One finished (GT) one on the way (Ventana)

[DKFan]

Finished a 2007 GT Zaskar Team build a few months ago but haven't put many miles on it - never owned a GT before so I'll be interested to see how I get on with it when my fitness levels improve.
Next up a Ventana El Commendante Ultimate - so far I've rebuilt the hubs and serviced the calipers but I'm a bit stuck now, not sure whether to go singlespeed, Gates, or normal gears. Leaning towards SS. View attachment 646666

 

[robfinger]

I got a SS to run to and from work and that's a decent use for one, but no way would I run one on trails as at some point the gearing becomes way off and takes the enjoyment of of the ride. To me a simple 1x setup with a small-ish ring up front works good for most terrains, especially if you go for the modern setups with the huge rear sprockets. So think where you'll be using this bike mostly and pick accordingly. Just FYI the smallest ring you can fit on 104mm BCD cranks is 30T, personally I run that with a 42T or 46T (don't remember anymore) rear cassette on a massive heavy freeride bike and it can actually climb quite alright given what its intended use is.