness - a bit like impromptu hill sprint intervals. It's also good for choosing smooth lines with maximum traction because you're on the edge of your power envelope on anything vaguely techy and pointing upwards.

That's how it seems to work for me in the Peak anyway... and on geared bikes, it seems to translate into lots of power and the ability to push a bigger gear when needed, oh, and a really crap cadence...

I'm guessing that on smoother, more rolling trails, where you're less likely to be at your limit just getting up a climb, it's going to be slightly different.

It's like anything else really, pros and cons and lots of conditional factors, or that's my take on it anyway.

MidlandTrailquestsGraham - Member
I've been riding SS for a while now and noticed a couple of things at Wiggle Enduro 6 as it was the first time I'd mixed with a bunch of fast geared riders.

Geared riders will drop down to a low gear at the bottom of a short steep climb and crawl up it.
SS relies on inertia, so I would have to build up speed before the climb.

Geared riders will slog up a medium hill in a low gear.
I would walk up the steeper ones, then get back on and overtake people who had just ridden past me. They seemed to be stuck in that slog mentality, while I was thinking "At last I can get on and pedal".

Geared riders will slog up a long shallow hill in a low gear.
I was forced to get out of the saddle and put more effort in to keep riding and avoid walking.

So, SSing trains me to attack hills, attack crests and push a higher gear than I would normally choose.
Stronger will power would do exactly the same thing.

Sorry, I've never heard so much bullshit in one post.

MidlandTrailquestsGraham - Member
I've been riding SS for a while now and noticed a couple of things at Wiggle Enduro 6 as it was the first time I'd mixed with a bunch of fast geared riders.

Geared riders will drop down to a low gear at the bottom of a short steep climb and crawl up it.
SS relies on inertia, so I would have to build up speed before the climb.

Geared riders will slog up a medium hill in a low gear.
I would walk up the steeper ones, then get back on and overtake people who had just ridden past me. They seemed to be stuck in that slog mentality, while I was thinking "At last I can get on and pedal".

Geared riders will slog up a long shallow hill in a low gear.
I was forced to get out of the saddle and put more effort in to keep riding and avoid walking.

So, SSing trains me to attack hills, attack crests and push a higher gear than I would normally choose.
Stronger will power would do exactly the same thing

WOW. YOU MUST'VE COME AT LEAST IN THE TOP TEN OVERALL.
MAYBE YOU SHOULD LOOK AT WHAT THE FAST RIDERS (GEARED OR SINGLESPEED) WERE DOING WHEN THEY WENT UP THE HILL!
IT SEEMED TO ME THAT ANDREW COCKBURN WAS GOING FAST EVERYWHERE!;-)

 

Very bold statement here considering most seasoned SS riders can leave a geared rider standing on a long climb,

That's because they're riding a bike that forces them to ride in a higher gear, very little to do with fitness. There's also plenty of "seasoned" geared riders that can leave a ss rider standing on a long climb.

I reckon riding ss is very good for improving power & anaerobic fitness, (in the same way that riding intervals in a high gear would be) but there's much more to training than that.

This is based on 10 years of singlespeeding.

Based on my experience over last autumn and winter, a period of singlespeeding will add to your enjoyment of cycling, and you will find strength and technique that you might otherwise not have.

But if you're training for racing on a geared bike, I would not completely substitute singlespeeding for quality training time spent on the geared bike.

Mix it up.

you're on the edge of your power envelope

Ridden singlespeed/fixed on and off since 1999. Rode most the trail centers and raced 24's as part of a team using one. Sure they can help, half the time its just determination to keep slogging up a long climb on one, the same determination that i'd use on a gear bike to try and power up a climb.

1freezingpenguin and Beerbadger, do you behave like that in real life ?
I was there, that's what I saw, why contradict it in that way ?
I finished top quarter in the solo men category. Nothing special, but it means for every rider faster than me, there were three slower.
After six hours of overtaking and being overtaken, I think I've got a good idea of the different riding styles of singlespeed and gears.

Mrmo, yes, that's about it. Changing down 5 gears is not such an admission of failure as getting off to push. If you haven't got a lower gear to shift down to, you are more likely to grind the one you're in.
Looked at like that, singlespeed is an alternative to self discipline. 😛

Yeah, SS is great for those of us without much willpower 🙂 As I've said before it got me speeding up hills that I used to struggle/fail on with gears. Must build a SS bike again when I can afford more than one mtb 💡

SSers is more sexy than Gearies,FACT.

Beerbadger, do you behave like that in real life ?
I was there, that's what I saw, why contradict it in that way ?

