Is singlespeed any good?
 

Hi all,

I'm new to this but was wondering if anybody could help! I've got this new singlespeed bike but I am so used to ones with numerous gears. Will it be very hard to pedal and cycle with a singlespeed bike? Also, will I be able to go up hills with a singlespeed bike or should I just avoid them?

Thanks :)

Some people like or prefer single speed. Great for around town and ok for smaller hills. Less maintenance with a single speed also. All I can suggest is try it.

Riding singlespeed is quite possible. 120 years ago, it was the only option. This country was crossed by men on single speeds.

Riding singlespeed is different. You develop a different mindset. You learn to get good running starts at smaller hills, go as fast as possible at the bottom of rollers and do all you can to keep that speed up as far up the hill as you can. And you get really strong at riding out of the saddle if you do many hills.

Singlespeeds are wonderfully simple to maintain. You may well fall in love with owning and riding yours. You may even want to go one step further some day and venture into fix gear riding; just like singlespeed except now you cannot coast and your pedals are always turning.

I rode singlespeed for 3 years, then did one ride on a fix gear, was hooked and still am 40 years later.

Ben

I think fixed has the all the advantages of single gear, plus/ The bike pushes you as you push the bike making smaller hills easier than riding single speed w/freewheel. I ride mostly fixed I like it way more than a geared bike.

Just go try it and see if you've already got the bike.
How hard the hills are depends on the gearing on the bike, your weight, your fitness, how steep the hills are, how long the hills are, how tired you are, and how the wind is blowing.

wait, people actually believe this?

No.

Just ride your bike. You'll soon find yourself reaching for your preferred bike for any particular ride. Would you leave an expensive, carbon fibre, multi-geared racing bike chained outside a sports stadium during a major event? Of course not, if forced to ride, you'd leave a beater ... but you wouldn't use that beater to go road racing.

Are you over the age of 45?

Thanks everyone. I'll just give it a try. It was a Christmas present but it's so new to me so just wanted some advice. Thanks guys :)

And nope. 21 :)

Lol'd in real life.

I like riding a single speed so much that the thought of riding a geared bike is dreadful. The simplicity and the maintenance of it alone do it for me. Went out and flipped that hub once, and I was hooked on fixed like 79pmooney. Been riding that way ever since. I do have a geared fat bike but it is just sitting there barely ridden.

well ive ridden otherwise but not proeffezional and i'd say my singlespeed when compared to a comparable road bike of the same vintage/guality is like training with a weighted bat. i dont know, i love it, and hate it, but riding fixed especially i love. signalspede.. id rather halve 5 er ten spedes

Single speed bikes are no good at all. You should avoid inclines at all cost or carry your bike up hills if they can't be ridden around.

Depends on the GEAR RATIO... what grade in school are You ? Did they teach you any Math?

I'm not a cyclist expert hence me asking the question. Duuuhh!! Idiot.

Simple math . A Ratio, in this case is the relative size of the 2 sprockets (counting Teeth) x the size of the wheel... is your "gear"

so if the tooth number is = then the wheel turns once for every turn of the Pedals . a 1:1 Ratio

6 foot tall circus Unicycles use that Chain driven Gear Ratio..




Note As to the Bike .. and what gear ratio it HAS... dont like it as it is , when it comes out of the BOX ?,

ASK FOR A DIFFERENT ONE. Bike shops Do That for their Customers , for just the cost of the new Parts.

Ignoring your comment because you're an absolute ****.

If you have nothing good to say, then don't say anything at all. Guess you didn't learn that at school!

Byeee xx

So, rather than pumping up the tires and going for a ride you thought that asking anonymous strangers on the inter-web:

would be more informative than taking a spin around the block to see how it felt yourself?

Perhaps Santa brought you the wrong toy.........

-Bandera

Oh, you're gonna do just great here... :rolleyes:

Single speeds are great. What i like is how the workout varies with the terrain you ride. Unlike with a geared bike where one has many ratios to choose to make riding easier. I've done plenty of 70 mile rides on the bike and enjoyed every mile. The key is finding the gear ratio that works for you and the terrain you ride. I changed my gearing three times before settling on the right one, i.e. good balance between spinning on the flats and being able to ride up steep hills.

**** you too, bucko!

Guys, this chick is 21 and can legally drink, drive, and buy firearms in Murica...think about it.

We all ride single speeds, but no, single speed is the worst. You want a NuVinci CVT hub.

if you dont believe this to be true, get on a fixie just get going with very little speed about 10 miles an hour and try to coast,,,when the bike throws up and over the handlebars, you will know it is true that the fixed gear bike pushes you (-: I am kidding, dont try this, it will throw you off the bike