Impulse buy...single speed, what the hell do I do with it???

Darra8

Hi Guys,

I have been looking and lusting after a Genesis Io single speed for months now in my LBS. Well, today I took one of my bikes in with the intention of part exchanging it. I was offered what I wanted, so the bike is now mine... Trouble is I don't really know how I'm going to get on with it.

Anyone have positive things to say about single speeds?


Cheers,

Steve

passout

I commute on my SS - it's good for that.

nonnac85

No gears to go wrong / skip at the most inconvenient time

fourcrossjohn

pics and spec?

ride_whenever

Pretty maintenance free. Very quiet and fun.

Hills are doable, but you will find your MHR...

supersonic

Oh dear oh dear! ;-)

Raymondavalon

Find a motherfugger of a steep hill and conquer it.
Get to the top, flip the back wheel over to the fixie, disconnect the brakes and descend accordingly using your legs as brakes..

Once you've done this you are truly worthy of an SS :¬)

Darra8

supersonic wrote:

Oh dear oh dear! ;-)

Thanks for that!!

The Northern Monkey

Impulse buy...single speed, what the hell do I do with it???

Buy a rear derailleur, a shifter and some gear cable.... should sort it out for you

Airienteer

bigbenj_08 wrote:

Buy a rear derailleur, a shifter and some gear cable.... should sort it out for you

Don't forget a cassette, new chain and probably a new rear hub

ride_whenever

How fit are you?

salsarider79

You do the same as any other bike. Ride It. You will get used to not having gears, and flow with the road. I did a 30 mile loop faster on my SS than I ever did on my Specialized Tarmac.

I've got a SS and I love it. I've done over 7000miles on mine, and it's cost less than £100 in parts. Can't get much cheaper than that. I used it to commute to work which has a 16% hill on the way in and a 12% and then 15% hills on the way home, so hills are fine as long as you try.

Anonymous

salsarider79 wrote:

You do the same as any other bike. Ride It. You will get used to not having gears, and flow with the road.

Dude, wrong forum. Get the hell back to the cake stop, or hell, or wherever it is you're from.

And to the OP...
:roll:
As Benj said, get a derailleur, cassette, shifter, and some cable, pronto.

Darra8

Hmmm, I'm not sure I should have asked the question now :roll:

Well, it's too late now, and anyway, it really does look the DB's

Here is a link to WMB review
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... io09-33815

Mine is the 08 version and cost me £425. The only downside between the 2 is mine has hayes sole brakes, which even after a few minutes look and feel a bit sh!t...

Anonymous

well they would feel sh!t after a few minutes, they need to bed in.
I'm not sure you should be allowed anywhere near a bike shop

Anonymous

AAARGH, it's a rigid as well?!?!?
what the HELL were you thinking?

fourcrossjohn

put some fox 40's on it

stubs

Nice wheels mate that colour shouldnt work on a MTB but they look fantastic in the flesh so to speak. I would love another rigid SS they are just so easy to look after. I would buy an IO if it wasnt for my wonky knee I need suspension at both ends and lots of gears these days if I am to get out of bed the day after a ride.

Darra8

stubs wrote:

Nice wheels mate that colour shouldnt work on a MTB but they look fantastic in the flesh so to speak. I would love another rigid SS they are just so easy to look after. I would buy an IO if it wasnt for my wonky knee I need suspension at both ends and lots of gears these days if I am to get out of bed the day after a ride.

At last, something positive Mine is grey and looks even nicer than the bronze one.

lesz42

move to holland?

The Northern Monkey

don't put too much pressure on those forks... that angle is crazy!

Bet I could snap em after a few rides

Cps

Look out for some carbon forks on Fleabay - well worth upgrading to.

Oh and remember to say hello - goodbye as you pass all the geared lot as you cruise by uphill !!!!

supersonic

16% hills lol. In Sheffield we call them the flat bits.

fourcrossjohn

you know its a knobber if they talk about hill percentages and fuel burning and they mention the word tarmac

M1llh0use

welcome to SS hell....








you'll love it!

but seriously, a rigid fork???

Barteos

Positive things to say?

... better then spinning classes

Beardface

I've just sold my SS (Cheapo Sepccy Centrum hybrid), just because I didn't get on with it too well.. to be fair, you get a lot less things going wrong, but for the kind of riding I do, I just kept spinning out way too much.

Plus, when I've got the choice of my Mount Vision or my Centrum, the MV won every time..

Still, good for training and commuting to work.. I'm sure you'll get used to it!

Darra8

Wow, I didn't know single speed bikes had such a following....should have bought one ages ago

No wonder the guy in my LBS gave me such a good price for my Revolution! Anyway, it's not all bad, I do have 2 other bikes, one even has some suspension :shock:

_Ferret_

put it in the garage for a few years until it becomes rare. You might be able to then sell it on fleabay for enough cash to get a real mountain bike.
Here's your sales pitch:
"remember the days before gears and suspension? a simpler time, when we used to stick to the flat and always wonder what was over that first hill? Before the derailier revolutionised the bike world? - well you can now relive them with my wonderfully simple and not at all resticted single speed bike from the short lived fad of the 21st century. Bike is in mint condition as I came to my senses before actually attempting to ride it anywhere."

(Okay - open the gates and let in the SS freaks, I'm wating for the backlash... )