Barnaby

I think there is something here. I did the same thing as Orbit last spring. Each ride, one selected gear only, no shifting-for 3 months. I think it made me stronger and faster, and definately better on the hills. I went back to using gears just before an organized ride, and then found myself being much more aggressive (especially on the down hills.)

Some have compared the difference of singlespeed to mullti-gears to the difference between manual transmissions and automatics in a vehicle. The irony here is that the manual transmission, which requires constant shifting, is lickened to the non-shifting singlespeed bike, and the automatic, which requires no shifting is lickened to a geared bike that does. It gets confusing, but I know what the writer was getting at; it has to do with the connection of the rider to the bike and to the terrain and conditions which is more immediate when gear changing is not considered. This feel is more direct in a manual transmission than an automatic, which were originally introduced in boring "dad's cars" , while the little sporty models we all craved after were all manual. Nobody craved after the wood-panelled station wagon. Nobody wanted that station wagon in British racing green or with a close-ratio manual transmission.

I think singlespeed riding whether you choose to simply stay in one-gear for each ride on a geared bike, or you go the route of no derailleur and a single-speed freewheel is a return to a more direct connection to the idea of "pure" riding for the enjoyment of it. I have since started to wonder whether "fixed-gear" will be adding to this feeling or a zero sum game. I know I have looked forward to the coast on the downside of a hill that became challenging to get to the summit of while in a fairly high gear, and am not sure how high-cadence pedalling will feel after such an effort. I guess I will know soon after I get this thing on the road.