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Just wondering what other's motivation was. I've built my first up to winter commute - attracted by the mechanical simplicity, which I am loving - but am actually really liking the aesthetic aspect and the light weight.
What were your reasons?
To save money and avoid being stuck (again) in the middle of nowhere with a broken mech. It has served that purpose admirably.
I moved to Cheshire, and Delamere was to be my local trails.
The Heckler I had was overkill, so it was a great excuse to buy a new bike.
Curiosity, cost and aesthetics.
Easier to clean and maintain too.
The first one was just to use as a cheap work bike.
Then a long break from single speeds.
Then build a spare frame to use on group rides to push my fitness
Bike to work scheme let me buy a Paddy Wagon cheaply - and I had a really nice Bontrager frame that I wasn't riding much following the purchase of a FS.
I tend to ride the singlespeeds more during the autumn/winter...
Breadcrumb sums it up perfectly for me.
I'm not very mechanically minded 😉
I think it was the clean look of a ss that I liked. I converted my geared bike for a few months, decided I preferred it and bought a ss specific frame.
4X racing
I too can come up with all the reasons under the sun but at the end of the day it boiled down to peer pressure 8)
I was bullied into it by the bigger boys too...
Clean looks, lightweight, cheap, less maintenance. Bought one just in curiosity, to use up some spares, and to scratch the n+1 itch.
When I look at a geared bike with suspension and dropper (althought I have one and love it in it's own right) I see all the parts as expendable as they wear out, my rigid ss is just there with no dramas attached so it's quite a nice bike to have.
Want a sscx bike now.
I bought a secondhand chameleon from here, it was set up SS and I was intending to put gears on it when I could save up to afford them.
From the very first I ride I did on it, I knew it would never have gears fitted, and it never did.
Like me, I like keeping things simple, less to go wrong, less thinking, the silence.
Plus that gear changing thing that hangs down and snaps or plays up just as things get interesting is the devils work
I agreed to race a SS category a couple years ago, on a bike that I can convert between geared/SS. Never converted it back. Love it.
Also in my opinion it's nowhere near as difficult as most people actually think it really is. Just involves a bit more out of the saddle riding!
Simplicity, both in terms of it's mechanical function & the riding style it suits. Riding a bike, for me, is about getting out there & without starting to sound all evangelical; it's just the simplicity of it. You pedal...& that's it.
I'll be the first to defend gears as SS doesn't suit everyone. Hey, your out on a bike & I'm my book that's what counts.
so I had something to ride at the pump track with my daughter - then started to use on trails for a quick blast and for shopping - recently switched to 1 x 10 and will probably switch back as liked a lot more than I expected and am missing more than I expected
I wanted to improve my fitness and buy a 29er
To save wrecking a better bike in winter crap and its rigid so it saves wrecking rockhoxs
I'd just built my road bike when I got sent to New York for a year with work. I didn't know what storage I'd have and didn't want it left chained to a lamppost in Manhattan so I bought a cheap singlespeed road bike from Bikesdirect. Probably the best value bike I've ever had. Did my first century on it!
When I came to get my 29er I wanted an Alfine 11 on it but as Shimano kept delaying the release I had it built as a singlespeed to tide me over. That was 3 years ago....
I ran my roadbike with 3x10 for a while, then put on the Alfine 8 that I'd bought for the 29er but found I preferred singlespeed. Roadbike's now singlespeed too.
Having said that when I get my fatbike in the spring I'll probably run that geared. Before I sold my Pugsley I found singlespeed too hard in the winter, in the dry it was fine but in the mud climbing out of the saddle just made the wheel spin so I like gears to be able to keep my weight back.
Commuting - bought a Mango SS to replace my old knackered and stolen work/hack bike and now love the ride of it, fantastic bike for getting around on. Not sure I'd want a SS MTB though.
Epping forest mud.
Got to llandegla one day for a group ride and realised my fork was goosed. Went to shop and they only had one bike I could borrow .. A full Sus Kona SS. Rode it that day and kicked ass on the climbs. Loved the fact it forced me just to power up. MTFU. So then converted one of my stable to SS and never looked back.
??
won a pair of RC31s that someone said 'would be an ideal fork for a SS' so I finally sourced a SS frame and wheel, never looked back. Still a bike I enjoy going out on, every time..
Cheap, simple, living in fenlandshire.
Had a geared P7 so was easy to convert to SS, gave it a go to see what all the fuss was about and loved it. Moved on to SS 29er now and feeling fitter and a better rider because of it
Thought would give it a go to see what all the fuss was about so bought a used On-one. Ideal for winter use with less moving parts, run fully rigid. Prefer the gears and suspension for rest of year.
