SteeperJeeper
New member
Kinda new to bikes, I was wondering who rides a single speed and why?If you wanna throw up a picture too its always appreciated especially is you're in the 29er club.
SS nation
- Thread starter SteeperJeeper
- Start date
who needs gears?
I ride a Redline Monocog SS 29er (rigid).
View attachment 141398
I got it bc it was on CL for cheap and I too wanted to try out what seemed to be all the rage at the time. That being said, SS is definitely not for everyone, and not every trail, especially if you are riding rigid. The trails that I ride are mostly quick climbs and fast downhill's with loads of smaller and larger log jumps, which seems to work out great for a rigid SS setup (32x20). The advantages are in its simplicity. I ride a lot with other people on geared 29ers who fool around with the gears and get themselves stuck at the bottom of climbs, where I know I have to power into them and just crank. I ride a steel bike, so I can comment on weight, but I'm sure if you got a light frame there would be some weight savings as well. Also I feel that it makes you a better rider when you get back on a geared bike (it is not my only bike). Maintenance is also very easy obviously.
SS definitely has some drawbacks as well. To get the gearing right is difficult. I ride a 20t cog in the rear which sucks for the flats and downhill's, but is good for climbs. I will get outpaced on flats and mellow downhill sections, but I enjoy the 20t bc I don't have to walk as many climbs. That being said, walking is a part of SS MTB, sometimes you just gotta hop off, suck it up and walk. Also, long steeper climbs are not recommended, I did a new trail Sunday and thought I was going to die. 25+ min cranking uphill almost killed me.
I guess SS just brings me back to when I used to ride my BMX everywhere. Especially riding rigid. Super simple, don't concentrate on anything but cranking and pushing it to the next level.
I also ride a SS road bike around town.
View attachment 141399
I like it becuase honestly I think it looks good, is light, super simple and requires literally no maintenance. I used to ride it fixed gear, but that is whole 'nother story. Dont recommend it. I ride this mainly to the gym, around town, grocery store, whatever. Usually anything less than 10 miles. If I'm riding longer than that I have a regular road bike (I have too many bikes!). Did a century this summer; planning on another one in august.
I ride a Redline Monocog SS 29er (rigid).
View attachment 141398
I got it bc it was on CL for cheap and I too wanted to try out what seemed to be all the rage at the time. That being said, SS is definitely not for everyone, and not every trail, especially if you are riding rigid. The trails that I ride are mostly quick climbs and fast downhill's with loads of smaller and larger log jumps, which seems to work out great for a rigid SS setup (32x20). The advantages are in its simplicity. I ride a lot with other people on geared 29ers who fool around with the gears and get themselves stuck at the bottom of climbs, where I know I have to power into them and just crank. I ride a steel bike, so I can comment on weight, but I'm sure if you got a light frame there would be some weight savings as well. Also I feel that it makes you a better rider when you get back on a geared bike (it is not my only bike). Maintenance is also very easy obviously.
SS definitely has some drawbacks as well. To get the gearing right is difficult. I ride a 20t cog in the rear which sucks for the flats and downhill's, but is good for climbs. I will get outpaced on flats and mellow downhill sections, but I enjoy the 20t bc I don't have to walk as many climbs. That being said, walking is a part of SS MTB, sometimes you just gotta hop off, suck it up and walk. Also, long steeper climbs are not recommended, I did a new trail Sunday and thought I was going to die. 25+ min cranking uphill almost killed me.
I guess SS just brings me back to when I used to ride my BMX everywhere. Especially riding rigid. Super simple, don't concentrate on anything but cranking and pushing it to the next level.
I also ride a SS road bike around town.
View attachment 141399
I like it becuase honestly I think it looks good, is light, super simple and requires literally no maintenance. I used to ride it fixed gear, but that is whole 'nother story. Dont recommend it. I ride this mainly to the gym, around town, grocery store, whatever. Usually anything less than 10 miles. If I'm riding longer than that I have a regular road bike (I have too many bikes!). Did a century this summer; planning on another one in august.
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
I'm a s'speeder. I live in Prescott, AZ which is possibly one of the best single speed environments in the western US. Our terrain is ideal for one gear.
