why single speed

Mynameisdann

I want a ss jump bike, just for the lack of problems that may occur, or could something like a stinger prety much eliminate the chain jumping off upon my bad landings on a Geared bike? :X

ride_whenever

I have 4 ss bikes and only one geared bike.

I cannot afford to maintain 5 geared bikes, plus for some jobs i really don't need the extra gears.

For me it's a case of simplicity, low weight (steel ss inbred @ 24lbs and carbon geared 456 @ 25lbs) and lack of maintenance.

Shaggy_Dog

yeehaamcgee wrote:

There is no reason. It's just a mental illness that the sufferers are oblivious to.

Hahaha! agree with that one. I can see why you might run it if you lived somewhere like Hertfordshire, I'd still have gears though. It does mean you can be fairly lazy with cleaning and maintaining your bike.

Anonymous

Brushing mud off, oiling chain?
Sounds like you crazy singlespeeders are doing more maintenance than I am. :shock:

supersonic

I think SS is like having sex with an extra thick condom - might not break as easily, and less chance of slippage, but ruins the ride and takes you longer to finish.

Anonymous

supersonic wrote:

I run gears so I can argue the SRAM vs Shimano debate...

Ah, don't get me started on that one!
I absolutely loathe the shifters I currently have on the bike. I just cannot get them positioned so that they don't constantly dig into my thumb joint but are still within reach.
GRRRRRR
Will definitely be swapping them out when the mech wears out or breaks.

Come to think of it, I wonder if that's WHY I'm doing less maintenance than the singe geared mentalists?

Mynameisdann

Mynameisdann wrote:

I want a ss jump bike, just for the lack of problems that may occur, or could something like a stinger prety much eliminate the chain jumping off upon my bad landings on a Geared bike? :X

Any help anybody ?

Stevo_666

John Moore wrote:

You can tell by the slagging off from the likes of yeehaamcgee and others that they definatly haven't tried single speeding.

I've tried it by not changing gear on my commute in just like I suggested above and it sucks. The uphills I do were nigh on impossible and I spun out going downhill. Got bored and went back to 20 speed, way better.

Anonymous

Mynameisdann wrote:

Mynameisdann wrote:

I want a ss jump bike, just for the lack of problems that may occur, or could something like a stinger prety much eliminate the chain jumping off upon my bad landings on a Geared bike? :X

Any help anybody ?

Ah right.
Now, a proper jump bike is one place where singlespeed really can make sense. They tend to be crashed repeatedly, and the less things there are to break, the better.
However, if you do want to keep the gears (say, you might want to ride to and from the trails) then yes, a stinger will almost completely prevent the chain from coming off the chainrings.
I say almost, because since fitting the stinger on mine, I have not lost the chain at all, but there must be some circumstances where it will come off I guess.

Mynameisdann

Ah okay well im expecting to crash alot but not to fast, and yeh i will be riding it to and from, might go for a geared one then , cheers :P

CycloRos

John Moore wrote:

You can tell by the slagging off from the likes of yeehaamcgee and others that they definatly haven't tried single speeding....
They are easy to look after, you just dust off the dried on mud and give the chain a squirt of oil every so often.

+1 in 8 months of single speed commuting and XC duties I've probably spent a grand total of 2 hours on maintenance!

Anonymous

CycloRos wrote:

John Moore wrote:

You can tell by the slagging off from the likes of yeehaamcgee and others that they definatly haven't tried single speeding....
They are easy to look after, you just dust off the dried on mud and give the chain a squirt of oil every so often.

+1 in 8 months of single speed commuting and XC duties I've probably spent a grand total of 2 hours on maintenance!

Well, after over a year, apart from changing forks, I've done precisely nothing. Bike has been ridden through sun rain mud snow, hail, summer and winter.
I haven't even cleaned it, it rains here often enough that it'll get washed whilst I ride next time anyway, more often than not.

Steve_b77

To be fair unless you've actually tried it for a decent amount of time there's very little room for comment.

I used to think that single speeding was a bit nuts, but then I tried it and now I have a SS mtb and a SS commuter.

The SS commuter was a replacement for my geared (2x9) flat barred road bike, I just wasn't using more than 3 gears on my 9 mile commute across London, so thought to myself why bother with the maintenance and got a SS bike, much better and geared right just as quick as my old geared bike.

The SS MTB is great for blasts round my local woods, has turned me into a better climber as you've got to get the technique right and build your endurance otherwise you have no chance. It's even got me looking at other trails in a different way, if they're single speedable or not and would it benefit the ride?

But as they say it's Horses for Courses, if this wasn't the case then people wouldn't need to ride 6" bikes everywhere

John Moore

Steve_b77 wrote:

To be fair unless you've actually tried it for a decent amount of time there's very little room for comment.

Seconded.....don't knock it until your properly tried it

Shaggy_Dog

Tried it, don't like it. Respect to people like Matt Carr who'll turn up to a 24 hour solo and win the entire elite category on a singlespeed.

John Moore

Shaggy_Dog wrote:

Tried it, don't like it.

But at least you're not slagging it off like those who haven't tried it for a few rides

Anonymous

John Moore wrote:

Shaggy_Dog wrote:

Tried it, don't like it.

