Kindaslow

I have been riding MTBs for about 30 years and in some ways have come full circle. I love my Epic WC, but riding trails I have ridden for years, on my SS, seem like new trails. I am guessing, and will likely know next weekend, that riding a fully rigid SS will make me faster on my squishy bike. Also, it is a great workout! So, if you haven't given it a try, buy or borrow one. It is awesome!

yooperbiker

I started out years ago on my fully rigid single speed Schwinn Sting Ray. I had a great time on that bike. Really think my full suspension 3x9 speed MTB serves me better nowadays however.

Glad you like your SS rigid MTB - more power to ya.

tk1971

SS rigid by tk_1971, on Flickr

i just started riding ss. So far, so good.

Kindaslow

It is awesome, and the more you do it the more you will like it.

dminor 

False. Other than the fact that you are turning pedals on trails, almost nothing about the one is relevant to the other.

I love mountain bikes but I would find no value in owning a rigid SS - - maybe trying one occasionally for the novelty - - but it would be far down on my 'next bike to own' list.

Kindaslow

You do not own one, yet you know my answer, the energy of both, is false.

It will make you faster via line selection and conditioning.

Thanks is for trying.

dminor 

False again. A rigid SS makes you pick lines that you can pretty much ignore with decent suspension in favor of the efficient, faster lines.

Hypno Toad

Haters are gonna hate.

I just put my rigid SS MTB to rest (cracked frame) and have been thinking about ways to set up another one. For the trails in Minneapolis area, rigid MTB will take care of 95% of the trails you'll find and there are no long climbs either so SS isn't a big deal.

Kindaslow

I will not respond beyond people took something simple and tried to make an issue of it. Then, a few others decided attempting cyber bullyng behavior was a must. If you read those threads, and get something beyond it was a short easy hill that I could not understand young healthy guys pushing a bike up, then really you have just come to attempt to start a fight on the internet. It will not work.

Kindaslow

You left out the conditioning part. And, we will not agree about lines, so that discussion would be a waste of time.

dminor 

I'm spotting you the conditioning argument. But I had really hoped the myth of "Ride a _______________ (hardtail, rigid, SS, etc) - - it'll make you a better rider" was dead and buried by now.

Kindaslow

I believe the switching up does the trick, not just one over the other. I love my Epic!

slowride454

there are some tame local trails were I am faster on my rigid SS 29er than I am on my geared HT or FS rigs. I like the SS for training rides. Makes me charge hills instead of sitting and spinning. Once I am spun out I pump the trail for more speed. All of this helps me when I am on my bikes with gears.

C Law

As a long time ss and rigid rider I would have to agree with this statement. I was on a trip out west last year and rented a 6" travel dually for a week. It took me a couple of days to stop 'picking lines' and just go for the straight gnarly line.

Riding the geared dually was just a different kind of fun, sans the hint of smug superiority. (I Kid, I Kid)

corrado33

Ugh. If a single speed, rigid mountain bike was faster than a full suspension or hardtail, then why are the pro mountain bikers not riding them? They don't even train on them? As for fitness, if riding a SS made you more fit than riding a geared bike, then why aren't the professional road cyclists training on single speed bikes? (Therefore eliminating the whole mountain from the equation.) Lines that full suspension bikes can take are often much faster than lines a hardtail/rigid bike can take. Going over large drops/rocks are often much faster than going around them. Sure, using a rigid bike makes you choose SMOOTHER lines, but those aren't always the fastest, and often aren't.

As for the OP. Very nice bike, I'd love to ride something similar on non-technical trails for fun. For anything else, I'd stick with my hardtail or full suspension bike.

Kindaslow

As I indicated with Dminor, I believe it a the switching between the bikes and learning from each that makes you faster, and not the SS is faster in and of itself. For conditioning, we are not pros. Go give a SS a try and then tell me I am wrong.

I ride mine on black diamond trails, for the adventure. But, I can ride the same trails with more success on my Epic, but maybe not more enjoyment.

corrado33

Surely, a SS will be HARDER to ride, as in you'll be more tired. But you could get the exact same exercise on a geared bike by going faster. A SS is simply slowing you down and making you mash (bad for knees.) Now, I do know a few people with SS hardtails. They bring them on the group rides because they're badass and in extremely good shape (and find riding geared bikes too easy with the majority of the people in that group ride). They don't ride it because they WANT to get in good shape, they are already there and need to do something to slow down for the rest of us.

Kindaslow

Definitely some valid points. Yet, most folks sit and spin in place of riding faster. And, with the SS, that option is not there. Also, since the climbing requires stand for most, mashing just does not happen. I have old and tired knees, and my knees are not bothered while riding SS ( whereas hill climbing sitting on my Venge kills my knees).

My point is that folks who love MTBing will love SS MTBing. And, until folks give it a try, they will never know. At the same time, I am never giving up my bike with suspension. It is jet another way to enjoy the ride.

RJM

I can see riding a rigid single speed gives a "new trail" feel to the same old trails that one would ride....makes total sense. I can see a fat bike doing the same thing too.

I don't see how "training" on a single speed will get you faster on a suspension bike though. Heck, even on my 29'er 120mm full squish bike I ride over stuff that I won't do with my 26'er hardtail and I'm generally faster and less beat up at the end of the ride with the full squish especially if the trail has roots, drops, and jumps.

If I was riding primarily fire roads or a decent groomed trail, I can see the value in the simplicity and the weight reduction of a single speed rigid...I live around a trail that would be perfect for something like that with plenty of climbing that would be faster on the lighter bike with the right gear. But quite honestly, the next bike I'm getting will probably be a 5 or 6 inch full squish bike...just more fun. I'll continue to climb that nicely groomed trail with the added weight of the Fuel Ex but with the suspension locked out.

Kindaslow

Luckily, there are a ton of great bikes to meet our differing tastes.

Leebo

Uggg, again. OP, Seattle? Nice. Got giant rock filled trails, real hills and roots galore? If the rigid SS works for you, great. Wait until you have old man knees, your gears will be used often. My Surly 1x1 is now my geared commuter( no hatin') I ride with a few who do SS sometimes, alway with a front sus fork. Rigid around here just gets you beat up, not faster or awesome. And you don't own a fat bike, your not a mountain biker

Kindaslow

Seattle, hills, roots, rocks, .... Definitely. Old man knees, well, after 32 years of martial arts I have that covered, too. The rigid does beat me up a bit, so this weekend is the squishy bike. And, I am going to be renting a fat bike at Whistler soon, and the wife has already said no new bikes without selling 1-2. Anybody thinking about a Venge?

Darth Lefty 

Wow, some people just want to fight, huh? The idea looks fun to me but I know I can't hack it.

VNA

One can always lock the suspension to get "that rigid feel"
(Don't like fights)

I <3 Robots

I haven't really tried SS...but I did borrow a rigid fork from a friend. While it felt great on the flats and climbs...it didn't feel good descending. For me the rigid fork took the fun out of riding downhill.