# How did you get into Singlespeeding? Spout your testimony!



## coachjon (Jun 13, 2007)

I am sure there is a post for this but it is buried deep in the archives....

I was just wondering how everyone came to love the singlespeed life? Was it by necessity? Budget? Reconnecting with the roots of MTB? 

Personally it was all about money for me. I wanted to get back into mountain biking and had an old Mongoose bike that needed work. Rather than drop a bunch on a new bike I just picked up a new fork and headset, singlespeed conversion and new crank. Pretty much everything else was shot other than the Avid brakes I put on not too long ago. Once I tried it on one gear I fell in love all over again! Who cares if I have to walk up some hills Plus being a bigger guy I can build a tougher bike and keep the weight down somewhat. 

Now I am hooked and don't really see myself going back to gears any time soon. Next project is a rigid singlespeed 96er! Can't wait!


----------



## Lord Humongous (Jan 12, 2004)

*R.C. made me do it.*

No really, back in 95/96 there was an article in MBA about riding SS in the spring before riding season really kicked off - just to work on your spin. I tried it and thought "this is great" and proceeded to ride SS on road all the time. It was only a short step from there to riding SS off road.


----------



## fastale (Jul 2, 2007)

I am too lazy to change gears.


----------



## madcap (May 26, 2007)

I rode a MonoCog one day and liked it


----------



## rapidcarbon (Dec 12, 2007)

I am a poser, so I am gonna ride what my "idols" ride


----------



## IttyBittyBetty (Aug 11, 2005)

*Old Pueblo and a GNO*

I was living in Cleveland when three of my riding girl friends from AZ asked me to race Old Pueblo with them. We had raced 24 hour events before, so I said - SURE! Then they went on a GNO (Girls Night Out) and came up with a brilliant, margarita induced idea - ride as a single speed team. They were all in the process of building up SS rigs back then. At the time, Old Pueblo did not have a single speed women's 4-person category. Anyway, my friends called me up and asked me if I wanted to race single speeds. I told them that I didn't have a single speed and hadn't ridden one since I was 12, so of course my answer was YES!

This was November, so I had to hustle to find a single speed before the race in February. I finally found a wonderful little XS Surly with Durtgurl's help and I had the bike in hand in early December. Now I had to train on it. Remember I was in Cleveland and there was a lot of snow. I christened my white Surly the Snow Queen and rode as much as I could considering the conditions. Then I made a NYE trip to AZ to ride on dirt. That's when I fell in love with my SS. I was able to ride a bunch of stuff (National, Mormon, etc) on my SS that I had trouble on with my geared bike. I discovered the satisfaction and simplicity of riding an SS. Hard to put into words...

Team Bad Betty went ahead to take second place in the womens 4-person category against all geared teams.


----------



## G-Cracker (Feb 8, 2006)

A day before a ride with a couple friends, my rather new full-squishy broke down. My friend offered his newly converted single-speed to me. I was 100% totally hooked. After that ride, I pulled my KHS frame out of storage and began building it up. I've been SSing for just over one year now, and the "new" full-squishy gets to see trail maybe 20% of the time.


----------



## EDDIE JONES (Mar 26, 2005)

Walked into my LBS to show my wife what a Gary Fisher 29er SS looked like...Met a salesman that said, "You don't want that one, you want this one" an IndyFab 29er SS. I had it custom ordered and love it.


----------



## micky (Jan 28, 2004)

*I got a job near some trails*

I got a job near some trails, and if I was going to get something out of the my lunch hour ride, it needed to require something to make it more challenging. Now I am very excited to ride a SS, I am riding 3-4 times a week weather permitting, and I feel that I am a much stronger climber.

SS has mad every trail more challenging, and it has forced me to really charge it when I ride. I dont think SS were made for lazy rides, that is what the gears and FS is for.


----------



## Schmucker (Aug 23, 2007)

I rode a SASS and liked it. Plus I'm way too stupid to know what gear I want to be in. That makes me use to being in the wrong gear, but at least now I don't have a choice.


----------



## CB2 (May 7, 2006)

I thought singlespeed was the stupidest thing in the world. But my geared bike broke, and while I was waiting for parts to fix it, I thought I'd build a SS out of an old frame to confirm my belief.
I haven't ridden a geared mtb since.


----------



## colker1 (Jan 6, 2004)

i took off the shifters. then the gears.


----------



## ridindog (Jun 6, 2006)

Got sick of the creaking, clunking, pinging of my full sus bought a Monocog off ebay for 249.00 loved it tried the 1x9 thing again (creak,ping pop,clunk) and promptly got a W.I. eccentric rear hub put on that frame.sold everything but the one bike I have now with the W.I. eccentric rear hub. SS is the only way to go for me.


----------



## coachjon (Jun 13, 2007)

*agreed*



ridindog said:


> Got sick of the creaking, clunking, pinging of my full sus bought a Monocog off ebay for 249.00 loved it tried the 1x9 thing again (creak,ping pop,clunk) and promptly got a W.I. eccentric rear hub put on that frame.sold everything but the one bike I have now with the W.I. eccentric rear hub. SS is the only way to go for me.


totally!

Is there anything more relaxing than just cruising along your favorite trail with barely a sound of the leaves and twigs under your tires? None of that clunking and junk associated with gearie. Gotta love it.


----------



## rockcrusher (Aug 28, 2003)

I moved to the US early 1996 and brought a buncha bike parts with me. I had a real hard time getting a job but I wanted to ride so I rigged the parts into one bike but I really didn't have $10 to rub together to get shifters and housing and stuff so I just adjusted the shift stops on the rear derailleur and shortened the chain I had a bit and headed off into the desert wilderness.

Aside from the occasional slip up the cassette or down the cassette and the occasional drop on the front it was fun and I was amazed at the amount of things that I could climb here without too much effort. 

I have been riding SS since then, but until last year never had a dedicated SS, just converted ones. 

