C Law

by the way....this is an interesting comment, since it doesn't jive with my experience. I have ridden alot of SS and the only time I am passed on a downhill by a geared bike is on dead straight trail or fireroad or regular road. This includes quite a few 100 mile and other type endurance races. And alot of short XC races. On windy, ledgy, singletrack descents the single gear provides enough impetus to get moving and smooth riding will do the rest.

This is just my experience.

I am sure 4x4 or slalom riding is different though

cryptid01

I have owned/ridden singlespeeds so I thought I was allowed to poke fun...

I wouldn't mind an honest answer though - I don't see how they're so incredibly different.

cryptid01

Most of it is terrain and style dependent, of course. The trails I prefer in Central NC have lots of shorter ups and downs and lots of "newer school" trail features like rollers and berms. Railing out of a berm and being geared too low to lay down the power is frustrating for me. But as I'm sure you're aware, I am no endurance racer. /understatement

-_RebelRidin'_-

I was thinking about a 1x9 or a 2x9 set up.
but there is sooooo much climbing and terrain diversity that I dont think I can spare a gear.

r0ckh0und 

I normally ride gears on my MTB, have for years. Last year I borrowed a buddy's SS for about three months and when I went back to the gears it made quite a difference fitness and skill wise. I should add that my home trails are laid on an old strip mine and is a constant technical roller coaster that is fairly difficult on a geared bike. Riding SS will improve your fitness and skills, no question about it.

craigcraigcraig

Rode my SS all day today, I didn't encounter a hill i couldn't climb with some grunting and serious mashing. That's my terrain though. 32 chainring 16 tooth cog. Kept up with a friend who has gears and rides much more than i do. All subjective just throwing it out there.

mystolenbikes

WOW Gastro!



I am gonna ask this question AGAIN! as simply as I can. Can some body PLEEEAAAASSSEEEEE explain to me how is it that you can build better skill and fitness level for example, by riding 32/11 on an SS vs if I keep my geared bike in 32/11 and didn't shift at all?

r0ckh0und 

It's pretty simple really..................on a geared bike you can and will shift........on a SS you can't.

mystolenbikes

So you telling me it all comes to happy shifter fingers? is that it?
By the way I have spend many hours on a bike without shifting gears.

r0ckh0und 

It's just another aspect of mountain biking. Riding more, riding with better riders, riding more difficult trails, etc., etc. makes you a better rider. It's not a bad thing is it? If it does'nt infringe on anyone else and it feels good........do it.

nachomc

I guess if you were strictly going for fitness level, you probably could build the same fitness if you used the same gearing and ratios and never shifted. Single speed bikes are usually pretty different than geared bikes though. You don't see too many full suspension single speeds, for example. And from my personal experience, I rode my geared bike 'like a single speed' by keeping it in one gear all day for a month or so and I didn't like it. It wasn't the same - it didn't feel the same or sound the same. It wasn't single speeding. It's not for everyone, and it doesn't have to be.

Mr IGH

My son and I set our personal record on a well-known-to-us-trail riding SS, many other folks report the same experience. Some of the waxers here should actually try riding SS, just once, before you tell us why it sucks....

mtnbiker66

This thread rocks hard!!!!!! If shifting gears gives some folks so much trouble, then they might want to invest in a nice set of training wheels also to get rid of that pesky balance thing. Another funny thing is assuming that if you don't like riding SS,then surely you've never tried it. Awesome!

mystolenbikes

Thank you! that is all I am trying to say. I didn't mentioned anything about FS bikes or Hardtail or Full rigid and also I didn't ask anything about the way it feels or sounds, all I asked was if two bikes has the same gear ratio and you ride them on the same terrain how do you build less skill and fitness level because bike has a rear derailleur?
Well that is great for you guys and congrats, but you are the guy who said you kept your bike in fifth gear all the time while you were riding your geared bike, so my point again.
I for once never said SS bikes suck.

nachomc

You might also notice I didn't mention anything about skill level in the sentence you made bold. The skill part is why the type of bike is fully relevant to the discussion, because again, single speeds are generally different than geared bikes. As I stated, you don't see many full suspension single speeds, so that means the single speed rider has more of a challenge in many situations. I can sit and pedal up to about 8% on smooth trail, but past that, I prefer to stand, and once you stand up, it's a whole different game. Suddenly, you have to figure out how to keep that rear wheel down, and if, like me, you're riding fully rigid, when you're going downhill, or even on the flats, you have to quickly recognize and point your bike down the proper line of the trail for the most speed, traction, or whatever it is that section calls for (and you desire). Riding your geared bike around in one gear a single speed does not make.

johnnytheboy

ss 29ers for lyfe!!!!!!!!

Zephyr11

You may even build better fitness, since you're riding a heavier bike, outfitted with shifters and derailleurs! Oh yeah!

cryptid01

You may want to ask yourself "now why is that?"


SS is okay and amusing but the experience is not nearly as important as some would make it out to be.

nachomc

Why don't you tell me why that is.

mystolenbikes

Ok now you are BSing me.
This is the biggest crock of crap of an explanation I've ever heard. Stop back pedaling and admit that I have a valid point.
If you read all of my posts above you'll see that time after time I said equal bikes not once I compared the different frames.
So back to the point...but before that let me ask you a question since you brought the downhill deal...so you are telling me that if you were riding a rockhopper SS and I was riding the same model Rockhopper but with gears and we were going down the same trail my bike would handle different because of the cassette and derailleur in the back? or your full rigid bike would handle completely different going down hill because it is geared or it would climb different if you kept your bike in the same gear that you would if it was an SS.
Is that what you are saying?

Cmon bro give me a Fn break! and get a reality check. That is saying that your Ferrari would handle better than my Ferrari around corner it's because yours is red even though they are the exact same model and year.

mtnbiker66

You don't know.......for real?

nachomc

Of course I do. But not everyone likes the same thing. I could ride a full suspension bike any day of the week, I just like my rigid bike better. Maybe when I'm older it won't work out for me anymore, but until then, I'll keep riding it this way. It's a lot of fun.

mtnbiker66

It has nothing to do with what you like to ride........

nachomc

I understand why full suspension bikes exist, and the benefits they have. But I guess it does matter to some degree what people like to ride, because I'm going to walk right past the Epic and Prophet hanging on my wall to pick up my rigid Single Speed in about 15 minutes. Then I'll go out all day, be smug while showing 5 novice riders a new trail, while getting the same workout that the mystolenbikes guy could get, while increasing my riding ability by exactly the same amount as he will because my Ferrari is red. Hopefully somewhere along the 25 or so miles I'll ride today, I'll find the reality check I so desperately require. If I find it, I'll post pics!

mtnbiker66

No, you don't really understand why. Make one of those FS bikes a SS with and see how many times you drop the chain.