single speeds?

projectsome

apart from not having to worry about the rear mech etc, what are the benefits??

pro's? cons? like uphill and downhill.


I'm just a little curious

Cps

Singlespeeding is more about the whole experience

when riding you have to think a bit more - especially if riding a rigid

when riding up hill its all about pacing yourself
downhill you spin like hell or just cruise.


One thing is for sure - your fitness is a whole lot better.

I regularly SS ride with others on hard tails and full sussers - only time people wait for me is on fast technical descents as i don't want to wreck my rigid carbon forks - with front suss forks i'd be just as quick. uphills you just blow away other riders of equivalent fitness - its all about the direct transmission of power.


Riding around on a geared bike in just one gear for the whole of the ride is a way to try, but its still not quite how pure ss is.

pirwin1

Cps wrote:

uphills you just blow away other riders of equivalent fitness - its all about the direct transmission of power..

No it's not. It's more the fact that unless you stand up and power your way up the hill, you won't get up the hill. You can't just sit and spin in low gear.

northstar

You can't just sit and spin in low gear.

I must be doing it wrong then.

ade ward

i have done a number of 24's and 6 hour races and found that i dont seem to burn out so much as you cant stick it in the big ring on the fast sections but i arrive at the next bit of single track fresher than the guy who just flew by

tlw1

Cps wrote:

Singlespeeding is more about the whole experience

when riding you have to think a bit more - especially if riding a rigid

when riding up hill its all about pacing yourself
downhill you spin like hell or just cruise.


One thing is for sure - your fitness is a whole lot better.

I regularly SS ride with others on hard tails and full sussers - only time people wait for me is on fast technical descents as i don't want to wreck my rigid carbon forks - with front suss forks i'd be just as quick. uphills you just blow away other riders of equivalent fitness - its all about the direct transmission of power.


Riding around on a geared bike in just one gear for the whole of the ride is a way to try, but its still not quite how pure ss is.

said it all perfectly for me!

bomberesque

^what cps said

riding technical singletrack on a singlespeed is a special joy, the rhythm of the trail can be lost on you when you're constantly adjusting your gearing.

Also, I have found that my (rigid) singlespeeding has translated back into my geared HT bike riding in the following ways;

• I am now able to pick more aggressive lines on the HT because I'm riding much more precisely and hence using the suspension, not for correcting my mistakes but for letting me go faster (OK, not always, I still make mistakes, but fewer of them)
• I am learning more and more to pump the trail for speed rather than peddling more energy into it.
• I have developed a much more attacking style to climbing. Some of my riding fellas joke that I climb like I'm on a Singlespeed whether I have gears or not! Some people ride like this anyway but I did not.
• I now have the strength of a small and rather egotistical god

the best guys in my club still beat me up hills, but that's a massive change from 2 years ago when they *all* did

oh, and it's fairly simple and cheap to build a really lightweight singlespeed (it can also be very fucking expensive, as I found out recently) and everyone should ride a *really* light bike at least once in their lives. The first time I lifted the front wheel on my SS up and over a step, completely misjudging the weight and throwing the whole thing back over my head I thought "I'm onto something here"