Sure my SS has been interspersed with geared bikes but I always return to them as my main ride. My new bike was purchased as a geared bike but after a crash damaged my shifter off came the gears and boom, singlespeeding again. 

Now I only own singlespeeds. One 29er and one 26er (my old converted IF Deluxe).


----------



## colker1 (Jan 6, 2004)

rockcrusher said:


> I moved to the US early 1996 and brought a buncha bike parts with me. I had a real hard time getting a job but I wanted to ride so I rigged the parts into one bike but I really didn't have $10 to rub together to get shifters and housing and stuff so I just adjusted the shift stops on the rear derailleur and shortened the chain I had a bit and headed off into the desert wilderness.
> 
> Aside from the occasional slip up the cassette or down the cassette and the occasional drop on the front it was fun and I was amazed at the amount of things that I could climb here without too much effort.
> 
> ...


yup. built a bike w/ no shifters. it would cost me $70 for a pair of bar end shifters(i ride w/drop bars) shipped ; so i adjusted both derr on a 32:18 and rode it.
now i took off the gears but made a mistake and ended w/ 32/16. so i changed a bit my cadence and keep going.
a simple bike is so pretty.


----------



## Matty H (Aug 7, 2006)

I got a BMX. Since I'd got that, I wasn't riding my 26" street/jump bike. So, I traded it to a friend for a complete 1x1. It helped me rediscover XC (which I hadn't ridden in almost a decade). Got the 1x1 in early '06 and haven't looked back.


----------



## inflightmusic (Apr 17, 2007)

stopped changing gears one day on my MTB are after reading in Sheldon Brown how much brain power it uses... found myself heaps more relaxed and enjoying the riding, haven't changed that gear since, it's still in it. Next I built a fixed gear road bike and it is the bomb to ride... and then on Sunday I bought a rigid 29er SS, my first real SS, 29er and my first real MTB... no turning back! Not sure whether it was the deep down curiosity, the thrill of chucking out technology or just Sheldon Brown being brilliant as usual, but its the best cycling decision I've ever made.


----------



## nspace (May 25, 2006)

Last year I bought a geared Kona hardtail. Rode it for a season. Liked the bike but got sick of constantly fiddling with gears and all that jazz. 

Went for a ride with Peter from Misfit Psycles and some other locals. They left me in the dust and laughed when my poor gears slipped on a steep climb. I figured SS was worth a try after all of that!!!

Decided to give SS a go with a old converted bike in early 07. Since then I sold my Kona, and now own 3 SS mtb's and a SS road bike. I have no desire to return to gears. Loving every second riding SS.


----------



## coachjon (Jun 13, 2007)

nspace said:


> and now own 3 SS mtb's and a SS road bike.


are you married? if so how did you convince your wife to let you get 4 new bikes!!  Mine is pissed that I have a roadie and a SS mtb and one in the works...4 at once might put her over the edge lol


----------



## nspace (May 25, 2006)

Hahaha! I am a single student. Every penny I make that don't have to spend on school ends up going towards bikes. Perhaps the only perk to being single and living at home with your parents. Oh and I am completely broke now.


----------



## slowrider (May 15, 2004)

*Drank the coolaid*

I read so much about how pure and simple SS were so after a few years I started to believe the propaganda and bought one. Man everything is harder, the gear is neaver right, the ride is too harsh and man do I HATE WALKING THE STEEP STUFF. But I'm still doing it because it makes the same old boring easy trails a challenge again and it makes me stronger.


----------



## Mallanaga (Jun 30, 2007)

my nuts met the top tube when some chain slap from some curb hopping popped my chain. from there i thought i was going to get a 24" BMX... but instead i found a 29" mountain bike with only one gear.

heavenly music sounded and i've been hooked since.


----------



## redxj (Oct 17, 2004)

I had two geared bikes and "took a chance" and bought a used SS 29er. I had my two geared bikes sold less than a month later. That bike was my first SS, first 29er, and the first fixed gear I rode. I have multiples of each now.


----------



## perttime (Aug 26, 2005)

colker1 said:


> i took off the shifters. then the gears.


I was getting fed up with bending the deraileur hanger, adjusting, readjusting, dropping the chain, etc.

My brain tends to prefer things with as few moving parts as possible.

Sooo, I rode a few weeks trying to forget about shifting, to see if I could survive SS. I could. I liked it. Then I took off shifters, cables and deraileurs; shortened the chain so that I could roll the bike to the LBS and let them do the rest of the work.


----------



## LIV2RYD (Jan 17, 2006)

Started on a single speed when I was a kid. Then came geared bikes, front suspension, full suspension, softtails, 29ers, 96ers and now SS. My full sussy and geared bikes collect dust now. SS brought me back to the days when I was a kid and just pedaled my ass off to get where I wanted to go. I am having more fun today than I ever had with my seal leaking, mis-shifting, pivot braking, pain in the ass high maintenance geared bikes. Plus, I can blow away most of the gearies i ride with now.

To be honest, I rode with a guy who was faster than snot on a SS and I could not figure out how he could be sooo fast with only one gear.

I had to find out for myself, now I know.......


----------



## MTBDad (Jan 2, 2004)

*I Wanted to Be...*

Cool, so I tried SS. It failed miserably... I'm still not cool at all, but my bike is lighter, easier to maintain and SS'ng is just a lot more fun!!


----------



## Klein Freak (Jan 30, 2004)

In 2002 the rear XT shifter pod exploded internally, rendering gear-changes worthless. I took the bike (a '97 Klein Mantra Race) home, ripped off the pods, derailleurs, etc, bought a Singleator and rode it like that for 4 years before buying a dedicated SS frame.


----------



## wrecktangle (Jun 16, 2006)

I was invited to go for a ride with a couple of "dads" from my kids' school who ride together quite often. This is my first time riding with them. We meet for an evening of rolling single track with some short steep climbs mixed in. As I'm pulling out my geared bike from the truck I notice both were on SS. I thought they were nuts. 

