Ditched the Granny and had my best ride.
Ghostgraphics
Posts: 109
I have been having a lot of issues with chain suck and they were not going to go away without spending money I have not got. So I ditched the granny ring and the big ring and went single ring upfront. As I have only been back into riding for a few months after probably 13 years off the bike (and not much physical exercise in between, I have been married for 8 of those years :roll: ), I was quite nervous about my fitness being able to cope without being able to drop it down into the granny to get up the hills and I had visions of me walking a lot of the time. But after my ride today I would probably say it was the best fitness decision I have made so far. Instead of taking the easy route and just going into the lowest gear possible, taking away the choice made me really have to push (not literally). The ride felt like lots of little interval sessions and despite being knackered after, I am now feeling on a real high.
Do your self a favor and ditch your granny.
Do your self a favor and ditch your granny.
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Brilliant, nice one ghost!
Do you have a 'how to' guide?
Something I have been thinking of for a while for my training bike. I thought it would be too much hassle and cost a bomb!Trek Series 6
GT Avalanche0 -
It is fairly easy to do but my lbs did assist as they have the tools. (lloyds cycles in Swadlincote, just the other side of Burton on Trent so not really far from you.
But basically, pop your crank off, take off granny ring, take off top chainring (you need to get some single ring 5mm bolts to replace the ones that hold both top and middle rings). Refit. Adjust the front mech so it sits over the middle ring and stops the chain bouncing off, take away the cable and shifter. Job done. I am sure someone more technical can explain more if needed. But the cost involved was just the chainring bolts.
It was quite surprising the difference it made, I seemed to be able maintain more speed as I was shifting less, which in turn kept me pedaling more, which kept the heart rate up and hopefully burned off some more pounds. Hopefully it has knocked some weight off the bike and help knock some more weight off me
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oh yes, taking parts off costs a fortune.
It'll cost you about a fiver for short chainring bolts, if you need them. More if you want a bash ring (which normally comes with bolts.
Remove cranks, remove rings, remove front shifter and cable, then refit cranks, set front mech using stops, then shorten chain to large:large plus 1 complete link.
Done.0 -
I've not done a 1*9 setup, but i do ride a couple of singlespeeds and a fixed gear cx bike. The difference is psychological mainly, although you do basically treat every ride like an interval workout, pushing past LT regularly then recovering on the really steep downhill bits.0
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Yeah it was probably quite a psychological thing but that is half the battle isn't it?
However my thighs right now I telling me it was not all psychological
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You push yourself harder because you have to, but you are pushing yourself harder!
You however will be getting a lot stronger.0 -
