Ss full time
 

Has anyone here gone from riding geared to riding ss full time, if so how'd it go.sold my road bike and have a sscx bike thinking about just riding that full time ie: commuting, long rides, climbing,etc....

I don't think anyone's ever done that. Sorry!

I went SS and then fixed. I do have a fat bike but that is only for commuting in the garbage of winter here in Michigan. It can be done. I despise the gears, the shifting, the extra cables, the derailleur, all of it.

I did it for a while several years ago when I busted the wheels on my geared bike. I was already commuting on my FG so it was nothing to keep riding it everywhere. If I were on a SS then descending in the canyons would have been more enjoyable :lol:

Went to single speed full time about 6 years ago partly because the shifters quit working on my Trek. :)
Have never bothered to replace the shifters. In fact the Trek is looking to be converted to SS this spring. That will give me a total of 4 SS bikes. Converted the mtb bike about the same time years ago for the same reason.
The area I live is fairly hilly and I'm of a certain age (53) so my gears are probably a little lower than most.
I have a Giant with 46 X 19 ratio.
A Dawes with a 48 X 20 ratio.
The mountain bike is a Raleigh with a 32 X 16 ratio.
I will probably make the Trek the same as the Giant.

Thanks for the replies a lot of people keep telling me I'll wreck my knees but I'm riding ss not fixed. I haven't ridden ss since high school about 11 years ago. Just trying to decide if should build a nature boy or get another road bike but it's looking more like the nature boy.

It goes like this:

Your bike:
looks way cooler sans derailleurs,
is quieter and lighter

You:
start becoming a stronger, faster rider

I've only been riding fixed for a month.
I just picked up an old 10 speed today and rode it around and just got home from a grocery run.

I REALLY miss the backpedalling of fixed.
The 100 sp feels a bit out of control now.

:lol:

An improperly adjusted bike may wreck your knees.
A too high gearing may wreck your knees.
Poor body alignment may wreck your knees.

SS/FG has very little, if anything to do with it.

I have a 2x9 geared fat bike. Right now, because of the snow, my bikes are put up, and I am riding this thing. First, it feels like a tank. Second, I hate the gears. It feels like I have no control over the bike and I find myself shifting and coasting because I can. I get lazy when I ride it, and it sucks. Missing the fixed gear big time!

as a disclaimer, let me say that I love riding fixed on the road and the track (never owned an ss), even though I spend most of my riding on a geared road bike.

I did the opposite. I think you'll find a nearly equal amount of people in both camps (ss --> geared and geared --> ss)

Sorry, but getting stronger and faster has very little to do with your equipment. Anyone who needs an SS to push themselves physically is probably weak mentally, when it comes to physical exertion.

You'll find the lack of gears disturbing at first but you'll get used to it as you further develop and cultivate your badass factor.

Riding SS of FG will NOT wreck your knees. Riding in too high a gear WILL wreck your gears and you can do that whether you've got multiple gears or just one.

Why?



;)

I went from a geared MTB to a fixed roadie cold turkey. now the geared bike feels weird

Because your knees aren't designed to take those sorts of forces. Yes, we will all find ourselves having to grind up hills, or pushed into a nasty headwind, but if you've started with too high a gear at the bottom, you're just making everything worse.

One of the skills of riding fg is riding softly, ie, despite being forced into a low cadence, you aren't driving high forces through your knees - funny concept but you'll know it when you experience it. Having sufficient leg strength helps of course.

The point I was making is that riding fg does not equal stuffed knees. You see riders on the latest uber racer mashing away with a lousy technique and a low cadence - they're doing as much damage as anyone else. For fg, select your gearing based on your body and the roads you ride, NOT hipster fashion or what some idiot on the internet told you.

Note: I am not an idiot - insane, delusional and deeply disturbed, but not an idiot... my cat told me so.

Sir, you have missd my point, so I'll ask again.

Why?

;)

Riding in too high a knee will wreck your knees.

Riding in too high a knee will wreck your chin. :)

Rode fixed gear exclusively from 1965 to about 1970, including in road races and crits (the Amateur Bicycling League of America rule book said fixed-gear bikes with one working brake were OK in road races in those days).

After over 50 years of riding, including lots of track bike miles in hilly terrain, still have my original knees.

I'm planning on riding RAGBRAI this summer on my Steamroller. The more I ride, the more confident I am I can do it. I plan on gearing down a tooth on the front sprocket but other than that I'm gonna use my regular set up.

Why even bother to change the front sprocket (chainring) by only one tooth ? The change will be negligible.

You're right, it's only a 1.5GI difference but I'm thinking a little more spin and a little less mash when riding 60-80 mi/day for a week can't hurt.

Riding in too high a chin will wreck your neck. (viz. Shermer's)

You will barely feel it, if you even DO feel it at all. You might experiment with a few ratios before that big ride event.

I haven't done RAGBRAI fixed, but I think you'll find the first and last days to be the toughest. The first day you're climbing out of a river valley, and the last day you're descending into one. :)

I've switched from 21 speed mountain to FG/SS then to 10 speed geared. Not counting my project bikes since I've only ride them for "tests" until they're complete.

How'd it go?

Mountain to FG/SS: Had to get used to the geometry of track style bikes and skinnier tires. However the bike was much lighter and more responsive and I felt quicker (once I got the gearing I liked). Watched a TON of track cycling to learn efficient standing starts which help with my acceleration and it definitely smoothed out my pedal stroke and increased my comfortable range of cadences. I feel obligated to go fast to keep a comfortable cadence.

FG/SS to Vintage touring: Alright I guess. It helped me learn a lot about bikes and building them. Probably don't feel as comfortable because of the cassette gearing (5 speed cassette and double ring font). Definitely feel slower and less responsive, but hey, it's a touring bike. I feel it's easier to go slower when given gear change options.

As I say to customers I like my fixed gear but there is no way I would give up my geared bikes. Each one serves it's purpose to the 3rd cousinland (all the other lands have been taken by stupid fascists). I do like the simplicity of a fixed gear (or even a single speed) and there are a lot of cool little innovations making it easier or giving you wider ranges (Dingle cogs, Dos Eno freewheel, disc brake cogs...) but let's say doing a fully loaded tour fixed just doesn't quite have the appeal.

That all being said my main dream bike is a SS/FG cross bike so I guess it says something about me. However I still would have geared bikes and I think having a few different bikes in your quiver is always a good thing. Have a SS/FG, maybe a geared mountain bike or road bike or a bad weather commuter or what have you. One should never limit themselves to one bike or one style of bike.

As far as knees and stuff as long as you find a good gear ratio and don't try and skid stop brakeless fixie cool points, you should be relatively fine. Eat kale/dark leafy greens, almonds, white beans and other non-dairy foods with tons of calcium and you will be even better off. Dairy is known to leach calcium from your bones which is no bueño.

But it's so tasty!!!