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.
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.
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
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.
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 censored 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"
Everything in moderation ... except beer
Beer in moderation ... is a waste of beer
If riding an XC race bike is like touching the trail,
then riding a rigid singlespeed is like licking it
... or being punched by it, depending on the day
projectsome
Posts: 4,478
Posts
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.
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.
I must be doing it wrong then.
said it all perfectly for me!
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* didoh, and it's fairly simple and cheap to build a really lightweight singlespeed (it can also be very censored 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"
Beer in moderation ... is a waste of beer
If riding an XC race bike is like touching the trail,
then riding a rigid singlespeed is like licking it
... or being punched by it, depending on the day