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Gary Fisher Mullet, singlespeed or not?

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Gary Fisher Mullet, singlespeed or not?

Old 01-16-07, 09:42 AM
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Gary Fisher Mullet, singlespeed or not?

I'm in the market for a bike, there's a longer thread over in the mountain bike section so I won't go into great detail. Needless to say I'm currently leaning towards a Gary Fisher Mullet. I notice that it comes in both singlespeed and multiple speed versions. I have an extensive riding background, however it has all been with BMX style bikes. Because of this I'm leaning towards the singlespeed version simply because it's what I know. Before I decided for sure however I wanted to get the opinions of people who ride singlespeed bikes. The two main reasons I'm buying the bike are two get around my college campus during the day, and also to serve as a form of exercise. At some point I may start doing some more extreme riding, however I don't ever seem myself truly "riding mountains". That being said, the reason I'm looking at the Mullet is because I need something durable. As I mentioned I'm used to riding BMX bikes and therefore used to being able to pretty much go wherever I pleased. I need something I can hop up and down curbs with, ride through grass/dirt/mudd, go down stairs, etc...

Anyway, I said I'd try and make the thread short and I've already gone longer than I originally thought. Basically I just need your opinions on singlespeed vs. not for the Gary Fisher Mullet.
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Old 01-16-07, 09:48 AM
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If you are asking us whether you should go with SS or geared, eveyone here will say SS. If you are a BMXer, they you should have no problem with that. I'm a former BMXer as well, but I quickly learned that for the best bike for getting around town you have to think beyond BMX and your own familiarity. I bought an SS mtb. I fell in love the the BMXish qualities of it. But I found that it really is not that great for commuting and other all-purpose types of riding. Its geared too low and its too bulky, and knobbies are not the best for pavement. Its a blast on singletrack, however. Based on your description of how you plan to ride, it sounds to me like you might be happier with a SS cyclocross bike..plenty durable but a little lighter and faster...great for getting around. If you are into extreme stuff but don't really plan in doing any real mountainbiking...the alternative is going fast in an urban setting, which is a total blast. Your not going to get that with a SSMTB.

Last edited by mihlbach; 01-16-07 at 09:58 AM.
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Old 01-16-07, 09:55 AM
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Dude, just go with the hardrock. It's going to be more versatile for you. If you wind up hating gears you can switch to SS for about 50 bucks.
Just because a bike doesn't have triple crowns and 20 gussets doesn't mean that it's going to snap in half. Do it. Do it.
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Old 01-16-07, 10:15 AM
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mihlbach makes some good points. Mtbs feel like pigs in the city. If you still have a bmx bike keep that for fun and jumping off things, but look into a 'cross bike with a flip flop hub for commuting. It'll be easier, more comfortable, and quicker around town, but can still handle stairs, grass, etc. Most of the fun of riding in an urban environment is the speed.

Having said that, have you looked at the Fireman Texas Cruzer? It's basically a 26" wheeled bmx bike. Might be a little out of you target price range, but also just what you're looking for.
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Old 01-16-07, 11:07 AM
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Originally Posted by AfterThisNap
Dude, just go with the hardrock. It's going to be more versatile for you. If you wind up hating gears you can switch to SS for about 50 bucks.
Just because a bike doesn't have triple crowns and 20 gussets doesn't mean that it's going to snap in half. Do it. Do it.
I have a SS MTB, and I totally agree with ATN. Hardrocks (or the geared mullet, or whatever, all the same bike) are plenty strong to deal with abuse. More gears will make it more fun to ride around campus. If you want to go on trails, it'll be fun there. But a SS geared for the mountains in the city is never fun for getting from point A to point B. And a SS geared for getting from point A to point B in the city never going to be fun for trails.

This is basically why gears were invented.
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Old 01-16-07, 11:28 AM
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You don't need a dirt jumping bike to commute around campus; that's what hybrids are for.
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Old 01-16-07, 11:39 AM
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Right tool for the job my man.

When I doing my undergrad at uni I lived max of 3 miles from uni and so did most of my mates. Hence my BMX was fine for bombing about plus i could do drunken sets of stairs. If you will be close to uni and the bike is effecivly a crusing machine then the ss mtb will be good fun but if you have to travel any distance on road you will want to change the tyres and up the gearing. Unfortunatly there is no such thing as a bike for every thing.
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Old 01-16-07, 11:46 AM
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i agree with the difficulty getting from point a to point b. a good gearing for a SS mtb is 2x1 (as is mine) and it SUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS to go more than a few blocks. that said it's really fun to toss around on the trails as well as on my campus (former campus) and can be fun to ride around in an urban setting, as long as you don't need to get anywhere quickly... but if you've ever "commuted" on a BMX you know what i'm talking about.
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Old 01-16-07, 11:57 AM
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id say the SS just operating under the belief that you're in college and therefor poor... ergo SS is less ish to break and replace.

edit: just put a decent gear ratio on and you won't have too many problems as far as speed and junk
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