Mountain Biking - a good mountian single speed?

Hi im new to single speed and im wondering what is a good mountain singlespeed bike around a thousand dollars and does front shoxs matter a lot?

There are probably a few complete singlespeeds for about that much. Bianchi has a few that should work. There's also the Hardrock SS from Specialized, but I think it's only about half your budget. You could use the rest to get a nicer wheelset and fork, though - the MZ or whatever comes on it is not the greatest.

And check out On-One, they have a lot of singlespeed frames and I think they sell completes.

And to answer your question about suspension forks, that's kind of personal preference. If you ride rough trails a lot, a suspension fork would probably let you relax a little more and control the bike better.

You can check out Misfit Psycles (http://www.misfitpsycles.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/26_45/products_id/44). Cool guy, good gear. I [very] occasionally ride a full-rigid SS, and unless you have a gigantic front tire, it will tend to beat the crap out of you if your trails are rooty and rocky. I'm thinking about getting a suspended front fork, maybe a 3" travel - just to take the edge off. That said, if you can ride full rigid, it's a lot of fun. It takes more skill, and trails that were kind of boring on a regular geared/suspended bike can become very interesting very quickly.

what about surlys i think im leaning into one of those or a bianchi which one, im thinkin surly someone help me out aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh?

Here is the mountain single speed that I just finished building. All together it cost a just a bit over the price range you are looking at. You just have to shop around for bargains. So far I am really liking it. Riding single speed is definitely going to take some getting used to, but the simplicity and lack of maintenance is awesome.

http://bengal.missouri.edu/~msbgd5/inbred.jpg

I think im going to get a karate Monkey from Surly. Are these good? and i have a Trek 8000 thats like 6 years old so right now im banging the heck out of it but to get used to ss what would the gear ratio be on a geared bike?

On my SS I run a 32:16 or 2:1 ratio. This seems to be the norm for running off road on average terrain. Depending on the geography of the land you ride on, it might be necessary to adjust the ratio slightly. To answer your question, it all depends on the number of teeth on your front sprockets and on the cassette, chances are that there might be more than one combination of gears on your bike that would get you close to the 2:1 ratio. Just count the teeth on your sprockets and on the cassette and see what you come up with.

Hi im new to single speed and im wondering what is a good mountain singlespeed bike around a thousand dollars and does front shoxs matter a lot?

There are many good options. You will need to decide if you want a steel frame or not. Same with disks and front suspension. Many of these decisions are difficult to figure out without trying things out. I got a Kona Unit at a good price tried it rigid and with the stock V brakes and decided that I wanted a suspension and disks so am adding those now. Some folks will only ride rigid SS. It really depends on what you like. I like the Unit but would probably also love a Bianchi or a Jamis SS and I can appreciate the value for money of a Redline.

Does anyone have a Karate Monkey picture?

I don't think that a single speed would be good for the mountian, beucase if you need to get into a lower or higher gear, it is not avaible.

ss are for men and geared are for girls, thats the bottom line. Singlespeed seperates then men from the women.

ss are for men and geared are for girls, thats the bottom line. Singlespeed seperates then men from the women.

Okay, so ... wait a second. Does that mean if:

http://www.geocities.com/nicoledownar/V4/PremontMed27aout305H400.jpg

rode singlespeed, I'd have a crush on a guy?

Damn, that's a fine lookin' man.

i ride a lemon lime surly 1x1. great bike. get one

Specialized stopped making the Hardrock in a Single speed configuration.

Got a Surly 1x1, with the rigid fork. Loving it.

ss are for men and geared are for girls, thats the bottom line. Singlespeed seperates then men from the women.

But are the elevation changes in Iowa actually significant enough to do any separating? :p

Yeah on the eastern side were i live. I mean its no Colorado hill but thier big. Have your ever rode ragbri.

I live right next to the Mississippi

another thing i dont like ss track bikes, just thought id tell you do you dont put any pictures. Im not a road bike man. I ride like a phsyco and live like a maniac, road bikes to me dont fit in that.

So...in short:

You drink too much, can't appreciate the beauty of a track bike and don't know how to spell RAGBRAI? Doing well so far :D

But, I kid...

If I were still living in IA, I'd go with a 2:1 rig. SS'ing isn't terribly complex - so buy what you can afford and like. You're not going to go wrong with a Surly or Bianchi.