Boy was I wrong, got my butt handed to me that day. I had a hard time keeping up on that type of terrain. Kind of funny, but I was laughing at the way they pulled away from me on every hill. That style of riding reminded me so much of my fun BMX days.

Two weeks later I picked up a Monocog and I feel like a kid again (turning 40 next month) on my big "BMX" mountain bike.


----------



## Roger___ (Jan 27, 2004)

*Function over form*

Norcal winter in 97 was long and wet, destroyed everything on my geared dually. After replacing everything I said never again..picked up an SS for the following winter to save $ on riding and now here we are.


----------



## monocognizant (Jul 10, 2007)

Yup! I replaced a drivetrain, broke a rear deraileur, replaced rear deraileur, bent cogs on 2 week old 9 speed cassette, replaced 2 week old cassette then broke 2 week old deraileur all within a month. :madman: At that point I was completely fed up with the big industry leading component manufacurer (for forcing 9 spd crap down my thoat) so and decided to boycott hence, my first singlespeed was born. Now, I will admit that I do have a 1x8 in the stable for those long sunday rides :eekster: but, you can bet you still won't find the "S" word on it anywhere. :nono:


----------



## Treybiker (Jan 6, 2004)

Cause my wallet says Bad MF on it. :rockon:


----------



## coachjon (Jun 13, 2007)

monocognizant said:


> Yup! I replaced a drivetrain, broke a rear deraileur, replaced rear deraileur, bent cogs on 2 week old 9 speed cassette, replaced 2 week old cassette then broke 2 week old deraileur all within a month. :madman: At that point I was completely fed up with the big industry leading component manufacurer (for forcing 9 spd crap down my thoat) so and decided to boycott hence, my first singlespeed was born. Now, I will admit that I do have a 1x8 in the stable for those long sunday rides :eekster: but, you can bet you still won't find the "S" word on it anywhere. :nono:


sure is a whole lot nicer not hearing all those creaks, clanks, and skips out on the trail eh?


----------



## plume (May 26, 2006)

all the fast guys were doing it... and in all honesty it's truly all you need in certain regions.


----------



## hooker_47 (Apr 12, 2007)

I had an old steel Trek, and it weighed a ton, and I wanted to upgrade it. New suspension, new rims, stripped everything else... it felt like a new bike. My first ride was at Buffalo Creek, north of Deckers, Colorado. I have never had so much fun riding, or been so tired. It was great.

A couple of weeks later, I was riding at the Academy, and I snuck up on a Boy Scout troop on a hike. I rode behind them for almost a 1/4 mile before someone turned around and saw me. I love the lack of noise, and the smoothness of a single-speed drivetrain. Does it get any better?


----------



## longhaultrucker (Jan 24, 2007)

coachjon said:


> I am sure there is a post for this but it is buried deep in the archives....
> 
> I was just wondering how everyone came to love the singlespeed life? Was it by necessity? Budget? Reconnecting with the roots of MTB?


yes,yes and yes...but not all 3 at the same time...the budget parts just for the last 12 months or so:madman: (tho i did still have my gearies...see other 2 reasons )


----------



## austinmark (Oct 8, 2007)

*where's the romance*

i'd love to tell you some story about how i rode a singlespeed once and felt so connected to my bike and god and the earth that i almost puked, but my story has less romantic beginnings. i had a POS giant rincon. i rode it for one year in college, then it sat outside during 3 years of law school. once that was over -- about 5 years ago -- all the bits and pieces were rusted through and through. my friend owned a bike shop and told me that to replace it all was ...well, that the bike was "totalled." but he had a spare bottom bracket and cranks (the rear cassette hub was miraculously alright), so we stripped off the rest of the parts and went singlespeed. i've ridden it that way until a few months ago when i upgraded to a real singlespeed. yahoo!


----------



## fastale (Jul 2, 2007)

Pretty much the same for me as everyone else. I have been commuting on the same ride for about 4 years now. Where I live there is pretty much salt on the streets all winter long. That stuff just eats up components on a bike so I just thought that I would swap them out. I really like how simple it is.


----------



## hakalugi (Nov 15, 2005)

In 1994, a couple of my friends invited me to a Bontrager employee ride at Sequel Demo Forest... 6 out of 8 people showed up on single-speeds... I thought they were on crack, one gear, good luck w/ that... they beat me like a red-headed step child... if you can't beat them, join them... the rest is history...


----------



## [email protected] (Aug 14, 2007)

Around 1986 a few of us here in Santa Cruz started talking about building a single speed mountain bike but nobody would either do it or fork over the money to have somebody build one. Lucky for me I was building bikes and a guy came along in 1987 and ordred one. I test rode it and thought it was pretty nice. I built one for myself a year later and really liked the lack of noise and the whole approach to riding with one gear. It's pure in the same way that fixed gear riding is but you don't have to deal with the traffic on the dirt.


----------



## wg (Dec 20, 2003)

Playing around with other rider's SS at various MTBR gatherings/rides. Hmmm, this is fun. Then tried a 29er SS... this is fun and the bike "fit". Then bought one off another MTBR character, the rest is history.


----------



## WadePatton (May 10, 1999)

I heard that SS'ers make good beer drinkers.:cornut: :rockon: :crazy:

Decided to try it. SISS came the with discs and swank tires--hadda have one. Drove 200 miles to the nearest shop with one in my size.

Rode the swank FS rig once or twice more...and parked it permanently. Got a fixie for the road too.

I figger I can go back to gears when I hit 70 or 80, by then I should have enough saved up for a Rohloff hub--I'm _d-o-n-e_ with derailleurs.

