Singlespeeds. I just don't get it!
- Thread starter highlandsflyer
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highlandsflyer
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Now I am suffering severe guilt at letting mine go, but I decided to look for one with leather in the extra long flavour for the dogs. A year now and still not found one I can afford!
That is a beauty.
That is a beauty.
two rides into my single speed (not fixie) career and i kinda like it.
there are drawbacks - firstly i'm unfit so it gets hard work on the uphill bits and secondly it still feels slightly alien to me as my thumbs look for shifters that aren't there but i'm certain that will pass.
the bonuses for me start with the feel of the thing, i can't describe it in any other way than it just feels 'right'.
to me, anything with settings gives you something to faff about with and detracts from the overall experience. The best example of this i can come up with is hunting. I do a lot of shooting and some people i know will go out fox shooting with range finders, night vision bino's, their rifle, a lamp, different bullets for different ranges and loads of random stuff that isn't essential. others will go out at dusk with a shotgun, maglite & a handful of heavy cartridges and shoot just as many! bikes, can translate to the same thing. on my orange, I tend to change the damping on my forks depending on the terrain, i seem to be forever changing gear, altering seat height and second guessing that something is wrong if the chain doesn't jump immediately into the next gear. on the single, I had none of these thoughts I simply sat down and pedalled.
it might be fashionable at the moment but i like it so i'm gonna keep riding it!
there are drawbacks - firstly i'm unfit so it gets hard work on the uphill bits and secondly it still feels slightly alien to me as my thumbs look for shifters that aren't there but i'm certain that will pass.
the bonuses for me start with the feel of the thing, i can't describe it in any other way than it just feels 'right'.
to me, anything with settings gives you something to faff about with and detracts from the overall experience. The best example of this i can come up with is hunting. I do a lot of shooting and some people i know will go out fox shooting with range finders, night vision bino's, their rifle, a lamp, different bullets for different ranges and loads of random stuff that isn't essential. others will go out at dusk with a shotgun, maglite & a handful of heavy cartridges and shoot just as many! bikes, can translate to the same thing. on my orange, I tend to change the damping on my forks depending on the terrain, i seem to be forever changing gear, altering seat height and second guessing that something is wrong if the chain doesn't jump immediately into the next gear. on the single, I had none of these thoughts I simply sat down and pedalled.
it might be fashionable at the moment but i like it so i'm gonna keep riding it!
I've lived and ridden in London for 10 years and witnessed first hand the arrival of SS bikes in soho, both here and in new york.
My opinion?
Well I've had a few beers so excuse the bluntness.
85% of ss bikes in London are ridden by plebs
No brakes, yes on a SS, because of the aesthetic.
Odd wheels
6 inch handlebars
No helmet
And a horrible inclination to ignore red lights.
I will forever call them 'DONORS'
Worrying is the emergence of 'the ladies' who like to sport headphones to the daily life gamble.
It will spread. It will go up north (I'm from Manchester) and it will be replaced.
Micro scooter anyone?
My opinion?
Well I've had a few beers so excuse the bluntness.
85% of ss bikes in London are ridden by plebs
No brakes, yes on a SS, because of the aesthetic.
Odd wheels
6 inch handlebars
No helmet
And a horrible inclination to ignore red lights.
I will forever call them 'DONORS'
Worrying is the emergence of 'the ladies' who like to sport headphones to the daily life gamble.
It will spread. It will go up north (I'm from Manchester) and it will be replaced.
Micro scooter anyone?
highlandsflyer
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Loving that assessment.
I was sitting on Hamilton Terrace in St. Johns Wood and saw a guy on a white racer style SS with a real weird white helmet on, looked like a sparring helmet.
Is SS a fetish?
I was sitting on Hamilton Terrace in St. Johns Wood and saw a guy on a white racer style SS with a real weird white helmet on, looked like a sparring helmet.
Is SS a fetish?
highlandsflyer
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Last night I fired down the hill to pick up my van, 2 miles all downhill farm track gravel and mud. Five minutes.
On a fixie I would have been twice that, and likely wound up in hospital...
The weight differential for having a freewheel is minimal, that is the part I find really hard to understand. Why is it so desirable to get rid of the freewheeling capability?
If you ask me, and no one is, you are nutters you fixie fans!
In a good way, of course.
On a fixie I would have been twice that, and likely wound up in hospital...
The weight differential for having a freewheel is minimal, that is the part I find really hard to understand. Why is it so desirable to get rid of the freewheeling capability?
If you ask me, and no one is, you are nutters you fixie fans!
In a good way, of course.
one-eyed_jim
Old School Grand Master
I put it to you that most Londoners are unlikely to encounter two-mile descents, farm tracks, gravel, or mud on their daily journeys. A fixed-gear road bike would be no more appropriate for your farm track descent than a 25" handlebar, triple chainset and knobbly tyres would be on a flat city street.highlandsflyer":1tw4zj04 said:
It never ceases to mildly surprise me how keen people are to run around shouting "I don't get it! I never will!"
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