I dont drink at all im a runner and i can run 3.1 miles or a 5k in 17:02 and im only a junior in highschool so if anyone thinks that they can beak me a running race call me up

I don't think that a single speed would be good for the mountian, beucase if you need to get into a lower or higher gear, it is not avaible.
Ah, that's part of the magic [and the entire point of SS]! To go up a steep hill requires a lot of effort. There's grunting, twisting up of faces and such. On the downhill, you learn to pick smoother lines and stay off the brakes. On the flats, you spin like a dervish!

I dont drink at all im a runner and i can run 3.1 miles or a 5k in 17:02 and im only a junior in highschool so if anyone thinks that they can beak me a running race call me up
:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:

HEY LETS RACE, if I can ride my bike? You can run.

ss are for men and geared are for girls, thats the bottom line. Singlespeed seperates then men from the women.


oh wow, yeah gears are for girls, that why pros use gears, so you're telling me if I don't buy a singlespeed and walk up the hills the ratio I have won't allow me to pedal up, I might as well tuck it between my legs permanently and start wearing make-up?

It's all preference and necessity, I know a large handfull of people that ride gears and could destroy you on your new personal god making single speed

Step down off your pedestal and realize you're just another biker trying to enjoy the sport

ss are for men and geared are for girls, thats the bottom line. Singlespeed seperates then men from the women.

You inhaled a lot of diesel fumes in your childhood, didn't you?

ok, it pisses me off when people think their certain discipline is so much better than the rest of the bicycling world. They each have their own challenges and skillsets, so why don't we all just enjoy our sport called BICYCLING

s

santa cruz chameleon is good...not sure if its under 1k tho

At the risk of continuing some of the banter on this thread:

There are many single speeds available for under $1000.

Bianchi
KHS
Kona
Specialized
Cannondale
On-One
Etc.

Any and all will do great.

The MTBR forums have a great FAQ section about single speed bikes, builds, and riding.

If you are actually thinking of purchasing a single speed, I think you might want to read a little bit more before jumping into it. You may even want to try a used bike first so you do not waste money on something that you may not like. There are a couple of nice surlys on ebay for around $500 right now.

I built up my first singlespeed from parts, and decided I liked it enough to invest in a purpose built single speed. Now I am riding a KHS solo-one full time. I dismantled my geared bike last winter because it was not getting any use.

You could always convert that Trek you have to a single speed.

Cheers,

GF

Specialized stopped making the Hardrock in a Single speed configuration.

Got a Surly 1x1, with the rigid fork. Loving it.


Specialized may still have some of the 2005 singlespeed models left in their warehouse. You have to check with your Specialized LBS to find out for sure. I got mine in January, and got a discount. They are listed in the Mountain Bike Action magazine March 2006 issue "buyer's guide special." I picked mine up as a commuter and it has become my favorite bike.

I'd suggest a Redline MonoCog. Available in either steel or aluminum. They run about $600 complete and if you want a suspension fork, you'll have enough money left to get a top of the line one on closeout.

Oh yeah, now availabe in 29" too!

The cheapest SS available as a complete bike are the Redline Monocog and IRO Mia, then bikes like Bianchi, Kona, On-One are in the ~1000 mark.

I bought a Unit frame and built it up, just love how nice it rides and the sliding dropouts are easy to deal with.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a315/DiRt_DeViL/022606/P1010010.jpg

I just picked up a Redline MonoCog a month ago, and I am in love with it. 32/16 gearing. I bought a RockShox Judy J4 with poploc and installed it the day I bought it. I think that it is a necessity to have a fork with a lockout on it with a mono-cog if you want a suspension fork. The remote is nice because you can just click it into lockout while pedaling and approaching a hill. That is the one thing that i love about single speeds, people underestimate their hill climbing ability. There is a great article in the July Mountain Bike Action on keeping up momentum both up and down hills on a single speed.

You can get the Chromo Redline Mono-cog for around $450, and a nice for around $200-$400. I picked the J4 because it had the pop-loc remote lockout and it is 80mm-125mm travel.

The redline comes with Alex DH19 rims laced to sealed redline disk hubs, sealed bb, the only thing not sealed is the headset, but it is still cane creek. And it has Ritchy Comp Rizer bars.



http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/9809/mono17uq.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/3241/mono25ra.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/2936/mono31ph.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

The Kona Explosif is the same bike as the unit, including the sliding dropouts exept it includes braze-ons for your shifter cables, should you ever decide to go that route...