Going Singlespeed...

mounty

Right, I need to pop my SS cherry...... I am going to give singlespeeding a go....ready for the winter as I live/ride in a very muddy area....

I have a budget of around £500 or less, any suggestions ?

I have a couple of bikes and converting either one of them to singlespeed is not an option.

Cheers.

Bar Shaker

Cut the cables to the shifters.

If you don't like single speed, it will only cost the price of two cables to have a proper bike again.

Will you choose a gear that is good for riding uphill or downhill?

mounty

Mostly uphill......plus I intend on using it as hack/commute bike

Steve_b77

I ride a Genesis iO as my single speed weapon of choice.

It's a great bike but outside of your budget at around £600 to £650. It only comes with a rigid fork, but if you have another bike with a 100-115mm front fork you could swap that over when you ride the SS.

You may be able to pick up a 2nd hand one for a bit less, or even a 2nd hand inbred.

There were Charge Duster SS's knocking about for under £500 a couple of months ago at Wiggle, not sure if they're still available. Very similar bike to the iO, just not for me.

If you can stretch the extra ton, the Genesis is well worth it.

.blitz

If you're unsure, you can easily make your own singlespeed rigid 29r by not changing gear, locking out the fork and fitting the heaviest tyres you can find.

Torres

I'd reccomend going seccond hand, old inbreds go for not a lot of money, the genesis IO, GT peace and Charge Duster SS are all worth a look.
Most of these come with rigid forks, but you can pick up some decent forks of ebay for around £100.
The great thing is, if you find out you don't like it, chances are you won't lose too much money on it, compared with buying from new.

Stevo_666

As above, use one of the bikes you already have and don't change gear. Then if you decide you don't like the gear you've got, its very easy and free to change to a different ratio