[Closed] SS do I need to MTFU or get gears?

I don't know what the tidings like there but why don't you try 33:19 I ride SS and would not want to ride 36:19 where I am

If it's stopped being fun get some gears. You can always change back if you want to.

surely thats why gears were invented...

you use a computer / laptop / phone regularly (along with many other modern inventions) but insist on having a single speed on your bike?

easy answer really!

I think 36:19 is a bit of a monster gear round there, try a larger rear sprocket?

The thing I'm thinking about going to a lower gear is that I won't be able to go fast on the flats/downs, the bike feels slow as it is? 😕

[url= http://www.middleburn.co.uk/cranks_rs8_x_type_duo.php ]Middleburn Duos[/url] will ensure you still look like a cutting edge outsider jay boy, while offering you less extensive cartilage and ligament damage.

😉

I think you need to get some gears then matey, it's always a compromise with SS! 🙂

[i]The thing I'm thinking about going to a lower gear is that I won't be able to go fast on the flats/downs, the bike feels slow as it is. [/i]

you need gears.

I think with SS you have to accept a compromise between gettign up stuff and speed on the flat. Down stuff I always found that I was no slower than geared bikes on the whole. On along with no techy bits an SS will always feel slow.

'the force is weak in this one'....... 😉

I blame my lack of beard 🙁

I think you need to be getting those gears back on, sounds like you aren`t enjoying it.

Seriously, you will find some sort of gearing improves life massively. And I wasn't joking about the soft tissue damage!

On along with no techy bits an SS will always feel slow.

nah , learn to spin properly and you can still keep up with the geared boys unless they are strong and can turn the big ring quickly. 😀

36:19 sounds quite brutal for the Peaks. I was happy twiddling along on 32:16 until I moved to Dartmoor and now use 32:18 which seems about right for most of the riding I do locally. I do now also have a geared bike which I used for longer and tougher rides but it probably still works out 60/40 in favour of the singlespeed.

For the sake of a cost of new rear sprocket you could try gearing down a bit - try a 19 or 20 on the back, and if it doesn't work out then just go back to your gears.

Not worth beating yourself up about either way - the whole point of singlespeeding is that it should be fun, so if it's no longer so then don't do it.

If you go back to gears you can always build up a cheap singlespeed from the parts bin / classifieds should you want to give it a go again.

I blame my lack of beard

There you go. When you're old enough to grow a beard, the time will be right for ss 😉

2:1 - it's the law! If it feels too high for the climbs, then get off and push. If it feels too low for the descents then brake less. I'm back on a singlespeed and loving it 😛

Oh, and no beard here 😆

brake less

spot on, is works for me and is much more fun to flow rather than pedal-brake-pedal-brake

Brakes ! pah !! true SS'ers don't have brakes 😉

Nah they have beer stops,

I run silly low gears (25:15) & accept I'm going no where fast

It could always be N+1 time,you know its a ideal excuse to add to the stable.

I already a want a road bike of some sort...

A lack of funds was the original reason for singlespeeding but now I've got a lack of fun instead 😛

- I've moved and my riding has changed, for playing around in the woods on an evening the single speed was great, short climbs and steep descents.

However now those lllooonnnggg climbs that aren't steep are just killing me, I run out of energy regardless of how much flapjack I eat.

Well there you go then. You've resolved your own conundrum. I proscribe a Merlin Cycles XT groupset and an immediate trip to Honister pass to experience the joy of gears...or not.

The

gears...gears

The young one is not ready, oh brothers of the chainline. Release him back to the wild. In time, he shall return.

takisawa2,
last time I saw Taz in a meadow,all the sheep were leaving out the other end,very quickly...........

muttering something about the scary mans back again

It strikes me that the solution to not having enough gears is probably to have more gears. Though I wouldn't know, having never been daft enough to not have enough gears.

Gears are for...........indecisive people

Northwind - Member

It strikes me that the solution to not having enough gears is probably to have more gears. Though I wouldn't know, having never been daft enough to not have enough gears.

I'd vote for this gentleman.

Gears are for...........indecisive people

The problem with singlespeeds as they are never in the right gear.

But then, neither are geared bikes.

I ride 32:16 down here in the flatlands of Surrey. Never had a problem with the bike not being fast enough on the descents. 😕

last time I saw Taz in a meadow,all the sheep were leaving out the other end,very quickly........

short crank, high cadence, I'd finished with that lot already 😀

The problem with singlespeeds as they are never in the right gear.

just one really nice speed

If there is only one gear, it is always the right gear.

Have you tried eating rough-cut marmalade?

short crank, high cadence

yeah,so I hear..... 😉

I love how some people have no concept of how gear ratios work. 36:19 isn't really a tough gear is it? Bigger numbers not always harder! Ratio innit? 😉

I love how some people have no concept of how gear ratios work. 36:19 isn't really a tough gear is it? Bigger numbers not always harder! Ratio innit?

Well thanks for clearing that up 😀

1 or 2 teeth difference in either chainring or sprocket size can make a big difference to rideability on a singlespeed in my experience. 2:1 is just a starting point for general riding. The OP is already running a slightly higher ratio than that in quite a hilly area.