I've logged as many as 180 miles in a single 24 hour stretch on my singlespeed. I've used it for bikepacking, racing, commuting, farting around. I really dig it. It is however, not the most knee friendly thing ever. My biggest day to date on this bike was 78 miles with 16,000 feet of climbing. That...hurt.
My new rig is a custom Ti Form Cycles Prevail. 44ID head tube. PF30 bottom bracket. Internal cable guides. Paragon sliders. ENVE carbon rims on King hubs. Carbon X.0 cranks. Custom Ti Form seatpost. Bling-diggity.
Here's more information on my speeder. Trail weight with the suspension fork right now is just a shade under 21 pounds.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/exp...m-cycles-prevail-bikepacking-perfection-.html
Here is a bikepack trip I did in '10. Roughly 100 miles in two days from Silverton to Durango.
To illustrate the potential of a single speeder - The Whiskey Offroad bike race is in my hometown. Out of 859 starters, on any variation of mountain bike, gears, one gears, full suspension, hard tail, I came in I think 39th. I was 5fth out of I think 80 singlespeeders to start in that group of 859 riders. So, the singlespeeders crushed it. We took up 10 of the top 50 spots. This on a course with 4000 feet of climbing in 25 miles. 25 mile of gnarly trail.
39th out of 859. I think that says something about what a singlespeed bike can do.
I've logged as many as 180 miles in a single 24 hour stretch on my singlespeed. I've used it for bikepacking, racing, commuting, farting around. I really dig it. It is however, not the most knee friendly thing ever. My biggest day to date on this bike was 78 miles with 16,000 feet of climbing. That...hurt.
My new rig is a custom Ti Form Cycles Prevail. 44ID head tube. PF30 bottom bracket. Internal cable guides. Paragon sliders. ENVE carbon rims on King hubs. Carbon X.0 cranks. Custom Ti Form seatpost. Bling-diggity.
Here's more information on my speeder. Trail weight with the suspension fork right now is just a shade under 21 pounds.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/exp...m-cycles-prevail-bikepacking-perfection-.html
Here is a bikepack trip I did in '10. Roughly 100 miles in two days from Silverton to Durango.
To illustrate the potential of a single speeder - The Whiskey Offroad bike race is in my hometown. Out of 859 starters, on any variation of mountain bike, gears, one gears, full suspension, hard tail, I came in I think 39th. I was 5fth out of I think 80 singlespeeders to start in that group of 859 riders. So, the singlespeeders crushed it. We took up 10 of the top 50 spots. This on a course with 4000 feet of climbing in 25 miles. 25 mile of gnarly trail.
39th out of 859. I think that says something about what a singlespeed bike can do.
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p nut
butter
Some nice bikes in here. Joaquin - That's a cool looking bike. Flounder - That's loooow gear you're running on the green bike (Spot?).
Here is my latest build. I've got a couple of others in the garage, but have always wanted to give these a try. Not sure how I will get along with it, but time will tell. I'm waiting for my shop to get me one of those Surly Knard tires to cush out the front end a bit more...
Here is my latest build. I've got a couple of others in the garage, but have always wanted to give these a try. Not sure how I will get along with it, but time will tell. I'm waiting for my shop to get me one of those Surly Knard tires to cush out the front end a bit more...
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
That is a Spot. The gearing on that bike for that trip was 32x24. Given it was on the Colorado Trail with huge climbs at altitude, I went for a very low ratio. I usually ride a 32x20 for our rolling mountain terrain we have locally.
rho
Lost again
The whip I just picked up.
Edit:
Sorry for the crappy pic, I might have another somewhere. But it is an On One Inbred SS, running 34/21, xt cranks, wtb hubs (crap!) Stans rims, Reba race for the boingy parts.
Great riding bike, Head tube angle is a touch steep for some of the chunkier stuff around the Bay Area/SC, but its a great XC bike for everywhere else around here.
Edit:
Sorry for the crappy pic, I might have another somewhere. But it is an On One Inbred SS, running 34/21, xt cranks, wtb hubs (crap!) Stans rims, Reba race for the boingy parts.
Great riding bike, Head tube angle is a touch steep for some of the chunkier stuff around the Bay Area/SC, but its a great XC bike for everywhere else around here.