Yes he does. 😀
Maybe he contradicted you because he was there and did more laps than you. 😆

xc keith has it though.

singlespeeders is more sexyer than gearies. Some of you gearie riders might be fast but while your out doing extra laps there's a singlespeeder sh4gging your Mrs. 😉

singlespeeders is more sexyer than gearies. Some of you gearie riders might be fast but while your out doing extra laps there's a singlespeeder sh4gging your Mrs.

or maybe singlespeeders are to up their own arse to worry about riding a bike and need every excuse as to why they can't ride over a mole hill? 😉

or maybe singlespeeders are to up [s]their own[/s]mrmo's Mrs arse to worry about riding a bike?

Oh Stu,we'd got us a biter.....

PS,don't ride over molehills,it aint nice. 😆

singlespeed is an alternative to self discipline

.

Just converted my SS back to gears now that Summer is upon us.

Got to admit, it might have been a mistake.

I get terrible SS envy anytime I see a bike with those lovely clean gear-free lines, and I'm still just as slow and useless, except now I've got no excuse and I have to worry about what my wife is doing.

i've been riding my ss (rigid with h-bars, so more similar to a road bike in climbing position than my other MTB) a lot more than normal this spring, it's my usual ss winter bike but it got a faster back tyre a while ago and it's been great on the unusually-hardpacked ground here. it's worked better on group rides than i expected too.

i've noticed that when i've been on the road bike in the last few weeks, my power uphill -mainly on bigger-gear grunts rather than steeper small-ring climbs- has been considerably better. i feel stronger having stuck to the ss for longer.

i think the way a ss encourages very high heart rates then recovery as you spin on the flat is good - it forces me into that patterrn more than geared bikes. i could do intervals, but i find structured training miserable and prefer the ss as an ideal, more fun way to do it.

so yes, good for training and i'm sticking with it as a 'training' tool for a big alpine road ride this summer.

is it easy and cheap to convert a geared H/T to a single speed one and what do you need ?

some tools to take stuff off, a tensioner and a rear cog. easy.

what do you do with the front triple set up ?

cheers Pete

just run the middle ring,take off deraileur and shifter/cable.....

you may need shorter bolts for said ring.

try Charlie the bike monkey,or ebay.

check out you tube for a selection of how to SS vids.

enjoy !

I rode s/s myselt almost solely for nine years, but when I wanted to return to road and cross racing I felt the s/s lacking.
With gears I can go as fast as possible up down and along.

+1 for what oldgit said....

I ride SS and geared, started SS about 3 years ago. It made a huge difference to my riding, as some say above it really has taught me momentum and how to attack a hill - something I do on geared now as well without having to think about it.

I notice that some other riders in out night group get to the bottom of a hill and then are fiddling with gears and clashing chain etc until they are at walking pace, then grind up slowly. Whilst they don't need to do that, quite a few do and that is the difference from riding SS - you cannot afford to slow down in that way. They are harder work on a long flattish road section, but then the high speed spin burns calories.

My riding improved significantly from starting SS - don't know how much is fitness and how much technique, though.

LOL.
How funny has this forum/thread thingy got.
What alot of fun.

MidlandTrailquestsGraham - Member
Beerbadger, do you behave like that in real life ?

I'm not sure. Behave like what? I just enjoy riding my bike and don't see the need to put down other peoples riding, ESP' as for many this was the first mtb race/event. Does it matter that they were on geared bikes or singlespeed? I don't think so (unless singlespeedstu was doing your Mrs up the bum).

 

singlespeedstu - Member

Beerbadger, do you behave like that in real life ?
I was there, that's what I saw, why contradict it in that way ?

Yes he does.
Maybe he contradicted you because he was there and did more laps than you.

YOU know me toooooo well. 😆

I WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND, I WASN'T THERE MAN.......
I WAS IN............... NAM!

Behave like what?

SSing trains me to attack hills, attack crests and push a higher gear [b]than I would normally choose[/b].

I started racing cross 2 seasons ago on a ss cx bike.Did ok but got fed up being left for dead at the start and having to pass loads of people.So I put gears on....and my results promptly got worse 😐
Took me a while to remember how they work,dumped half of them and all is good with the world now.

Didn't shout. Just left caps lock on by mistake.
My fingers and thumbs must be worn from changing gear. 🙄

Get a Rohloff. 😉

.Chaps I have just followed the earlier instructions and made my old GT H/T into a single speed, I have left the middle ring on and as you said the bolts are too long, so until new ones arrive a have turned the female round(result) tensioner on order (e Bay) and have for the time being screwed the rear mech so I only have one gear this is also acting as my chain tensioner, shorten my chain and off for a ride, Jesus how hard it was, not sure if I should have gone for an easier gear but I managed the whole ride, my answer to the original question asked after one ride I am sure it must do you some good. I also found it hard to remember I had no gears. FUN FUN FUN thanks chaps Pete

Single speed is fun, and feels good when you drop a 120mm+ travel sofa going up a hill.

aldo69,

good for you mate ! that's what it's all about,having FUN !