Next is fixed off-road.:eekster: :skep:


----------



## MellowCat (Jan 12, 2004)

*Mike Ferrentino*

made me do it. I always enjoyed reading Mike's articles in Bike. In the bike test section Mike had a Rock Lobster singlespeed made up to test. I loved the simple the look of that bike and reading Mike's comments about it in several articles made me want to give it a try. After several "no shifting" rides I built up a dedicated singlespeed and loved it. 4 years and counting.


----------



## ~gomez~ (Sep 26, 2006)

It all started back in the summer of 1961....Gary Indiana.....I'm like two years old......I borrowed our neighbor (Sally's) tricycle and was cruising the sidewalk on Pierce Street with my Sister (Peggy) and out from the well of my yard's flagstone walkway, pops out this haggard gnome riding a pure bread, akc registered, Pekenese. The Peke is all snarly and the gnome gives me the 'skunk-eye'. You know that look..........I'm like..."Peggy! What the ****?" pointing at the gnome with my eyes popping out of my head. So it's at this moment the little ****-bird gnome says in a mocking tone "Look Piggy....Look Piggy, Piggy" That was it.....I went berzerck. Trikes are fixed gear, so I just went up and back and rammed that little gnome off his cannine mount and smashed him to a pulpy gnome chutney that we spread on saltine crackers and ate with lime Kool-Aid at tea time. I have trouble trusting Pekenese to this day. Riding singlespeed been a constant in my life for 46 years, on and off, more or less.......


A healthy pekingese typically lives 12 - 13 years or even longer.


----------



## trail_junkie (Jul 12, 2007)

Bought a geared bike to try mt. biking, loved it, hated f***ing with the derailer after every ride. Converted said geared bike to SS, loved it, hated every tensioner I tried. Built new bike with EBB, love the EBB, love the bike, love SS!

The old bike...








The new bike...


----------



## norm (Feb 20, 2005)

I had an old frame and parts kicking around to build a SS. I had never rode a SS till then. I'm on my 3rd SS now.


----------



## gganio (Apr 22, 2007)

In my case, by reading this forum! Simple as that.


----------



## boboso (Oct 17, 2002)

Built one up from spare parts around the garage, went for a ride, was hooked. Too simple, quiet and honest. I still have and ride a Intense 5.5 squish, but when my SS homegrown broke was on a mission for another... built up a Zion frame.

Different lines, different ride, different feel, no worries. Sometimes its good to walk...


----------



## Dadaist (Nov 20, 2007)

Bought an old fixie back in the day and I've liked the one gear thing since. When I wanted a mtb, it just seemed to make sense. One gear, low enough for most stuff, instant response, no maintanence, and just a lot of fun. Gears just get in the way.


----------



## madnessmoose (Aug 22, 2007)

The past two years of single speeding of all genres have been a drunken blur. I can't remember. I do have flashes of staring down between my legs at my feet turning over a single chainring on some old piece of sh!t bike I cobbled together for the fun of it.


----------



## coachjon (Jun 13, 2007)

Dadaist said:


> Bought an old fixie back in the day and I've liked the one gear thing since. When I wanted a mtb, it just seemed to make sense. One gear, low enough for most stuff, instant response, no maintanence, and just a lot of fun. Gears just get in the way.


saw a great signature on the Michigan Mountain Biking Assoc. from the guy that runs www.single-mission.com. "I'd rather ride my bike than operate it."

Pretty much sums it up.


----------



## mistermoto (Jan 22, 2006)

Some of my buddies around here had built their SS's and were rubbing my nose in the fact that they could punish me worse than they had before. Always with the suffering! Then a weekend of riding with those 2 guys, Steve Garro and some of the Flag mutants pushed me over the edge. After that weekend was over I pulled the shifters and derailleurs off my Cadex, and added a singleator. Man that first couple weeks was murder.... 3 years later, and still suffering well. :thumbsup:


----------



## Ze_Zaskar (Jan 3, 2008)

I got tired of the derailleurs and gears stuff. When we realize how much time and energy we spend changing gears and maintaining the transmition, the hole thing dont makes much sense. First i tried some rides with my old bike but without change gears. I just loved the thing and then i droped that crap. Now all my energy goes to the trail, my bike is lighter, is much more elegant, and i can spend my money on better parts instead of cassettes or broken derailleurs.
:thumbsup:


----------



## serious (Jan 25, 2005)

I got into SSing because of this forum. I simply wanted to see what the big deal was. Well, it is no big deal, but I love it.


----------



## eyefloater (Apr 3, 2006)

Ze_Zaskar said:


> Now all my energy goes to the trail, my bike is lighter, is much more elegant, and i can spend my money on better parts instead of cassettes or broken derailleurs.
> :thumbsup:


I hear ya. Two derailleurs this year and counting ... hopefully the next one lasts long enough for me to sell the bike before it goes too.


----------



## Ryder1 (Oct 12, 2006)

*Changed addictions, sorta*

My sole bike, a 26" HT, was stolen 1.5 years ago and soon bought 3 used FS bikes w/in 2 weeks (e-Bay and white wine don't mix). Meanwhile I'm reading all these Zen-like reviews of SS 29ers and it seemed like the kind of thing I'd like. I'm 6'2", an ex-Buddhist, and "suffer" from ADD - I had to try it. I was also drinking and smoking too much at the time and figured a SS would force me to chose between bad habits and biking. I performed my own intervention!

I got a Haro Mary a year ago and have been addicted to it since, upgrading it often, and riding 2-3 times a week instead of once. The bad habits decreased (SS is easier than I thought it would be, and quitting the habits, harder). I also promptly sold the other two FS bikes and haven't looked back...much.


----------



## wadester (Sep 28, 2005)

Rode a fixie track bike once a looooong time ago - and the always remembered liking the feel of fixed.

Got interested in 29er and got a deal on a Karate Monkey frame - which converted me to big wheels, but felt the need to get back to FS/full gears and did.

Then I've got this KM frame - which can be built most everywhich way - so built a fixed wheel and love it.