I got pissed off with the cost and hassle of watching lovley expensive xtr clad full boingy things get eaten by cannock grinding paste and peak district gritty bearing killer winters. Got a cheapo on one years ago and loved it then discovered that gears and suspension were getting used less and less even for massive hilly days out. .went big wheel and the truth was revealed. ....I'm still a mincing queen with no riding skills...just on a bike with bigger wheels 😀
It went with the beard
Mild peer pressure, couple of false starts getting bored with it and putting the gears back on for a while, finally committed to it when our clubs 'singlespeed only' Welsh Roadtrip became an annual event.
I know I'm converted cos I've done group rides as the only singlespeeder and still enjoyed it without needing the motivation of riding with like minded souls.
This video:
Curiosity and a cheap s/h bike from here.
It was ok but very very dull as a commuter bike which is what it was bought for. Never contemplated riding it off road seriously as I'm way too lazy.
Mrs Coolhandluke liked it as it was simple to ride, no gears.
Also, tried a 29er SS but bought an Alfine for it after a bit.
Was given an old frame and needed a commuter
It came with SS sprocket and tensioner so I kept it after the respray. Rigid commuter was great fun to ride but not so good off road. So I put some wide bars and some RC36s on it and it rocks
Really good for local rides in autumn - simplicity and suitability for local stuff keeps me riding it
I wanted to build a cheap, light, and fast XC bike. Singlespeed fitting the bill nicely. Also, my other bike has seven sets of bearings in the frame alone, not cheap to replace, plus fork seals + shock seals. Rigid Singlespeed makes a great crap weather bike.
Is no one going to admit that they did it for the attention? 😛
Money. Gears are expensive and always seem to mess up for me. And on the road bike it feels like a better workout over shorter distances with no easy gears to fall back on.
About 5-6 years ago, I was out riding with dot from here and he'd cobbled together a singlespeed. At the first notable hill he shot up it, leaving me and the rest for dust. When we eventually got to the top he was hunched over trying not to be sick and looked awful. I thought wow!- look what a singlespeed can do and look what it does to you. I was intrigued, so cobbled one together myself.
Curiosity. Lack of things to clean during the winter. Making the shorter night rides more of a workout. I enjoyed it, but I now live in a hillier area and combined with a lack of fitness meant I sold it
Forced to single speed after breaking a mech. Too high a gear for climbing properly, too low a gear for the flats and downhill. Didn't work for me at all.
As various parts on the old Kona I was riding to work knackered, I gradually bodged it into a SS, and did it properly for SSUK in Hamsterley in 2006.
I had a geared Inbred that I still used for proper rides, though the front mech seizing in the middle ring position gave me a hint that I didn't really need it. When I realized that I was choosing geared over SS for group rides, so that I didn't leave everyone behind on the climbs I made the switch to SS only.
I have gone partially back to gears this year, with the purchase of a cross bike. It's not any faster up the hills though, just on the flat and downhill.
Is no one going to admit that they did it for the attention?
I've not ridden with others for ages, but I did like it when people noticed I was on a SS on group rides. Then when they realised that I had rigid forks. And then when someone else pointed out that I'd ridden to the start of the ride as well. 🙂
Just wanted to try it, so I did it the bargain way 2nd hand frame plus shed build). It was a revelation, instead of trepidation, as was sticking a rigid fork on it.
Simplicity, cost and some article in MBUK about Chipps riding a downhill race on his SS
Since '99...
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Wanted to get fit quick
Ever ridden in the Chilterns in winter? Awful chalky grinding paste. liked it so much I rode nothing else for nearly 4 years.
I saw the SS riders on here and wanted to find a way to be like them somehow..
I like it.
It likes me.
Now ride pretty much exclusively on SS. This year I've won more stuff xc racing than at any point in last 20 odd years. I'm 51. Does SS get you fitter? I'd say yes.
I also did it to get chicks.
Epping forest mud.
Had all the bits to build a bike bar the gears and was curious about SS. I loved it immediately and now ride SS most of the time. I do sometimes tire of fending off slavering women and adoring would-be disciples but on balance it's worth it.
I also did it to get [s]chicks[/s] men with beards.
I have an SS-specific Salsa Selma frame that I got from the classifieds on here, but really it was a process of mechanical evolution, borne of other moving parts breaking down.
Forks packed up. Got some carbon rigids in the meantime while they were away getting serviced. Liked them so much that the suspension forks never went back on.
Alfine 8 hub packed up. Bought a cheap wheel and some SS spacers as a meantime thing while Alfine hub was [s]being serviced[/s] pronounced dead by the bike shop. After a little experimentation with gear ratios, found a combo I liked and never looked back.
Had one puncture too many and went tubeless.
If I keep paring the bike down at this rate I'm going to end up riding a fixed-wheel unicycle.
Whilst the Isle of Wight is hilly, none of the climbs are that long, amd most of my riding is fairly gnar-free XC. I find there's maybe only 1% of any ride where I miss having either gears or suspension. Also enjoy bombing past people on climbs where you can hear them crunching and munching their way through a series of problematic gloop-infested gear changes when the trails turn to porridge.
