my first dable at singlespeed

[hamster]

Exactly. SS takes you out of the comfort zone. You may (or may not) get fitter, but you certainly get more versatile.

For me the best things have been getting better at bunnyhopping (from totally incompetent to almost passable) and faster smoother cornering ('use it or lose it' attitude to momentum).

If I'm not fitter then I'm at least more tolerant of pain.

 

[crud]

i have my modern commuter ss. it was mainly for reducing maintance / weight.

im running 2:1, i nearly fell off when i was daydreaming and came to a steep downhill and got out of my saddle to honk it down :shock: scary.

do miss pushing a big gear now and then but mostly been a good experience.

 

[MJN]

I think what some people (including me) are trying to say is...roughly this...oh and lets forget about wind resistance.

In theory..two bikes...one geared, one singlespeed. Riders of equal fitness etc etc...
Lets say the geared bike is travelling at 15mph. Lets say that equates to a comfortable cadence for the SS bike.
Go faster and the geared bike simply changes gear...with a bit more effort. I would say the SSer would have to put in significantly more effort to maintain that speed.
The same for going up hill etc
Extrapolate that over a ride, and the SSer is putting in more effort for the same results plus a greater variance in cadence = using different muscle groups...legs and upper body.
But at the end of the day....who cares
I'm definately fitter for riding SS....and thats all that counts to me

Exactly,who cares,its fun!