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Jwood70
Observer
I ride some SS. I have a 2007 Redline Monocog 29. I have used this bike for commuting, cyclocross races, dirt road rides and xc. I have added some wider bars and disk brakes but that is all. They are super fun bikes. The ride is (to me anyway) much different than riding in one gear and not touching the shifter, I find that I dont even think about missing shifting when I am on the SS.
(Shameless picture whoring)
(Shameless picture whoring)
I like others wanted to give SS and 29er a try. I really wanted to do it on the cheap, so about 3 years ago I looked on the local CL, and found an Origin8 SS 29er for $250. For that priced I figured I'd give it a shot and resell if I didn't like it. I love it. It's all I ride anymore. Granted I don't ride like I used too, but I still love it, its like ridding a big wheel as a kid. Here is the most recent pic, and the reason why I don't ride as much. My SS and my 3 year olds SS on his first off pavement trail. I think he was more interested in throwing rocks in the lake...but he made it about 2.5 of the 3.1 mile loop. Tough kid.
jscusmcvet
Explorer
There is more to it than just one gear.. The simplicity is liberating in a way to me. I have been riding MTB since 1990. I realized early on that I was never gonna be at the head of the pack, so I do not ride for speed, but for fun, the woods and the peace of pushing myself physically. Nothing else hits that for me like the mountain bike.
I started in the days before suspension, made the transition to front, then full suspension. Rode full suss geared for many years. After a seriously bad crash and some time off I broke the rear suspension and that started me looking for a replacement. I went to long travel hardtail, an On One Summer Season. This 26" steel hardtail is a flat out blast to ride, it loves down hills and does anything I ask it to. At first I road it as a 2x10. Then I switched to a 2x1. That was interesting, but eventually went fully to a singlespeed. Along the way I have had 130, 140 and 150 forks on it and have settled into a nice Fox Float 140. In the pic below I have 36x18 gearing, but have since moved to 36x20. This bike is great in most conditions, fast and stable down hill and really grooves on the newer style fast and flowy trails that seem to be prevalent these days. Better bike than I am a rider and cheap to boot. Also FWIW those Xenduro wheels you see are from performance cycle, inexpensive and hold up nicely to my 190ish pounds.
Now, why single speed? I like the thoughtlessness, the lack of worry and the relative quiet on the trail. I like the simplicity, the acceleration. I like knowing that I am either gonna pound the pedals to the top of the hill or I am gonna walk. No comparison to just not changing the gears. There is just a different feeling, a better connection with the trail, etc... It is all I ride now. I used to read all the SS hype (like in DirtRag or on MTBR) and think it was all a bunch of nonsense. How could that be more fun? Can't explain it, but it is, at least for me, at least for now.
I started in the days before suspension, made the transition to front, then full suspension. Rode full suss geared for many years. After a seriously bad crash and some time off I broke the rear suspension and that started me looking for a replacement. I went to long travel hardtail, an On One Summer Season. This 26" steel hardtail is a flat out blast to ride, it loves down hills and does anything I ask it to. At first I road it as a 2x10. Then I switched to a 2x1. That was interesting, but eventually went fully to a singlespeed. Along the way I have had 130, 140 and 150 forks on it and have settled into a nice Fox Float 140. In the pic below I have 36x18 gearing, but have since moved to 36x20. This bike is great in most conditions, fast and stable down hill and really grooves on the newer style fast and flowy trails that seem to be prevalent these days. Better bike than I am a rider and cheap to boot. Also FWIW those Xenduro wheels you see are from performance cycle, inexpensive and hold up nicely to my 190ish pounds.
Now, why single speed? I like the thoughtlessness, the lack of worry and the relative quiet on the trail. I like the simplicity, the acceleration. I like knowing that I am either gonna pound the pedals to the top of the hill or I am gonna walk. No comparison to just not changing the gears. There is just a different feeling, a better connection with the trail, etc... It is all I ride now. I used to read all the SS hype (like in DirtRag or on MTBR) and think it was all a bunch of nonsense. How could that be more fun? Can't explain it, but it is, at least for me, at least for now.
Jwood70
Observer
This to me sums everything up about riding a SS
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