I am looking to build one up under the guise of "My current commuter is too small for me" and it will be an SSCX or SS road bike depending on the wheelset I put in it.
I love riding my cross bike off road and the face of the mamils on 5k full suspension bikes as I ride past them down a descent they are all umming and arring about. That makes me want the cross bike, the single speed is to just make my legs hurt over winter and make my legs look more like a german track cyclist.
The cool kids made me do it and its a great excuse for another bike
I have a beard, I want to be more successful with the laydees, it's a bit niche and I wanted to fit in on here
Natural progression 😉
??
That would be the reason I would go for it. Drivetrains are expensive, yo.
I was told by a former riding 'mate' that I was too fat/unfit and would never be able to ride SS....
nothing like my pig headed ignorance to get me motivated
The world champs were in Afan in 2001, I lived in Bristol, it looked a laugh so cobbled a SS drivetrain onto my old Kona and talked a mate into driving me over. First SS ride was from the start line, always had one since.
The period a few years ago when Shimano/SRAM prices went a bit mental as the exchange rate shifted. Tried it once and found it wasn't as hard as it looked, makes sense you're actually going slower than everyone else most of the time, just pressing on the pedals harder.
Now I keep using it as it just feels better, going uphill the pedals have to be pressed harder, gears feel a bit wierd! Added advantages is it's (generaly) cheep, I always seem to snap mechs off when I go back to gears, it's nice being able to take corners tight or not worry about leaving space through rocks.
Bought an Orange R8 frame at a bargin price and wanted it built up sharpish, went SS (with a suspension fork - I'm not a total masochist!!) and absolutely loved it, easier to honk it up hills than I anticipated, more fun, much quieter, lighter, less maintenance and, aye, it looks beautiful. Wouldn't get rid of the geared full bouncer but the SS is the ying to its yang. Love it. N+1 means I'm now contemplating a rigid SS 29er...
New transmission after winter on SS = £30.
Cost of servicing rigid forks = £0.
GB
I have only been rising one for a year. Got it to make riding with non-cyclists more strenuous. The elegance and simplicity of the singlespeed solution is a real attraction but the plusses of ease of maintenance and lack of wear have become more apparent as time goes on.
singlespeedstu - Member
Is no one going to admit that they did it for the attention?
I would but as both a jonny-come-lately and riding it it mainly with family and non-cycling mates - it has failed spectacularly!
Summer 2012.
So I could grow my beard...
I was told by a former riding 'mate' that I was too fat/unfit and would never be able to ride SS....
this too
he was wrong
Had spent many winters riding fixed on the road, so when I came back to cycling, and singlespeed mtbs were mentioned started looking around, found one going cheap, bought that, got hooked, sold it to build a better one, and love it to bits, no gears no suspension, just feels proper. Tempted to try singlespeeding a cross bike, probably try one over the summer.
Bigger boys stole my gears... 🙁
DrP
My SS is an Ibis Tranny. It seemed a bit pointless to have it and not SS it. I love how rear triangle adjusts to take up the slack in the chain.
Had an Alfine 8 and decided to try changing for a ss set up. So much nicer. I felt more in control on the climbs. The aesthetics are also fantastic.
My names Luddite and I'm a bike tinkerer, there I've said it.
I wanted to build one out of my "junk".
Would like to polish it now but not possible, perhaps I should just roll it in glitter!
because PQ did......
It was an excuse for a new bike 😉 there is a local grass track league near me and after a trip to the velodrome Idecided to get something with a flip flop hub. I tried I out singlespeed at first and loved it! I actually flipped it over to fixed today but not sure how long it will stay like that for.
My mate suggested we do SSUK at Drumlanrig. He bailed to go to a wedding but that was the start of it for me. I started with an old frame I had spare and bought cheap bits to build it up. When that was knicked I bought a scandal with horizontal dropouts. I like being able to put some nice stuff on the SS as I'm not spending lots on gears. I don't do it for the attention but it is fun when somebody says you can't ride up that on a SS and you go and do it. I think I push myself a bit harder on the SS and I think it makes you better rider, gives you a better feel for grip.
because PQ did
Is he still around?
Did you ever give him his bikerack back?
I started ssing because it seemed to confuse the hard of thinking.
singlespeedstu - Member
because PQ did
Is he still around?Did you ever give him his bikerack back?
no,'off the map'
and it's my bikerack now 😉
But really I was riding an old Pug road bike lost a jockey so SS'ed it to get home, good old Cool Tool. didn't fix it for a few weeks found I was quicker on, most of, my regular routes. Liked the 'just riding' so the rigid '92 Kona got the SS treatment ad well.
Nice to find a use for a hardtail frame I had gathering dust, saves the good bikes from winter trashing, makes local trails harder/more fun (26" wheels though so can't claim they came alive), makes rides with non-bikers harder/more fun.
Apart from that it's rubbish. And cheap, and nice looking, and light.