Singlespeed - what do I need to do?

[Harryburgundy]

Well.....erm...'normal' mountain bike ss ratio with an 18 rear would be 36 up front. I ride 38:16, but lots of road work including hills...but struggle with very hilly off-road stuff.
Does that help?

 

[xizang]

I've got a 36t front, 18t back. Any 2:1 ratio is a good start. Depends on terrain you ride/how strong your legs are..

 

[MJN]

I've been useing a 32x17 gear for a few weeks and have found it fine,I spin at crazy speeds on the road though,its best to err on the lower side if you're unsure.

 

[gump]

I've been useing a 32x17 gear for a few weeks and have found it fine,I spin at crazy speeds on the road though,its best to err on the lower side if you're unsure.

Thats what I found most useful around me too. Easier to spin a bit when needed (which off road isn't that often) than have to grind up more hills.

I started off with a manly-ish 34:16. Gradually went down till I realised I was a wuss!

 

[perry]

daj

push your tensioner so the chain goes slack and loop it off the chainring

loosen the tensioner , push it back ( clockwise ) and tighten ( ignore the grubscrew that would push against the mech hanger , its bullshit )

push the tensioner anticlockwise ( while reveling in the added force ) and loop the chain back on

jobs a goodun

 

[daj]

Cheers got it sorted !!! kept winding it round until I have a big swing down and round on it

 

[Andy R]

32 18 sounds very spin city...are you going up massive hills...or chicken legs

32:18 isn't that low - it's what I use 75% of the time and if you can spin, it gets you along at up to 15mph on the flat sections. Anyway, I thought that the idea was to take these things up big hills I'll occasionally (when I can be bothered in other words) go as low as 32:22 if I'm out for a days riding that I know will involve a lot of steep technical climbing and nadgery stuff.

It's all very well all this 38:16 business, but I'd like to see how well you could handle the stuff round here on that gearing, cos' I know I bloody well couldn't - and no, I don't have "chicken legs"

Actually, if you have a look at what a lot of people are using on 26'er SS in places like the US and Canada for more "off piste" riding, 32:20 or lower isn't that unusual.

 

[hamster]

Yes, you have to experiment and it all depends on you and the terrain you ride.
The one thing to avoid is the macho roadie thing about huge gears.

Surprisingly the thing that singlespeeding taught me (in the brief time I've had one running) is about neater cornering and carrying speed. If you are going fast and cannot pedal back up to speed, then you have to work harder to conserve momentum.

 

[Andy R]

The one thing to avoid is the macho roadie thing about huge gears.

Surprisingly the thing that singlespeeding taught me (in the brief time I've had one running) is about neater cornering and carrying speed. If you are going fast and cannot pedal back up to speed, then you have to work harder to conserve momentum.

You're right there mate - momentum and a bit of speed will often get you through and up stuff on a SS that on a geared bike you'd have been changing down for and thinking "am I in the right gear" and ending up not being.

I've got an example of somewhere like that on one of my local bits of single track - you drop down a rooty greasy off-camber section onto a fire road and then immediately turn right and downhill for about 25 yards to blast up a very steep 10ft bank. On a geared bike I never hit that bank as well as I would like to (always too low a gear, losing momentum changing or something.... :roll: ) and I consider I'm lucky not to have failed to make it up. Suspension forks don't help either, as I can feel them soaking up too much energy at the transition.
But every time on the rigid SS is a blast - it seems so easy ( you have your gear and that's it) and getting some air at the top is just the icing on the cake .

 

[cchris2lou]

off road , 2 /1 is a good ratio , on the road , 3 /1 .