Why?
03-26-12 | 07:47 PM
#28
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Bikes: Specialized Sirrus with fenders, rack
+1
As an ex girlfriend once told me after I convinced her to buy a single speed and ditch her multi-speed MTB, (I'm paraphrasing) "Oh. My. God. This is awesome! I don't have to think. It's so simple. When I want to go faster, I pedal faster. When I get to a hill, I just pedal harder. Now I don't have to worry about whether I'm in the right gear or not. And it's so light! It doesn't make all of that 'click-click-click-click' noise when it's not in the right gear..."
So, there is something to be said about the simplicity.
It's sort of like this:
vs this
As an ex girlfriend once told me after I convinced her to buy a single speed and ditch her multi-speed MTB, (I'm paraphrasing) "Oh. My. God. This is awesome! I don't have to think. It's so simple. When I want to go faster, I pedal faster. When I get to a hill, I just pedal harder. Now I don't have to worry about whether I'm in the right gear or not. And it's so light! It doesn't make all of that 'click-click-click-click' noise when it's not in the right gear..."
So, there is something to be said about the simplicity.
It's sort of like this:
vs this
Wow... that's "Simple?" ..I thought you were going to post pix of a VW beetle pre 1975 !
This would be my idea of simple in a car:
My first VW, a 1958, there was no gas gauge either.. there was a lever on the passenger side "firewall" that you had to reach over with your foot to flip it over to the "reserve" (a line from the tank lower down).. unless you had a passenger who could do it for you. ... that's "simplicity!"
Last edited by Doane; 03-26-12 at 07:57 PM.
03-26-12 | 07:48 PM
#29
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03-26-12 | 08:14 PM
#31
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Wow... that's "Simple?" ..I thought you were going to post pix of a VW beetle pre 1975 !
This would be my idea of simple in a car:
My first VW, a 1958, there was no gas gauge either.. there was a lever on the passenger side "firewall" that you had to reach over with your foot to flip it over to the "reserve" (a line from the tank lower down).. unless you had a passenger who could do it for you. ... that's "simplicity!"
This would be my idea of simple in a car:
My first VW, a 1958, there was no gas gauge either.. there was a lever on the passenger side "firewall" that you had to reach over with your foot to flip it over to the "reserve" (a line from the tank lower down).. unless you had a passenger who could do it for you. ... that's "simplicity!"
03-27-12 | 03:44 PM
#36
The space coyote lied.
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I'm thinking something more like this on the car front. This still has a two-speed transmission, no clutch though. Trying to think of single speed cars but all I can come up with is go-carts and golf carts.
03-27-12 | 08:04 PM
#39
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I picked up a SS a few weeks back from a sales event, 2010 Gary Fisher Triton. While looking at the bike, one of the staff goes to me, "you know it has no gears". Yup I replied. I have a hybrid, and a carbon road bike. The idea was to have something for just booting about, and if I did dump it on a slick surface (ice or other) it would be too bad of a financial hit. Turns out, this bike is a ton of fun to just ride. With a 48T to a 20T it's 65 gear inches which ain't that hard to climb with. Passed a few roadies on the weekend on a climb. It does make you work a bit more, at 30km/h I spin out, but I'm not looking to race it either. I tried the 28's from my hybrid, but they weren't nearly as fun as the 23's it came with.
03-28-12 | 08:43 AM
#43
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OK, so, if you get to any steep hills you walk it up? And, going down hill, you use your legs to keep the bike from going to fast?
Do they have ones with a rear drum that disengages to coast and also acts as a brake on the rear wheel like the old bikes did, like the Schwinn I grew up with, or is that considered cheating?
BTW.. my 15 speed commuter makes no noise at all either...except when actually shifting. But I'll have to try one of those out.. not sure I would want to have no brakes though.. that seems a bit suicidal.
Do they have ones with a rear drum that disengages to coast and also acts as a brake on the rear wheel like the old bikes did, like the Schwinn I grew up with, or is that considered cheating?
BTW.. my 15 speed commuter makes no noise at all either...except when actually shifting. But I'll have to try one of those out.. not sure I would want to have no brakes though.. that seems a bit suicidal.
03-28-12 | 08:51 AM
#45
Would you just look at it
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OK, so, if you get to any steep hills you walk it up? And, going down hill, you use your legs to keep the bike from going to fast?
Do they have ones with a rear drum that disengages to coast and also acts as a brake on the rear wheel like the old bikes did, like the Schwinn I grew up with, or is that considered cheating?
BTW.. my 15 speed commuter makes no noise at all either...except when actually shifting. But I'll have to try one of those out.. not sure I would want to have no brakes though.. that seems a bit suicidal.
Do they have ones with a rear drum that disengages to coast and also acts as a brake on the rear wheel like the old bikes did, like the Schwinn I grew up with, or is that considered cheating?
BTW.. my 15 speed commuter makes no noise at all either...except when actually shifting. But I'll have to try one of those out.. not sure I would want to have no brakes though.. that seems a bit suicidal.
You're thinking of coaster brakes. I think they are kind of silly and wouldn't trust one brakeless, but plenty of people seem to enjoy them.
It's very common for fixed riders to ride a front brake, the only brake that really matters.
03-28-12 | 09:23 AM
#46
:)
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Bikes: '07 Pista, '09 Fantom Cross Uno, '8? Miyata, '67 Stingray, '0? Zoo mod trials, Tallbike, Chopper, '73 Schwinn Collegiate, '67 Triumph Chopper, '69 CB350, '58 BSA Spitfire, '73 CB450
Why? Freewheels tend to stop working around -10F... That and I get a better workout and don't have to do much in terms of maint.
03-28-12 | 10:51 AM
#47
The space coyote lied.
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OK, so, if you get to any steep hills you walk it up? And, going down hill, you use your legs to keep the bike from going to fast?
Do they have ones with a rear drum that disengages to coast and also acts as a brake on the rear wheel like the old bikes did, like the Schwinn I grew up with, or is that considered cheating?
BTW.. my 15 speed commuter makes no noise at all either...except when actually shifting. But I'll have to try one of those out.. not sure I would want to have no brakes though.. that seems a bit suicidal.
Do they have ones with a rear drum that disengages to coast and also acts as a brake on the rear wheel like the old bikes did, like the Schwinn I grew up with, or is that considered cheating?
BTW.. my 15 speed commuter makes no noise at all either...except when actually shifting. But I'll have to try one of those out.. not sure I would want to have no brakes though.. that seems a bit suicidal.
Only have SS ATM so use cantilever brakes to slow on the downhills.
Yeah, coaster brakes are still being manufactured.
Coaster video for you:
03-28-12 | 11:10 AM
#48
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From: Sacramento, California, USA
Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur
The limiting factor for hills (at least for me) on FG is the downhill, not the climb.
03-28-12 | 12:05 PM
#50
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There are a few hills that require herculean effort to ride up in my area. There are a few hills that require me to use the bailout gear to get up (leftfoot/rightfoot).
It's generally not a big deal. Any hill that you can't ride up on a reasonably geared fixed gear is going to be a monster hill to a geared bike too. So you're either walking your fixed gear up the hill like it's a dog, or you're spinning your super-low gears like a gerbil.
It's generally not a big deal. Any hill that you can't ride up on a reasonably geared fixed gear is going to be a monster hill to a geared bike too. So you're either walking your fixed gear up the hill like it's a dog, or you're spinning your super-low gears like a gerbil.