The OP is already running a slightly higher ratio than that in quite a hilly area.

higher than a 2:1?

a 2:1 ratio would be 32:16 = 36:18 = 40:20

So running a 19t sprocket is easier (as in a lower gear and better for hills) than a 2:1... correct me if I am wrong

You are indeed correct muckytee. I think a few of the earlier posters have missed the reference to 26" in the op, 36-19 is hardly a monster gear.

stick a 20t on the back and man up, More people use an easier gear than you. 2-1 is a benchmark but seen and ridden with loads of people that run easier. They are fine on the flat as they have learn to carry their speed better.

But in all honesty your questioning your own ability, not good 🙁

Corrected. I did indeed misread the original post - I had it in my head he was running a 39T ring for some reason.

He should therefore MTFU or get some gears

Yours dyscalculically (?)...

Singlespeed_Shep - could you give me some examples where you've ridden before?

Single speeders I need some examples of what's possible, because currently I'm looking up at hills and thinking eurgh not again. But then I dislike sitting and spinning even more...

My advice is that you just get out and ride more.
You could spend weeks changing your gear ratio getting it "just right".
Or just go out and ride more and get used to the gear.
I've always found that tyre choice plays a bigger part on a singlespeed or going rigid really helped me on the climbs.

what singlespeed shep said.

20t gets you close to a 32:18 equivalent, which is what I and a few others default to in hilly areas instead of 2:1. Its only 1t difference, but it should be significant.

Singlespeed_Shep - could you give me some examples where you've ridden before?

I ride a 29er with 35-19 (Tazzy Wonky ring which is excellent)

I have ride with a guy who often comes out with a 32-18 on the Moors, Last one down the hills and on the flat but first up.

@muckytee if you're suffering from arm pump you could try a wobbly ring, I found a difference. But SS is not easy to start with, you've got to [i]want[/i] to do it. If it's not in you, it's not in you.

Also on muddy terrain or technical climbs the rear wheel slips as I stamp on the pedals.

Don't stamp on the pedals, try and keep it even.

And knowing when to walk is part of SSing. If you're getting in a stress on the climbs, you're doing it wrong.

1) Rigid fork
2) 32:18 or equivalent
3) Merkin
4) Pickled eggs

muckytee I live in Marsden too. I don't have a SS built up at the moment, but when I did I found that 32:18 was perfect for round here.

We should meet up for a ride! I'm quite happy to stick my bike in one gear and honk round with a singlespeeder. 🙂

What did you expect from a SS? You know the answer to this. Get gears and start enjoying yourself.

wl - Member
What did you expect from a SS? You know the answer to this. Get gears and start enjoying yourself.

spending hours cleaning fixing and working to pay for danglers an cables and knobs an that....... 😉

TBH it's not for everyone,not everyone is up to SS'ing,some people are just soft and lazy......... 😆

Get gears and start [s]enjoying yourself[/s].

chainsucking, chainbreaking, ghost shifting, tooth jumping, mech trashing, hanger bending, jockey-wheel replacing, shifter indexing, letting the gearing disrupt the riding ... 😉

Single speeders I need some examples of what's possible, because currently I'm looking up at hills and thinking eurgh not again. But then I dislike sitting and spinning even more...

29ers

35-18 on racey SS
34-19 on big steel jones with a fat front, smashes up climbs in the peak, long mynd (the climb up carding mill valley is fun)natural welsh rock stuff and trail centres
33-17 on general Ti play bike as above no problems with evil steep grunters or long drags

Fat bike
33-19 for snow fun.

as fuzzy mylne once said SS riding is all about the gun show, big upper body strength will help maul up climbs where skinny wee riders stall and die. 😀

tattoos and a cheeky nip of absinthe also helps *hic*

yep wonky rings kick ass for SS 😀

Always about the ass for Taz 🙂

yeah. revenge on the skinnys. revenge!

I think the Pope says it's possible to 'cure' gearies but that's just prejudice. They were born that way and they deserve to be treated just like human beings.

Cheezpleez - Member
I think the Pope says it's possible to 'cure' gearies but that's just prejudice. They were born that way and they deserve to be treated just like human beings.

are you drunk,sir ? 😉

Always about the ass for Taz

well chaps in tight lycra do it for me, I'll leave the ladies for you ringo 😆

I think the Pope says it's possible to 'cure' gearies but that's just prejudice. They were born that way and they deserve to be treated just like human beings.

How would you feel if your daughter brought home a new boyfriend and he was a gearie?

How would you feel if your daughter brought home a new boyfriend and he was a gearie?

I could just about tolerate it unless...

he was a short fat one with an orange 5....she'd be in the workhouse with the other fallen women in no time at all and I'd have my man horse whip the gearie and then set the dogs on him.

My tolerant, Christian attitude can only be pushed so far.

horse whipping's too good for them

@mintimperial - Sure I'm game, let me know when you can. Email's in profile.

What I'll do is get a 34t front ring, that way it'll lower the gear making it a bit easier, and if I still don't like it then a 34t will be better than a 36t for 1x9 as well.

Just a quick question, if I ride a singlespeed (32:16) and a 'gearie', should I expect to be shunned or embraced?

I do have a beard, if that helps?

depends who you want to be shunned or embraced by....

@ keef- You shun him from behind and I'll give his front a big cuddle

😆

Just a quick question, if I ride a singlespeed (32:16) and a 'gearie', should I expect to be shunned or embraced?

This lot may embrace you: 😆

[img] [/img]

A pure soul is hard to find.