Originally Posted by radical_edward
Because, faced with a choice, the girlyman side of your brain takes over and clicks the shifter.
Ouch. Tough love.
Originally Posted by radical_edward
Without a choice, your riding is much more agressive and you use a lot more body english, pedal kicks, yomping to keep the bike moving.
You also tend to run a lower gear with single speeds, as acceleration is more important than top speed. The smaller your front ring, and the larger your cog, the greater the leverage. Sprinting out of the saddle in the big ring puts much less force on your axle than grinding up a hill in granny gear.
Combine these factors and the quick release clamping force is overcome.
I was in 53-21, which shouldn't produce all that much chain tension.
But I hear what you're all saying -- mashing, yomping(?) -- I'm just surprised that the force would be
that much higher. Time for some experiments.