But at least you're not slagging it off like those who haven't tried it for a few rides

We have fricking gears! if we choose to ride in a single gear, we can
(facepalm)

Bar Shaker

John Moore wrote:

Steve_b77 wrote:

To be fair unless you've actually tried it for a decent amount of time there's very little room for comment.

Seconded.....don't knock it until your properly tried it

That puts it in the same category as gay sex.

CycloRos

yeehaamcgee wrote:

CycloRos wrote:

John Moore wrote:

You can tell by the slagging off from the likes of yeehaamcgee and others that they definatly haven't tried single speeding....
They are easy to look after, you just dust off the dried on mud and give the chain a squirt of oil every so often.

+1 in 8 months of single speed commuting and XC duties I've probably spent a grand total of 2 hours on maintenance!

Well, after over a year, apart from changing forks, I've done precisely nothing. Bike has been ridden through sun rain mud snow, hail, summer and winter.
I haven't even cleaned it, it rains here often enough that it'll get washed whilst I ride next time anyway, more often than not.

With that amount of maintenance on a geared bike either your drivetrain is fooked or you don't ride very often! The point I was making is the time spent on maintenance of my SS is considerably less than on my geared bikes

yeehaamcgee wrote:

We have fricking gears! if we choose to ride in a single gear, we can
(facepalm)

and most of us have gears on other bikes yet we still choose to ride SS in certain situations, crazy hey!
go and find something else you know nothing about to comment on

bails87

Bar Shaker wrote:

John Moore wrote:

Steve_b77 wrote:

To be fair unless you've actually tried it for a decent amount of time there's very little room for comment.

Seconded.....don't knock it until your properly tried it

That puts it in the same category as sex.

Monkeypump

ride_whenever wrote:

I have 4 ss bikes and only one geared bike.

I cannot afford to maintain 5 geared bikes, plus for some jobs i really don't need the extra gears.

For me it's a case of simplicity, low weight (steel ss inbred @ 24lbs and carbon geared 456 @ 25lbs) and lack of maintenance.

But you have managed to convince yourself that you NEED 5 bikes?

x-isle

This is so entertaining! Please keep it up.

Some of the local lads at Cannock think that I HATE SS, not really, just not my thing as I've not got the determination to want to push the "wrong" gear up a hill.

I also don't allow any SS bikes on my courses, so have been getting stick for ages about it!

Please continue, I'm loving this one!

cgarossi

Nothing against single speed bikes really. But personally don't like the look of them. Look more like a shopping bike.

And they simply can't be as versatile.

ride_whenever

Monkeypump wrote:

ride_whenever wrote:

I have 4 ss bikes and only one geared bike.

I cannot afford to maintain 5 geared bikes, plus for some jobs i really don't need the extra gears.

For me it's a case of simplicity, low weight (steel ss inbred @ 24lbs and carbon geared 456 @ 25lbs) and lack of maintenance.

But you have managed to convince yourself that you NEED 5 bikes?

Yup, i definitely need 5 bikes...

The ss road bike for commuting, the ss 456 for commuting when really wet and for coaching rowing/going to regattas, the ss inbred for flat mtb rides, the ss jump bike because i dont want to smash the rear mech, and the geared 456 for fun!

cgarossi

Maybe this can be the logo for the SS nut job club?

Anonymous

x-isle wrote:

This is so entertaining! Please keep it up.

Some of the local lads at Cannock think that I HATE SS, not really, just not my thing as I've not got the determination to want to push the "wrong" gear up a hill.

I also don't allow any SS bikes on my courses, so have been getting stick for ages about it!

Please continue, I'm loving this one!

i know, it's brill!
Even though I see no value in SS bikes, apart from dirt jumping rigs, I just don't care enough to hate them or get annoyed.
it is fun poking a tongue in cheek jab at them though.
the diehard SS nutters who are in dire need of medication are best though.

x-isle

My windup line is always........


"Nice BMX!"

Steve_b77

May I ask why you don't 'allow' people who ride SS bikes on your courses?

Is it something personal, or do you just think that they don't require any coaching from you?

Cannock IMHO is very well suited to the exploits of a SS rider

Anonymous

Steve_b77 wrote:

May I ask why you don't 'allow' people who ride SS bikes on your courses?

Maybe because it pays not to let those people mix with the public?
Much better to have them nice and safe in an institution.

Tom BB

x-isle wrote:

This is so entertaining! Please keep it up.

Some of the local lads at Cannock think that I HATE SS, not really, just not my thing as I've not got the determination to want to push the "wrong" gear up a hill.

I also don't allow any SS bikes on my courses, so have been getting stick for ages about it!

Please continue, I'm loving this one!

Non of the guys off the forum think that you hate SS Craig (I aint a SSer btw!) I cant speak for them all, but I think that you took the pee taking to heart on the forum-it was all intended in good nature....

As for not allowing SS on your course, then thats your perogative-although will prevent some people from giving you custom....

"pushing the wrong gear uphill" Suppose thats personal opinion isnt it-I aint SS but rode most of the climbs on the Monkey trail 32-15 a few weeks back......its only the wrong gear if you cant put enough power down to use it.