Does anyone here race singlespeed?

random man

I'm toying with the idea of getting a singlespeed cx bike. Some of the muddy or flatter courses don't require many gears so singlespeed seems a good idea as you don't have a rear mech to get full of mud and grass.
If anyone has or does use one I'd like to hear the pros and cons before spending.

bendertherobot

I've seen a number of people doing it. But not many.

I've just gone X1. Will be interesting to see how much less mud I pick up. I'll have nothing in the front mech area and I do wonder how much from there gets transferred onto the chain and into the rear mech. We'll see.

milemuncher1

For years, I only rode single speed / fixed. ( at least 15 ), I moved to derailleur gears in my 20's( I'm now 42) . I still think single / fixed, is the best road riding. I reckon racing SS, is the hardcore option.

andyp

I did a few races on singlespeed this season. On some courses it was just as quick as riding gears, such as Herne Hill on New Year's Day. On others it probably slowed me down, like the London League round at Cyclopark on January 3rd, where I was slightly over geared.

Pros

- no worries about losing a rear mech - you only have one gear so you just have to get on with it - get the gearing right for the course and you can be as fast as most

Cons

- you've got to get the gearing right - on some courses you'll have to run sections that most other riders can ride - it's hard work, you don't have the choice to drop it down a gear to save your legs

The rider who won the London League this year, including quite a few race wins, mainly races on singlespeed, so it doesn't have to be a performance limiter.

random man

Thanks for the replies, I like riding singlespeed on the road but maybe I was just after an excuse to get another bike Think I'll stick with the two geared bikes for now.

roger_merriman

bendertherobot wrote:

I've seen a number of people doing it. But not many.

I've just gone X1. Will be interesting to see how much less mud I pick up. I'll have nothing in the front mech area and I do wonder how much from there gets transferred onto the chain and into the rear mech. We'll see.

it clearly is somewhere that does pack, never used off road X1 systems but I can see how they would help.

This said from MTBing proper full on mud tyres ie stuff like Dirty Dans rather than stuff like Bonty MudX which are more intermediate type. Don't seem to a) clog or b) pack up the bike with mud.

tgotb

bendertherobot wrote:

I've just gone X1. Will be interesting to see how much less mud I pick up. I'll have nothing in the front mech area and I do wonder how much from there gets transferred onto the chain and into the rear mech. We'll see.

I didn't notice much of a difference in the amount of mud/grass in the rear mech; my theory is that it gets deposited straight onto the chain from the tyre, and then carried back into the mech. However, dispensing with the front mech definitely cuts down on the amount of mud/grass that gets caught up in that area. Any that's left, because it's not wrapped around a mech, is then much easier to clear with your left hand behind your back whilst shouldering the bike on run-ups.

ugo.santalucia

random man wrote:

I'm toying with the idea of getting a singlespeed cx bike. Some of the muddy or flatter courses don't require many gears so singlespeed seems a good idea as you don't have a rear mech to get full of mud and grass.
If anyone has or does use one I'd like to hear the pros and cons before spending.

One for sale in the classifieds for 400 quid (pompetamine). I read a blog a couple of years ago... basically you will be at a disadvantage on some courses and will be better off on other courses. If you race against yourself, then it doesn't matter if you have gears or not... single speed will be cheaper to run, with fewer mechanicals