For my afterwork rides its perfect. Been doing it for a bit more than a year now and will always have a MTFixt bike. Still changing gear ratios from time to time.


----------



## PanFry (Nov 9, 2007)

For SIMPLICITY, PURITY & PUNISHMENT.


----------



## timbone (Oct 25, 2006)

LBS owner said you should look at this...a Monocog for $425...ordered it w/o a test ride.
(and liked it) Now I don't wear out my geared bike.

Then read about the 29er thing...so I got a GF Rig and liked it even more.(ride it 90% of time)

Getting a Fixed wheel for the Monocog for a change and a new look at the same old trails.


----------



## whoneedswater (Aug 29, 2007)

Our adventure racing team was training early one morning when my derailleur hanger snapped. We went into "what would we do in a race" mode. Found a gear combo that would work... next thing you know I was waiting for the team at the top of every hill.  Woah... there was something to this!

I had an old Giant collecting dust in the garage, converted it, rode, rebuilt it, rode... It now weighs 19.5 ... blah blah blah ... and I've given my FS to my son. I've also converted an old Trek road bike (the red beast) into a SS for kicks and giggles.

This spring will be one full year riding SS. I took my licks last fall racing on it, but hopefully I'll see some better results this year. Regardless... it's a blast!


----------



## coachjon (Jun 13, 2007)

whoneedswater said:


> This spring will be one full year riding SS. I took my licks last fall racing on it, but hopefully I'll see some better results this year. Regardless... it's a blast!


Same here, I can't wait to see the results from a full preseason of training. I have never raced before but I really want to this year. I love that stronger feeling though, it seems like you can really feel the difference after each ride. :thumbsup:


----------



## Jason Boi (Nov 29, 2006)

I guess it would be utter foolishness for me and the lack of funds probably fueled it. Started with commuting to work with an old rigid steel bike until one day the gears and shifters start to fail then i decided to DIY a SS on it and eventually took it to the trails one day. Love it.


----------



## jmchapple (Jan 20, 2008)

i was advised to try it during the roadie off-season to help with spinning. i got a redline mc 29er, my first mtb, in september and love the simplicity. i am going to begin upgrading this summer. i also have a peugeot fixed gear i ride this time of year and love it as well. due to the use of my ss and fixed i believe i use fewer gears when i ride my 10 speed road and cx bike.


----------



## Velobike (Jun 23, 2007)

*Testicular crossbar interface pain*

Testicular pain resulting from the sudden disintegration of my nylon bodied SImplex derailleur.

Luckily I had a chain breaker with me so I was able to keep going. A few weeks later I was still riding single speed and realised I hadn't actually needed my gears to get anywhere.

That was sometime in the 60s.


----------



## bigchromewheelssuck (Aug 21, 2005)

*26 in cruisers did it to me*

We used to push big geared 26 in cruisers up our local trails. Champions, Gary Little Johns and Schwinn King Stings were the bikes. Now it's an Inbred...the more things change, the more they stay the same.


----------



## jmchapple (Jan 20, 2008)

coachjon said:


> are you married? if so how did you convince your wife to let you get 4 new bikes!!  Mine is pissed that I have a roadie and a SS mtb and one in the works...4 at once might put her over the edge lol


this is a slight tangent:rant: 
i am lucky. i have 4 bikes: ss mtb, road, fixie, cx. my wife just says whatever makes me happy. after all, i have tried to explain this to people before, bikes are no more expensive than other hobbies.

i think it can be cheaper. no gas or insurance required. you don't have to pay to play (i.e., golf) unless you race, even that is cheap. improves health which saves tons of money, maybe someday people in this country will wake-up and realize prevention is what we need not a better healthcare system:madman: .

feel free to use my arguments with your wife:thumbsup:


----------



## mpbspt (Jun 2, 2007)

I was in Grad school and wanted to simplify my life - as much as I can. Now I have more time to take in the beauty and push myself. My bike is also 6 pounds lighter than my other mtb bike.


----------



## thetreadway (Jun 29, 2007)

I have an inability to adjust my derailuer so SS just made sense. Luckily I have friends who can visualize which screw to turn...but with my Monkey all/no adjustments are made by me...HAHAHAAHAHAH


----------



## The Tractor (Jan 15, 2004)

*My Excuse?*

Sparticus and Shiggy. Reading about their SS rides, their SS lives, the fame, the fortune, the women, the notoriety, the Magazine cover shots ect. That made me get a single speed, custom to the hilt (pretty much one-off). So blame them for my addiction to SS. I need rehab now. Or not. I dunno. What was the question? 

Rob


----------



## Panhead (May 16, 2007)

I went into my LBS to talk about a geared 29er, and ended up bringing home a GF Rig to "borrow" to see how it is to ride a S/S. My first ride was a 15 mile night ride with no idea where we were going, what the terrain was like or any early bail out points were. By the time we got back I knew the bike wasn't going back.


----------



## slocaus (Jul 21, 2005)

The Tractor said:


> That made me get a single speed, custom to the hilt (pretty much one-off).
> Rob


Now I am curious to see the bike. Have a link handy to pictures?

Nevermind, I found it. I remember seeing it (here) before. I love that bike, being an old Idaho farm boy. Johnny Poppers rule! :thumbsup:


----------



## PepperJester (Jan 2, 2003)

Back in 03 I picked up a new Specialized Big Hit and found my self with out a "xc" bike. Went hunting around for a used frame and some parts to build up a lighter trail bike to add to my stable.

Found this old 2000 Scott frame for $40









Could not track down a deriuller hanger so chose to give SS'n a try. Thought it would be help my technical skills.

This was the bikes first build:









The gear set up always got me strange looks and lots of questions but it worked great. I ran that set up for about three years, skip free.

That bike was retired as I wanted to build up a more FR friendly single speed but as it served me so well I could not bare to part with it and it will be back on the trails this spring with new parts and another fresh coat of paint (mint green silver and brown graphics)

Single speed rocks, I'll always have at least one.


