Single speed advise

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berty bassett

Legendary Member
Location
I'boro
Looking at getting a single speed bike but not knowing a great deal about them I was wondering if I told you lot what I wanted , and listen to some advise to those who know more
I am after a light bike , as I am light and really don’t want to make things harder than they have to be
Wide-ish tyres for comfort and to tackle old railway lines that are now cindertracks
Able to go from said cinder tracks to road ( guess most would do that bit !)
Will be mostly flat roads , doubtful if it would ever go on track
So far looked at
Cinelli tutto lovely but dear
Specialised langster - not so keen on sloping tube
Dolan fxe - maximum 25 mm tyres ( I think )
Any other options you can mention ?
thanks in advance
 

Sharky

Guru
Location
Kent
Ribble eliminator
Giant Bowery (2nd hand)
Pearson

If riding off and on road, you might struggle to find a comfortable gearing that would do both/either surfaces.
 

biggs682

Touch it up and ride it
Location
Northamptonshire
@berty bassett i have a good vintage steelie set up as a fixed gear if you want to come and try i also have another old steelie set up as single speed come and try either although i wouldn't say either are ideal for old railway lines .
 
OP
OP
berty bassett

berty bassett

Legendary Member
Location
I'boro
I am a massive 5,8” you know - normal size 😁
Would like flip flop hub so I can at least try to get on with
Second hand would be better to be honest as it’s going to be abused a bit on the tracks and roads around here
Biggs - lovely offer mate but steering away from classic looking as I think it would have to be a bit more sturdy - but thanks
Oh and central England 👍Northants
 

Juan Kog

permanently grumpy
If your looking for second hand and the clearance for wider tyres . My 2 suggestions an On one Pompino or a surly steamroller neither are light, but a steel frame and forks will take some off road knocks.
If buying a surly , be aware they are a long frame , if that makes sense. So buy by top tube length rather than frame height. The surly website gives full geometry.
 

TheDoctor

Europe Endless
Moderator
Location
The TerrorVortex
Get an old MTB - old enough that it has horizontal dropouts. If not, chain tensioners are a thing.
Get the front and rear mech and any gear levers off. Get some wideish but slickish tyres on (optional).
Get a singlespeed kit (there's others) and line the cog up with whatever chainring suits. 42/18 would be a good starting point. Shorten the chain accordingly.
Go for a ride :biggrin:
 
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SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
Get an old MTB - old enough that it has horizontal dropouts.

Normally I would agree with the idea of using an old rigid MTB as the basis for lots of things, but the OP said they wanted something light - and even a high quality MTB frame is not going to be as light as a decent road frame.
For example, I've weighed several unicrown hi-tensile rigid MTB forks and found them to be almost twice the weight of a 531 road fork. Other bits of the frame will generally be a bit heavier too. If you want light weight and the ability to fit comfortably wide tyres, you are really looking at using either a quality steel touring or hybrid frame, with butted tubing.
Sturdy doesn't have to mean heavy with bikes either, it just means made from good materials and sensibly designed. A lot of modern metal bikes have really horrible girder-like frames that are heavier than they need to be and give a harsh ride.
 

Juan Kog

permanently grumpy
berty just reread your post , the bit about avoiding sloping top tube ,so maybe a pompino won’t suit you.
An alternative may be a Surly cross-check . Not sure what price and availability is like on the second hand market. My other suggestion Skipdiver has beat me to it . Base the bike round an old touring or hybrid.
 

Paul_Smith SRCC

www.plsmith.co.uk
Location
Surrey UK
Genesis Flier.
It looks like the Flyer 2019 has evolved into a different bike now, all be it one that does not have a derailleur and with 37mm-wide tyres could be a consideration?

If you can find the Flyer 2019 at that price it's a good buy in my opinion, although perhaps not in the context of what berty bassett wants it for as it's really a more tarmac focused set up, that bike will struggle to " tackle old railway lines that are now cinder tracks". The Specialized Langster and Condor would also struggle, where as the Pearson Single Speeds look like they have slightly larger clearances all be it still for me aimed at tarmac. For tracks the Cineli Tutto is set up to be more versatile and can take 700x35c tyres; far more suited to ride on "cinder tracks" than the others.
 
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