One speed mountain bike, why?
 

I have seen several single speed Mt bikes for sale and I was wondering what they are for? They look like they are intended for the trails and not riding around the park. Who in their right mind would ride a single speed or fixed gear mountain bike?

I get the fixed gear city bike idea but a one speed Mt bike is just weird. Is there a specific use for them or are they just a carry over from the fixed gear fad that is going on right now?

I think it was started out by the real fast riders trying to slow themselves down on group rides and make themselves work harder. Other riders always copy the best so... I would think they would be fun and easy to maintain but I need my gears for going up and down hills so not for me.

Still haven't seen a real live fixie on the trail but I'm sure they're out there. A fixie on tech trails would be insane.

There are a few Single speeds out on the more gentle hills where I live but the gearing is pretty low on them. The few I have talked to enjoy them- but they have all said that the real way to go is Fixed. Why I don't know and they couldn't give me a valid reason that made sense to me either.

single speed bikes are cheaper, lighter, and require less maintenance than traditional geared bikes. you can ride a singlespeed anywhere a geared bike can go providing that the rider is strong enough.

I will never be strong enough to ride a single speed mountain bike like I can ride my gears. I can barely get up some of the inclines in the lowest gear I have, I am not trying to make my ride harder. I am trying to understand if there is a niche that they use them in like indoor track single speed race bikes. I try not to judge until I know what the reason is.

because you're too poor to afford gears.

either that or you spent all your cash on chronic.. maybe that explains why single speeders are always like... totally in the flow and stuff.

Some of the bikes you might be seeing might fall into the "dirt jumper" category. They have front suspension like a mountain bike, and since they are mainly for stunt jumping, and not riding long distances or up massive hills, they don't have gears. My son and all his friends have these kind of bikes. Most skip the front brake (so there is no cable restricting bar rotation) and just run a rear disc.

an xtr derailleur killed my mom.
i've never gotten over it.

When I converted my hardtail into as SS they guys said they thought that they might have a chance to catch me on climbs... it just added a little more challenge and I just got faster.

It can suck on the flats as your top gear is limited and you really have to balance out your gearing with the terrain you ride.

Riding fixed off road is insane-ly fun.

Uh, because it's fun?

I've ridden SS and geared out west and east, and dig it. Generally prefer gears, but the SS thing can be damn fun. Have done a lot of rides with some pretty significant climbs, and didn't really have any more trouble than on the geared rig. Kenosha Pass a few times, other big pass rides out in CO. I like SS more out west than I do here in the east. Shorter and steeper climbs out here vs the longer more gradual (generalizing greatly here, bear with me) stuff out there.

You just pedal. Don't knock it 'til you try it. You'd be suprised to see what you can ride SS. You have not other gear to shift to, so you either grunt it and keep pedaling, or walk. I'm not a super fast hammer, but do a fair bit of riding with groups of pretty decent skill, and have no more trouble keeping up on the SS than the geared bike.

I ride a ss mtb and I adjusted the gearing to 36 x 18 which allows me to get up the hills around the area where I live. The one thing which is different is that I had to learn to accelerate at every opportunity or the knees get punished by grinding.

BTW I'm 67 and I can do a couple of 50-60 km off road rides a week without punishing my knees.

^^^what he said. You have to adjust the gearing for your area, and trails. Conservation of your preciously earned momentum is key.

I ride it for the zen.

I'm amazed at race results where the SS crew is competitive against riders with 30 speeds to choose from. But being a grandpa, I enjoy having a granny gear when I need her.

Why**********? To be a super cool hipster!

I used to race BMX, and i have been away from it for years...I miss cranking on a BMX bike.

Im getting into mountain biking, so im considering a single speed...
I can see that being someones reason

Must be some slow riders on the 30 speeds, all the race i've been to the SS crew gets left in the dust. Typically it's a whole other race category for that reason.

I don't usually see a lot of dropped chains or skipping chains on the well maintained rear mech bikes... if you're from BMX though remember the difference in wheel size, it might help to have extra gearing!

Can i bring my SS 29r?? It has a low angle of attack and rolls over anything like a monster truck.

:p

mine is 26in wheels with 130mm of travel in the front rawr.

I actually enjoy my SS, doesn't burn me out as much and for what I'm using it for, there's no need for gears.

i figured everyone at the trailhead was curious about my penis size.
so now i just run single speed geared at 32/14..that way it's obvious.

That probably a good gear combo on a 29er. Since in theory that would be equivalent to 32/16 on a 26" wheeled bike.

I think you have that backwards.

Most of the singlespeeders around here are on something like 34-22 or 32-20 but all of our trails are up up up and then down. Not much in the way of rollers.

My mountain bike is a 1x9 but I've been using fixed and single speed for the road lately and it's pretty fun.

I stand corrected, my math is off today.