Can someone explain SS to me

[Neil G]

single speed= cheep build up low matnence, good if you live in a flat area, with no hills

fixed gear = low matnence, cheep, and at least with hte 700c ccrew in my area its a style statement. a huge heaping style statement

ooo look at my flat chopped down bars on a road bike with no brakes spray painted frame and matching color deep v wheels. theyre the best with my messinger bag (read"fagbag").

downsides: your ideal gearing is irrelevant, with a geared bike you can at least get closer, ex: going up a hill i most certanly dont want to be in hte same gear as going down it.

lol@ fagbag comment but all too true..too many goons jumping on the fashion aspect of urban riding on fixies/SS bikes when really they should just do the right thing and get on BMXs (can always ride brakeless for more 'connection' lol)

I've just started riding a Stumpie in SS mode for commuting on purely for the lack of maintainance aspect and I have found it's helped my cadence a lot and I'm much better at spinning those gears.

 

[Pickle]

Its a bike that get into a mess like this and not moan about it

I sold this SS GT.....but missed it so I'm now building my S-Works to replace it.

 

[Scrat]

Cheers guys

Might give it a go? but its the fashionist that are buying up old bikes, munting them into fixies and sellng them on at huge profit, while driving up prices, and then throwing all the parts they're not using in the bin thats got my goat up.

So any ideas? new dropouts, eno hub, or ECC BB? if i'm going to do it I want to do it properly so please don't suggest a tensioner or half mech

 

[jimihendrix]

Not got any experience with adjustable hubs or BB's, nothing wrong with using a tensioner, but you can get lucky with gear ratios and chinstay length and find you can run without, i run my E3 with a 32 chainring, a 16 sprocket and just a standard Shimano chain, no tensioner, a new chain is very slightly tight but perfect after a couple of rides once it's bedded in, never had a chain slip, snap or fall off, if a slight tweek is needed the dropouts or axle can be filed to provide slight adjustment.

So my advice would be to try and build it without a tensioner before using expensive adjustable hubs, dropouts or BB's.

 

[orange71]

ah the joy of singlespeed... :shock: (last year's Real Ale Wobble)

 

[bwhsh8r]

lol@ fagbag comment but all too true..too many goons jumping on the fashion aspect of urban riding on fixies/SS bikes when really they should just do the right thing and get on BMXs (can always ride brakeless for more 'connection' lol)

*YES* I ride with a couple on the regular, and in a few rat races. I had to run quite a few red lights and piss off quite a few drivers just to stay with them (I feared I would get lost as I did not know the route of the race, as it was a point to point find your own way deal.)

dont get me wrong I had a blast but I feared one of them would get run over, I had breaks and used them, but wound up much more sore cause I didnt bomb through i stopped then looked out and decided and then accelerated again.

1 the fasion is kinda silly, im building up my klein to be "fashionable" (And no spraypaint.) so i dont get it, and UNLESS your a courier then alot of it is just posing as couriers, like the one aerospoke in the front etc. if your a courier i can see it otherwise meh.

2. i dont understand why they think they are a lot faster due to it... i mean the weight savings arent all like that...

BUT positives (Im a fixie hater so like, give me credit for trying to be fair)

1 its a good training exercise and many say helps you even out your cadence (fixie and i can see that)

2. low matnence ( i personally dont mind it )

3. lighter

yeah so, i mean go for it, i rode one and trackstanding is kind of fun, and you have a nice excuse to bald your tires skidding them to a stop

singlespeed makes a bit of sense to me though to be quite honest... that one as of now im on the fence about. i like coasting.

 

[barry2017]

I used to dislike the "fixie" idea, but you know what? It saved a lot of previously unused bikes from the tip, and got a few people who otherwise wouldn't have been doing so riding. So for that reason, stupid paint colours/plastic pipes in wheels/bars the width of a toothbrush are fine by me.

 

[bwhsh8r]

I used to dislike the "fixie" idea, but you know what? It saved a lot of previously unused bikes from the tip, and got a few people who otherwise wouldn't have been doing so riding. So for that reason, stupid paint colours/plastic pipes in wheels/bars the width of a toothbrush are fine by me.

hey, dont get me wrong im happy that fad is aorund. gets alot of people riding

esp in the usa we need that (im 132lbs, but some of my brethren are a little uhm... larger)

i only have a problem if they spray black a CLASSIC frame (i mean a real high end. for example if i spraypainted a de rosa black and was like wooo tits)

that and like the arguement that its an all around better bike i dont get.

 

[llamedos]

Cheers guys
So any ideas? new dropouts, eno hub, or ECC BB? if i'm going to do it I want to do it properly so please don't suggest a tensioner or half mech

Cheap option I used was a surly chain tensioner ... no need to hack chop the frame ... not a fan of the ECC BB

www.charliethebikemonger.com <<<<might help

I also ride a fix on the road for cadence and leg balance but not silly I have brakes !

 

[hamster]

I'd suggest that you cobble something up as a testbed to see if you (and your knees) get on with SS.
After that you will have a better idea what you want and can then build up a snazzy machine (or abandon the whole thing as a daft idea.)