----------



## 88 rex (Aug 2, 2007)

Simplicity and because some people told me not too. Also the reason I went rigid too. Why you need a full squishy and all those gears on flat trails is beyond me.


----------



## juscruzin (Nov 22, 2007)

I bought a 2nd hand Raleigh XXIXer with the intention of putting a Alfine geared hub on it.
Whilst waiting for the hub to arrive, I took the bike out to try the SS thing, and instantly loved that no nonsense, unbreakable feel. For some reason it seemed alot easier to throw the bike around and ride much harder than my full geared bike.

The Alfine hub is great so far, but the extra weight and potentially breakable parts in it means that my single cog back wheel still gets used.


----------



## maxxleo (Jan 2, 2007)

I start singlespeeding in the day that i broke the derailleur hanger


----------



## danza (Nov 16, 2007)

I had been racing my 95 Klien Pulse for six years and it was starting to become a bit tired so replaced it with a Ritchey Plexus wcs so thought i'll make it into a single speed.

It was great did'nt weigh anything after i lost all the mechs and other crap, i was hooked after the first ride but people did'nt get it back then.

I was a pro/elite racer and could just hammer up the climbs out the saddle no flex in that baby 34/16 gear ratio.

Now i've got a GT Peace 9r as a winter bike Spot Brand 26" ss and a Kona Paddy Wagon fixie for the road i ss addict.


----------



## manida (Feb 5, 2008)

was wanting to get a 24" BMX cruiser (I actually still want one) but decided to convert my MTB instead.......will be great for going back and forth to the bar!


----------



## direneed (Feb 3, 2008)

Used to BMX as a kid, so grew up on SS. Been MTBing off/on for the last 17 yrs with about a 7 yr break in-between. Been riding pretty steadily for the last 3yrs. Rode a HT rigid fork MTB in the early days with platform pedals. I've been riding a Blur LT the past 3 yrs and the combination of suspension and chain slack have put me over the bars a few times, always at the most inappropriate of times. The confidence of the SS/HT (Trek 69er,SS, btw) is that the chain is going nowhere, so I power over steps and ledges that before always kicked my ass because the chain would pop off, or I feared that it would from previous attempts. Most of the trails I ride don't have too many long climbs, so I like the overall workout of SS better. I still would rather have a geared FS for epic rides, and will always have more than 1 bike.


----------



## Dms1818 (May 10, 2006)

From reading all the "Just try it " replies. :thumbsup:


----------



## The Tractor (Jan 15, 2004)

*Changes....*

I added a wider fork and bigger tires to it now. Oh and I also changed the handlebar to a 2" riser, the old one was killing my back, a half-link, modded the brake bracket on the rear wheel. And it has this hub: One off I think, and Shimano Japan said it would not work. They were wrong.

Rob








.

The FH-M777 Disk hub


----------



## coachjon (Jun 13, 2007)

any new converts?


----------



## sean salach (Sep 15, 2007)

my parents didn't feel i was ready for gears right off the bat....


----------



## dashSC (Jan 27, 2008)

My past couple gearies had been relatively low-quality components, I got tired of screwing around with the derailleurs and cables all the time, not to mention the shifting-under-pressure or when I hit a bump, etc. I tried a couple friends' singlespeeds [a MonoCog Flight and a Cannondale F300] and liked them enough to build my own. It's worked great for me so far.


----------



## john_mcdonough (Apr 20, 2008)

Why I Ride Single Speed:

My brother signed me and a couple of friends up for a relay race back in March. I was awful. I was in the worse shape of my life. I decided to get back into riding. I went for a ride on my 98 Mantra, my only bike, and in the process of shifting, the chain popped off and took out a couple of spokes. I began looking at it and saw that while the frame was still good, a lot of stuff needed replacing. Began pricing things out and it started adding up. 

Then things got really complicated in my life. Lots of stress and I needed some way to relieve it. The bike was my choice.

During that relay race, they were giving away copies of Dirt Rag. In it, I read a review of a 26" On-One singlespeed. I was intrigued. The simplicity of it seemed comforting. I thought about why I ride, and it was a twofold answer, it was fun and it was healthy. I began cruising the boards here and read up on the 29” rigid SS genre. It sounded like the way to go. If you think about it, a bike is a balance between cost, weight and durability. I thought the 29” steel rigid SS was the right balance for me between the three.

I test rode a Haro Mary SS just to be sure. I fell in love with it. I began shopping around. The LBS pointed me towards a Marin Pine Mountain 29er SS. They could give me a great deal on it if I took a rigid fork. Perfect!

I ride 2-3x a week. My cholesterol is the lowest it has ever been. My blood pressure is great considering the stress. I can feel myself getting stronger and becoming a better rider. I know this sounds weird, but I almost forget about the bike. It is just so simple. Point and pedal. It is just me and the trail. I imagine a surfer feels the same way when they catch a wave.

I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.


----------



## jddjirikian (Aug 25, 2006)

I used to ride a full suspension geared bike. After trying out a singlespeed, on my riding guru's recommendation, I found that running one gear is less mentally taxing for me than riding a geared bike. Therefore, I have more time to enjoy my surroundings when on the trail, and can concentrate on the trail instead of dealing with the "mental noise" of worrying about firing through the gears when the trail starts to rise. 

Additionally, as noted by others, I find singlespeeding to be more of a workout than riding geared. Also, it's a kind of throwback to the type of bike I rode when I was a kid. One gear, coaster brake, etc.


----------



## Doggity (Mar 27, 2007)

madcap said:


> I rode a MonoCog one day and liked it


Me too...actually I ordered a MC, and liked it.:thumbsup:


----------



## Birdman (Dec 31, 2003)

*Boredom*

Back in 2002 0r 2003, I decided that I was getting bored with riding my hardtail and full suspension bike on the local trails. I thought a singlespeed would be just the ticket to get my juices flowing again.

