single speed???????

[godders]

Have to agree with most of the coments here , ss is more a state of mind , i built my first ss this year and wish that i had done it years ago !!
prety much all the riding i do is on the south downs or the north downs
and so far i have managed to get up almost everything that i did on my
geared bike , takes a bit longer to get round a loop but so much more fun
and when it gets just to steep then get of and push ..... and look at the view that you were missing before .

 

[andrewl]

99%???

C'mon!

There are parts of trails that you are up on the pedals in the lowest normal ratio on a geared bike, so unless you are gearing your SS at that it is just NOT the case.

Or is that 99% based on your normal choice of riding?

I can't comment on Pickles 99% but my riding and racing of a single speed would support his claim.

Yes it can be massively hard work of some of the really technical steep rocky ups but as long as you've got traction and good lungs and legs you can do it. The thing which trips me up most of the time is coming up of slow riders in the granny ring and losing momentum.

I find I lose out more on the downs as a short travel Ti SS bike just isn't a match for a 6" trail bike on some terrain.

 

[andrewl]

Does anyone ride a SS full-suss (just to add more confusion to the debate)?

I've tried it on a short travel Xc bike and it works ok.

I know another guy who has a Klein Mantra set up as a single speed. The Mantra is a strange beast as everyone i ride SS with agreed it was a shit bike with gears but strangely works well as a single speed - it could just be that the single speed riding style suits the URT suspension??

 

[velomaniac]

URT works because as you get out the saddle, which on an SS is mandatory lets face it, the back end stiffens up making it more hardtail like. Sweetspot URT's like the Klein which has a pivot point further from the BB than the more common style of Y-Frame get stiffer at the rear when you stand. Y-Frame style bob more under heavy cranking.

I cant afford a Klein Mantra but I have a Trek Y-3 which will probably be SS'd for a bit

 

[hamster]

Singlespeed is harder, it made me tougher and more tolerant of pain, also I work harder in cornering to conserve momentum.

If I lived somewhere like the Peaks I'd probably ride geared, but round here it's ideal. Personally I'd never have any form of suspension on a singlespeed - there is too much need to honk it out of the saddle.

You would be surprised what hills you can get up if the only other choice is walking!

OF COURSE a full sus geared bike is faster. That's why such things were developed. It's just that they are not as much faster as people expect...

 

[bryan555]

This fella (Steve Webb) beats most geared riders he comes up against.
He doesn't often use suspension forks (though he does tend to ride big wheeled bikes).

I guess it's all about what suits the individual. Singlespeed can be as effective as gears in the right place on the right bike with the right rider.

 

[Andy R]

What I want to know is what that horrible bolt-on tension abomination is doing on a cool bike like that Pegasus :evil: :shock:

 

[bryan555]

It's an early prototype. He's got one with the bolt in EBB now, but I think he'll be riding something even more special next season!

 

[mikee]

whats wrong with that ,looks well cool

 

[Andy R]

It's an early prototype. He's got one with the bolt in EBB now, but I think he'll be riding something even more special next season!

Ah well, that explains it then.....