Get a Rohloff.

Hate to say this but even with a Rohloff* dragging him down he'd still make you eat dust.

*even typing the word makes me shudder at the though of all that draggyness and noise.

Rohloff.

(walks off to the bath room to clean the sick off shoe)

1freezingpenguin and Beerbadger, do you behave like that in real life ?

But by your post every single geared rider changes down not matter what the hill is.
Once again bullshit. If your so much a climbing god on your singlespeed why didn't you win?

And yes I do ride and have raced single-speed.

I think the word 'trailquest' speaks volumes.

Anyhoo, I'm equally shite at climbing on gears or ss. I just like riding bicycles 8)

I think it's a bit sad when someone has to deliberately misinterpret what I said as referring to every single geared rider who has ever lived, riding up every hill in the world, rather than it being the far more likely observation of the majority of mid pack riders in a race.
However, if it gives you some sense of purpose in life to imagine that I said something ridiculous so you can point out how ridiculous it is, carry on.

No worries I will 😉

Dummy/spit/****.

There's more to riding than being mediocre at pedling round a flat field 😐

Then again i wouldn't expect anything better from someone that can't even ride down a simple local bridleway because it's " a bit sandy". 😐

Single speeding is just brilliant, training wise its great for out of seat climbs on the road bike other than that it's great training for single speeding.

And for those knocking Graham, he's pretty handy on a SS for an *old biff.

*I'm an old biff as well.

single speed riding is great training for smuggling woks, drinking beer and eating cheese in the woods.

It is also so hardcore that if a young lady so much as even glances at a singlespeeders manly physique they immediately become pregnant.

oh and I was a lot faster when I used to ride the E6 on a gearie, but it was much more fun arsing about on a singlespeed, which is what it's all about for this fat singlespeeder

And for those knocking Graham, he's pretty handy on a SS for an *old biff.

Seriously? Having seen stuff he's posted on here about not being able to ride even the simplest of local trails I think you might be a bit off the mark there. 😐

Seriously? Having seen stuff he's posted on here about not being able to ride even the simplest of local trails I think you might be a bit off the mark there

Maybe, link to the thread?

"[i]a bit sandy[/i]" ?
This is Kinver we're talking about here.

[img] [/img]

The Staffordshire & Worcestershire canal is just out of shot to the right in that picture.

KINGTUT.

[url= http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/stourbridgekinver-etc-routes ] Here you go [/url]

BTW we went down there again today and even my mate that's not very experienced managed to jump the first two waterbars without any trouble.

As you can see from the picture it's hardly technical. Just a nice smooth wide trail.

I refer the honourable gentleman to a quote from that very thread.

I rode all the way down there on the grass.

Every time the front wheel touched the sand, I came to a halt.

Taken from the same post. 😉

You'd struggle to ride down the [s]grass[/s] pussyline now as it's getting a nice coating in nettles. 😡

KINGTUT.

Here you go

I'm underwhelmed, I think Mr Graham is a naughty little troll.

Again.

SS good for training? Oh yes, and no mistake.

So I'm all for trying things out and here's *my* evidence, and I know my level of fitness / state of mind at the time.

Using the CVMBC as a benchmark:

Geared bike: about 4:30 (I was v. Unfit)

Rolhoff : 3:20 (after some practice)

SS 36/18: 3:37 (today, very disappointing)

Thing is, I felt fitter and faster than ever today. The 15mph headwind didn't help but I can think it would have hurt me so much anyway.

I burned past quite a few geared bikes on the climbs.

I held my own on the down hills. (touching 45+ mph at parts)

The SS loses out on the not-so-hilly bits where the high gears burned past me.

My thoughts for next few months is for SS for some training and use a 1x9 on the other bike for race pace rides.

SS, at end of day, is a bloody good way to get stronger and fitter. That cannot be denied.

Am I missing something here but if you want to use your geared bike as a single speed can you not just leave it in the one chosen gear? The combined weight of the derailleur and rear cassette must be less than 1Kg and additional friction minimal. I also hear the same comments about "take my hard tail" when all that is needed is to lock out the rear suspension!

I mean we are not talking winning the race here. The weight saving must be around 1% whereas in say a mountain bike sportive the field is often spread out by more than 100% so surely fitness and strength are the overriding determining factors?