After searching for suitable SS specific frames, I chanced upon an old Litespeed titanium mountain frame in my size. I built it up fully rigid and have not looked back. It now sports a matching titanium fork and is built up with a mixed bag of lightweight parts, tipping the scales at 20.5lbs for a 20.5" frame. The whole build cost less than $900, and helped me put a big dent in my spare parts bin.

I liked SSing so much, I converted my trusty Soma Groove steel hardtail to SS using a Forte tensioner. It's my "easy" SS, since it has a Marzocchi Xfly 80 fork and suspension seatpost. Tips the scales at an honest 24 lbs.

I run 180mm cranks on both, with a 2:1 gear ratio.

My wife rides a Litespeed ti SS convert (ENO hub, just like my Litespeed) with a Marzocchi Xfly 80 fork was well. She loves it.

SSing and especially rigid SSing has made me a better rider, no question. I recently rode my Santa Cruz Superlight (4" travel, 27sp, disk brakes) and it felt like I was cheating! I feel like I've moved to a new level of expertise. Not bad for a 40+ year old guy who regularly trounces guys half his age on technical climbs.

On top of the fun of SSing, it gave me a chance to build up a few more bikes and to build my own wheels for the first time.

JMJ


----------



## fatdave (May 10, 2007)

I thought I'd try it, in hopes of it making me a stronger rider. I figured I'd get a rigid 29er ss, and if I didn't like it in the dirt, I'd put street tires on it, change the gearing and use it as my around-town bike. 

Now, I'm hooked. All the comments above about the fun of SS applied to me too. In particular, I'm enjoying the surroundings much more, as jddjirikian mentions. And, it is definitely a harder workout, so I'm sure I'll be getting stronger. 

I'm now starting to upgrade my XXIX (so far just a new carbon bar, and thompson stem and post). I'm thinking about new wheelset, maybe a carbon fork. My FS (a beautiful Ibis Mojo) gets ridden much less often now...


----------



## eat_dirt (May 26, 2008)

step 1: i saw a cheap 29er zion fork on jensonusa, it was also a SS.

step 2: ???

step 3: i now have a weird twentynineinches.com single speed 29er with a rigid fork that i love trucking around town. haven't had the courage to take it on the trails, yet.


----------



## alauver (May 21, 2008)

i first got into mountain biking about a year ago and bought a cheap trek 3700..the faster i go through some tight singletrack the more fun i have and with all those gears and that chain just floping around i got sick of it..two weeks after that i converted it to single speed and..rode it the very same day and loved it i know have very few stock parts on the bike and love it..cheap bike but it fixed up pretty well my next goal is to get a surly 1x1 frame and start a real nice SS not sure if i want to go to 29ers or not yet..well see


----------



## jwag (Jan 18, 2004)

One word... Terminaut


----------



## JimmyNY (Jan 31, 2008)

Here I go..... I am de-lurking

I started with my Bianchi Lynx in the mid-90's sometime...... cranked off a couple derailuers and a couple of broken chains.... I thought to myself it must be just me.... 2001 I bought my used Stumpy...... awesome bike.... love how it handles...... ooooo look MTBR..... Then I broke a couple of more chains and chainrings........ then the swearing began.... damn chain.... damn shifting (definitely cencorsed here)....... ooooo look a singlespeed forum..... hmmmm.... the hell with it....... third season with the stumpy at 32x18 and its like I can't get enough...... oh wait I can't get enough...... need..... to..... go.... riding..... oh yeah and the ability to drink beer has gone up 10 fold...... mmmmmmm..... beer


----------



## coachjon (Jun 13, 2007)

JimmyNY said:


> Here I go..... I am de-lurking
> 
> I started with my Bianchi Lynx in the mid-90's sometime...... cranked off a couple derailuers and a couple of broken chains.... I thought to myself it must be just me.... 2001 I bought my used Stumpy...... awesome bike.... love how it handles...... ooooo look MTBR..... Then I broke a couple of more chains and chainrings........ then the swearing began.... damn chain.... damn shifting (definitely cencorsed here)....... ooooo look a singlespeed forum..... hmmmm.... the hell with it....... third season with the stumpy at 32x18 and its like I can't get enough...... oh wait I can't get enough...... need..... to..... go.... riding..... oh yeah and the ability to drink beer has gone up 10 fold...... mmmmmmm..... beer


welcome to the boards! now you just need to try a rigid 29er singlespeed to come full circle:thumbsup:


----------



## Drbbt (Jan 6, 2004)

Back in '96, after a *very muddy* ride on my old Cannondale full suspension Super V, I found myself needing to replace all of the cables and housing (the front housing routed under the bb and had gunked up so much it would not shift). In addition to the cables, I had to replace all of the shock pivot bearings. On the trip over to the LBS, I spotted a Voodoo Nzumbi steel singlespeed with rigid fork. Pearl white. Beautiful. Bought it that day...the wife was furious! Sold the C'Dale and have been a true believer ever since. Picked up a Karate Monkey three years ago and have found singlespeed nirvana (29 wheels and one gear).


----------



## EBasil (Jan 30, 2004)

I ran into an old riding buddy that had switched to SS, and was actually our state NORBA SS champ when I went out on a ride with him and a bunch of other SS riders. They kicked my ass on the trail and were obviously having a lot of fun. I rode my buddy's bike, felt how light and responsive it was, and the seed was planted.

Later, I had a total fluke disaster on trail that ruined the front derailleur on my Manitou frame...a derailleur I couldn't replace, so I converted the bike to an SS. It was my only bike for several months and, by the time I got a new geary, I was hooked on the SS.


