Who Commutes on a single speed?
 

Just curious how many people actually use a single speed for commuting? Show and tell and I'll start.


My Single Speed Commuter is a Specialized Crossroads running 44x18 gearing and 700c wheels. I've added a singulator due to vertical drop outs but I'm looking at replacing the drops with track bike ends and going fixie.

http://www.5point7.com/bike-blog/fin2.jpg

http://www.5point7.com/bike-blog/fin3.jpg

My Commute is only about 5-6 miles one way and soon will be a little longer when I move this week. Also I'll having to skirt some seriously steep hills to get to work. :)

Riding 48/18. Everything is stock except the Tiagra calipers and Cane Creek levers I put on it.

I ride about 5-10 a day, depending if I run errands afterwork, or run home for lunch (also not counting some training if I want to).

Don't have a picture handy... but I ride a Surly Crosscheck with a 48/18, mustache handlebars, and yea, front and rear brakes.

DanO

I ride this when I don't have to carry much of a load.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...leysupport.jpg

An old converted Giant Innova, polished frame, Salsa forks, 46x16.

It had vertical dropouts, I filed the dropouts into horizonal ones. Look mom, no chain tensioner! The dropouts were shaped in big flat plates so lended itself very well to filing.

http://members.iinet.net.au/~jdekter...e/DSCN4017.JPG

Running 39x14 on 700C wheels. It's my old road bike, pressed into daily service. It's mostly original, except for the fenders, pedals, stem, front wheel, brake levers, grips and handlebar. It's very stiff, and if it wasn't for the fenders, it would be totally silent. I'm thinking about going to 42x14...

http://static.flickr.com/50/139491889_e22c994969.jpg

42x15 on a frankenbike with a specialized hardrock frame.

no pics-- but a KHS track bike (fixie) 48*18 - front brake
my commute is 22 miles in and 24 home (different route)-- I try to ride 4-5 days a week, and 75% of my commuting is on the fixie.

train safe-

Fixed gear 48x17. See my sig for pictures. Also do a search on fixed gear commuters, you'll see a thread I started last month that had a few pages of commuting fixies on it.

Nice work on that Crossroads. Some free advice, though - don't replace the dropouts! You'd be wasting your money. If you want a fixed-gear, you'd be better off converting an old road bike or MTB, or buying a bike designed as a singlespeed.

I used to but I sold it for one with gears.

Just as well I don't have a picture of my Crosscheck to post. It wouldn't stand up so well against The Fixer's brown bomber. That's a nice lookin' ride.

DanO

I ride a fixed IRO Rob Roy. The pic's in the sig.

I wish I could, I love the clean look of singles.

But the rolling hills would kill me.

Where exactly are you riding around Los Angeles. I commute between Glendale and Burbank and cruise Eagle Rock, Highland Park, South Pas on the weekends. I bet if you started out with some mellow geariing you'd do fine. You might just surprise yourself.

DanO

I used to, but then I added an electric kit. I guess it's still a single-speed, but riding it is kind of like cheating ;)

You know, you are such a bl**dy bragger...

*drools*

What does everyone use to host their images?

I'm 48/18, 18 miles commute each way.

Fixer, damn, that is one sweet looking ride. Love how the colors come together.

This is my commute bike, a REI Novara Triumpho, that I stripped all the gear stuff off and fixed with a magic gear, just to see if I could do it. 41-15 ratio for a mellow 71 gear inches.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y18...March06003.jpg

BTW, I use photobucket.com. Cheap and easy (like riding a ss or fg bike).

Ive been riding this SS cross-check since I finished it at the end of January. 1600+ miles later I never seem to want to ride my other bkes. It currently is running 48/20 (64.8 inches). I need to drop the rear to an 18 tooth freewheel (72 inches), as it's starting to seem a little too easy for my 30 mile commute here in Austin.

I have had a variety of handlebars on this bike. It started out with flat bars since I had them. They didn't last too long. Too much preasure on the wrists. I then put some On-One "Mary" bars on it, which were very comfortable, but somewhat limmited in hand position, and no way to get out of the wind. I also tried some of the On-One Midge bars but the drops were too small for my hands so climbing hills was a little tricky since I like to climb from the drops. So I now have some Salsa Bell Lap bars on it . They don't have the cool factor of the Midges but they work great and didn't cost an arm and a leg. I keep flirting with the idea of going fixed, but I'm just not quite there yet. I guess I just like to coast a little too much. It's relaxing to just coast and take in the scenery.

I am at work and without pics, but I have been commuting with a single speed for about a year. It started out as a winter project designed to not mess up my "good bike" in bad weather and relieve the boredom of New England winters. Now I like it so much it has become my primary commuting bicycle. I recently switched over to fixed gear. It is scaring the hell out of me sometimes, but it is a blast. The bike is a spirited teacher, and it points out your bad habits with the bicycling equivalent of hitting you with a ruler. I never realized I coast so much…

Was/Is that a problem when commuting?

If you always race yourself to work it is !

I like to use my muscles, and I see commuting as a part of my wider fitness plan. Yes, it is practical transportation, but it is also how I fit exercise into my life. So yes, I guess I do see it as a problem if I am coasting for half of my ride. The fixed gear has pointed out where I get lazy. Plus it feels very cool to ride fixed and puts some variety in my riding.

My Pake (http://www.pakebikes.com) is now my main bike for transportation and exercise. It's cheap (as road bikes go), low maintenance, rugged, and fun to ride.

My backup bike is geared - 20 speeds. Ironically, adding levers, cables, gears and freewheels decreases one's sense of control.

Since April when I picked up a Bianchi San Jose. No pics here, but I'll post some later. Just switched to a Campy Veloce crankset this morning, Commute is about 5 miles one way, running 43/17. The original crankset had on of the chainring bolts right behind the arm and it was impossible to tighten. For road rides I swich to a 49T chainring and road tires. Now I am looking for a Campy 49T.

Normally I ride a geared bike, but if I wake up feeling particularly good one morning, I'll take this...

http://www.grinderbikes.com/detel_01.jpg

Mid '80s Detel Marathon 6000. I have one climb on my commute that damn near kills me when I ride this thing, makes me appreciate having extra gears on normal days.

I used to ride my road bike then I realized that my fixed gear is actually easier to ride on the hills on my commute. Generally I take the MAX then ride the six miles in to work to minimize my time spent travelling and the sweat factor since I don't have a shower. I'll ride the 25 or so miles on my way home though.

http://static.flickr.com/46/109295284_4ab27ae85d.jpg

I have a Raleigh Rush Hour with 46/17 gear ratio (fixed) and flop-chop bullhorns. I ride it about 12 miles each way from a parking lot midway between my house and work for my "short" commute. Otherwise, I ride door to door (21 miles each way) on a geared road bike.

My two main commuters are SS. Both are 1980's steel bikes I converted to SS with Hardcore Freddy Fenders. The bike I have commuted on for the past year is a Specialized Hardrock with North Road bars, 35x16 gears, and 26x1.5 street tires. My recently completed project is a Raleigh Pursuit with moustache bars, 48x17 gears, and 27 x 1 1/4 tires.

Edit: MTB has a rear rack. I use a messenger bag or waist bag with the road bike.