single speed touring?

[young Ed]

i am considering setting up a simple single speed setup for medium distance tours so anywhere up to about 1000 miles for the moment
is this wise?
my main motives are weight but mainly the sheer simplicity once you have the chain line and chain tension sorted you are all good pretty much
any reason not to apart from the difficulty when climbing hills?
Cheers Ed

 

[AndyRM]

If weight is a concern, have a read of this for some inspiration: http://ultralightcycling.blogspot.co.uk/

Personally I'm not sure I'd fancy a long tour on a single speed, especially if it's properly hilly. Can't think of a definite reason why you shouldn't do it though.

 

[Cycleops]

Only if you are a real masochist. Don't forget you will be carrying quite a bit of extra weight. Or you could just stay at home for a bit of flagellation.

 

[young Ed]

Only if you are a real masochist. Don't forget you will be carrying quite a bit of extra weight. Or you could just stay at home for a bit of flagellation.

what lots of extra weight am i to be carrying?
and what do those 2 big words mean?
Cheers Ed

 

[JohnClimber]

I like SS'ing but I'd never tour with SS gearing.

Carrying extra weight you'll need a smaller gear even on the flat's if there's a head wind, but down a slight hill you may loose momentum without a higher gears.

 

[young Ed]

a flip flop hub is a potential but just a lot off fiddle i guess maybe not though if i had a quick release
i think my current mind set may be due to never properly adjusted gears on my old bike and messing about with my damn front yesterday and stripping the cable and loosing the ferrule and the fact i hardly ever change from top gear!
Cheers Ed

 

[Cycleops]

Masochist: Someone that derives pleasure from pain or punishment. The other one is having pain inflicted on you for gratification, but I'm sure you knew that.

 

[young Ed]

ah thanks that clears stuff up! but staying at home you don't get to see any of the world!
Cheers Ed

 

[young Ed]

I understand what you say about simplicity but I'd rather go for comfort and have a geared bike. When I tour I go slowly but do try to cover 60-70 miles a day. If you are in hilly terrain (often some of the most beautiful as well) the gears will help. If you are worried about weight - a single speed won't save you much. If you are worried about maintenance and break downs, a derailleur is quite easy to fix....and most of my mechanicals have been due to punctures and broken chains. If you are worried about cost, again I don't think you'll save much.

You'll have much more fun with gears.

mainly it's mechanics and simplicity as after having watched many a youtube video i still can't adjust it properly!
Cheers Ed

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

http://lejogononegear.blogspot.co.uk

 

[ror3h]

I cycled 460 miles in 4 days on a singlespeed this past summer with 2 full panniers on the back. It was a pretty flat route but I still dropped the gearing down to 42x18, which meant I would spin out at about 25mph, but it turned out to be quite a comfortable gear to run.
I wouldn't fancy going anywhere mountainous, but it was perfectly fine for me.

 

[mickle]

Touring bikes have lots of widely spaced gears for good reason.

 

[steveindenmark]

Contrary to popular belief, even Denmark and Holland are not flat. Give me gears any day.

Steve