----------



## wreckedrex (May 2, 2007)

My brother wanted to try it, so we both converted our old Access hardtails. Mine just didn't fit right so I switched the parts over to an older steel Gary Fisher and was sold. The only bugger was the bike really wasn't up to the kind of abuse I wanted to put it through. I eventually found an old Chameleon frame for cheap, now I've got a nice stout rig I'm not nervous about pounding through the fun stuff. It's an absolute riot to ride, and the SS thing makes for a great workout. 

That said, I doubt it will replace my geared FS bike. It's a different sort of bike for a different sort of riding. Besides, shifting just isn't rocket science and the most basic of maintenance keeps it dead silent.


----------



## C Cow (Aug 2, 2007)

*Convenience and a Cheap Fix*

In 2006, I won a ss conversion kit at a local mtb race. I didn't think I would ever use it, and I put it on a shelf in the garage when I got home. Three months later, the derailleur broke on my hardtail mtb. I had planned to start cross racing that bike in the fall, and decided to remove all the gear stuff and make a ss. I had been riding this bike on the road with slicks for training mileage for mtb racing.

Cross season was great, and I put many, many road miles on that bike, switching from 13 to 18 tooth cogs for whatever I was doing. In august of 07, I bought the new Specialized Singlecross. This bike is now my cross racer, and my road bike, switching to fixie mode at random on for road riding.

I want to convert my full squishy bike, but not sure I would enjoy it that much.

C Cow


----------



## _kz_ (May 20, 2007)

Ok, let there be my first post here.

Due to backbone problems I had to quit of playing squash in mid 06. I really missed it, the intensity, fatigue, sweating. Fortunately doctors permitted me to ride bikes. I decided than to switch from car to bike as a commuter. From my health insurance savings I bought a shiny new Specialized Rockhopper. In fact it was too shiny to leave it alone, so I cleaned out from the dust my old steel, no name, MTB which hasn't been ridden for 10 years. Let's make it simple, back to the roots, back to my childhood and try that SS thing: new track fork ends, powder coating, tugnuts, SS freewheel and so on. I collected 2.000 km on it in the first year meanwhile the Rockhopper was mostly sitting in the garage. Last August I bought a 20 years old Moser roadie and I converted it to SS too. This January I got rid of the gears on the Rockhopper. Now I have one bike for commuting, one for the local trails and one for the road fun. Fortunately there's enough space in my garage for the bikes and my wife is so tolerant.


----------



## moschika (Jan 12, 2004)

coachjon said:


> Was it by necessity? Budget? Reconnecting with the roots of MTB?


yes, yes, i guess kinda sorta

i made my first singlespeed in late fall of 1988. i was riding my c'dale M700 at a local park when, one day, i stick got caught up in my chain and literally ripped the RD off the frame and destroying the RD hanger. this was before replacement hangers, and c'dale actually said they had never heard of something like happening, and thought the idea of a replacement hanger wasn't needed. however they came out with a replacement hanger 2 years later.

anyway, being a relatively broke HS student and couldnt' afford a new bike, my riding buddies suggested I make it a singlespeed. we re-dished my rear wheel and threw a bmx freewheel on there and viola'! though a year later, i got a new gear acceptable frame then stopped riding. fast forward about 10 years, my new geared frame was now "old" and being a broke adult, a friend said let's convert it to singlespeed on the cheap. viola'! haven't had a geared mtb since then. though i did replace that frame with a ss specific one.


----------



## Hand/of/Midas (Sep 19, 2007)

i bought a new Bianchi DISS for $250.


----------



## john_mcdonough (Apr 20, 2008)

Squash... yes, I use to love to play squash. It is the the single speed, rigid form of racquet sports....


----------



## LetsGoOutside (Sep 4, 2005)

I became intrigued by the ss sc
ene as a junior racer back in 1999 or so, right when dirt rag first started publishing articles about them and Bianchi came out with their first production bike.

I was about to quit racing altogether and someway or another inherited a Raleigh Technium, needless to say it fit cross tires and had semi-horizontal dropouts. That bike became my go to bike for everything for the next few years; no gears, knobby tires and a sweet home-made paint job.

After I destroyed that frame I pretty much took 5 years off riding and when I came back to it I wanted to be a racer boy (again) and ended up riding and building up more race bikes, a few months ago I picked up a Monocog and it is my go to bike now, regardless of it's place in the hierarchy of bikes in my stable.


----------



## ilostmypassword (Dec 9, 2006)

Started as a rigid commuter put together from "bits" and then when teh weather turned bad and i did not want to wear my gears down i took it off road. Hooked. I do have a geared ride with squish up front for teh mountains though


----------



## hu-man (Jan 13, 2004)

*Process of elimination (illumination?)*

I just kept taking gears and stuff off my bikes, trying to find what I really needed for a commuter and a mountain bike. 10 speeds to five, 27 speeds to 3, etc. Ended up at one speed.


----------



## 7daysaweek (May 7, 2008)

*Pretty frame.*

To be honest. I had a friend that talked about singlespeeding for a while. I wasn't really interested but I got curious and looked at some bikes. I saw a frame that I thought looked good and BANG. Bought the frame a few months later and just finished a bike up. After riding it I can't really tell you why I started but I can definitely tell you why I'll keep riding it.

Lightweight, beautiful, fast, climbs like crazy, super nimble, simple (not much to break, I hope), makes me feel like a [email protected]$$.

The funny part is the friend that first mentioned it still hasn't gotten a singlespeed.


----------



## parrot1 (May 27, 2008)

I have this walmart special (Roadmaster) that wasn't worth fixing the parts, so I removed them.


----------



## troyer2112 (Mar 31, 2008)

responsiveness!!!!!! i am so new to the singlespeed that i dont even own one. i am currently converting my giant boulder into an SS! i used to live on my P.K. RIPPER back when i was a boy. i loved it so much! the gears dont take the pressure that i pounded into my cadence, probably because the components were stock and cheap. i cant explain it but i feel compelled to ride a SS!!!!! please welcome me to the club porcupine tree


----------

