ss fs how long to get used to it?

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

hi guys,

just completed my conversion to ss on my scott genius ltd carbon fibre fs, i had been thinking about it for a while but when i saw a few on the trails i decided to go for it. i'm running 32:18 which is just about do able for where i live. things i like so far are, the quiet, the simplicity, the fact that i don't need to spend more time cleaning than riding to keep xtr running, better lines on the trails (weirdly i can clear more than with gears), the satisfaction of clearing any hills easier than i thought.

things i hope i will get used too,

pushing (lol), trying to puke my lungs out, lower back ache(this is getting better each day), sweating more than i thought possible, face ache from grinning too much!!!

i did feel like i was starting again with regards to ride lengths but i've been at 3 weeks now, and amazed at how quickly my body is adapting, did proper conversion saturday.

how long did it take you guys to get to the point that it felt second nature and start clearing everything? for example, i could clear lee quarry up and down but now i do have to push a bit more than i would like.

ow ow another question, where can i get a single speed red chain?

 

[RedBike]

You know who to ask !
http://www.trio25.blogspot.com/

Just to make you feel really bad shes using a higher gear than you and doesn't struggle around Lee quary!
http://trio25.blogspot.com/2009/05/my-first-cross-country-race.html

Red chain will be BMX stuff.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1-8-OLD-SCHOO...8|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:0|293:1|294:50
Double check that it will work with your currect chainrings before you buy it (I think it will).

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

cheers red, yeah i know who you mean, lol. she's a bit more hard core than me at mo, hehehe i'll get there tho. you doing mtl again this year? rumor has it 'you know who' is getting you round opposite way next time.

 

[RedBike]

I probably wont be riding the MLT again.

Although I'm looking at riding the pennine bridleway from Buxton up to somewhere near Rooley moor.

It all depends on what campsites I can find / what it's like pulling a heavy trailer off-road.

 

[trio25]

Wow a full-sus singlespeed, how did you deal with the chain growth due to the suspension?

I still don't clear everything, there is one hill on the red at lee quarry that I have walked everytime, after the berms on the red. I also only just get up tramway - not looking forward to having to race it on sunday! The thing is if I have to walk it is no slower than the geared riders are walking really!

Lower back was a problem with me too, I couldn't cope with a rucksac at first, I actually did some back strengthing exercises and it just got stronger from riding!

I will definetly be up for the MTL again this summer, thinking of starting buxton way, bivvy somewhere up the top and back down the next day!

 

[RedBike]

I will definetly be up for the MTL again this summer, thinking of starting buxton way, bivvy somewhere up the top and back down the next day!

Thats almost what i'm looking at. I'm thinking of starting from Leek, riding to Buxton, Hebden Bridge (so half the MLT). From there I want to link with the pennine cycleway and carry on to Kendal.

This will be over a few days. I've no plans to bivvy any of it but I might wild camp one night (No where near any windmills!) but more than likely I will book myself into campsites so that I can get a shower / wash my clothes!

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

hi trio, hi red,

well at the moment it's a bit ghetto, i recycled my xtr mech, i took out the top jockey wheel out and put in some longer screws to lock it in place, i have ordered a surley but nick on t'other forum reckons it may not do. if that is the case then i will order the yess one which will defo do it. lbs is pretty confident the surley will be ok, i hope so it's £35 cheaper. i don't think i'm up to doing mtl on ss just yet, but then again i didn't think i was ready for mtl ccw last time and i did it, so no doubt will probably do it in june as planned. you're really going hardcore aren't you? entering races willy nilly, bivvying, what's next? lee quarry at night with no lights..lol. good luck in your race. might have nosey up depends what i do on saturday ride wise, thinking of checking out the new section pennine bridleway at gorple.

 

[trio25]

Not hardcore, just didn't realise racing should be scary the first time. Now I get scared but everyone is so nice! Would like to see your bike, only ever seen ss hardtails!

 

[GrumpyGregry]

My short answer to the OP's question is 'never'. Whilst I love my SS full stify MTB for its zen like simplicity and lightweight it is, like all of them, a compromised, and limited beast.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

hi greg,
you think it's limited? why? trio has ss and from reading her blog she isn't limited at all. if i can get to her level of fitness i will be well chuffed. when i was riding geared i was getting lazy, i.e., i was into granny gear at drop of a hat. i get more satisfaction from 'clearing' a steep hill ss than a daft hill in granny when walking would have been quicker. plus my fitness is improving every ride by unbelievable amounts. trio did mary townley loop in a day with an extra 30 miles, how can you say that is limited? hey trio, heres a question, do you think you would have done it any faster with gears? i know i had constant problems with mud baking hard and causing shifting problems, eg, set of get caked in the mud (it's always muddy round my trails even in height of summer), then after an hour shifting problems would start because the mud / gloop would start to harden, the front mech was always the first offender.
cheers

 

[RedBike]

hey trio, heres a question, do you think you would have done it any faster with gears?

No, she would of just been waiting for me even longer.

 

[trio25]

I think I probably would have been about the same speed on my geared bike. But I ride my singlespeed all the time. Conversely at the lee quarry race the other week I think I would have been faster with gears as I would have been faster up the hills - I was on the edge of falling off winching my way up the main climb. I get lazy on gears now and use granny way too much, but in a race situation I don't. It is hard to compare as I harly ever ride gears, only when I need to be able to ride slower so usually when working!

Singlespeed is a love-hate thing, I love it! I'm not sure I would if I wasn't fit though, but singlespeeding got me fitter! My sort of riding singlespeeding isn't limiting, as the main limit is spinning out on the flats/downs and that for me is a bonus as it gives me a rest!

 

[GrumpyGregry]

shaun - unlikely though it may seem I agree with every word you say; riding SS off road will make you fitter stronger etc., but some hills round here you can go up faster on a geared bike, and some downhills you can descend faster on a geared bike as you can drive the bike down the hill for longer.... and if you ride in company when you get to the tarmac or flat bit your geared mates will drop you like a stone... I only ride SS on my jack not in company.

if I can clear a steep hill on my ss why would I granny ring up it on my geared bike instead of sticking it in an ss-ish gear ratio and staying there bearing the pain that is my due for being unfit and overweight? That's how I learnt, under the influence inspiration of mr chipps chippendale, back when I built my first SS in the late 90's, that it was do-able - "don't touch the freakin' shifters"

Mud clearance is a vexed problem in the clay of sussex, and front mech is usually the first casualty, usually followed ime by the rear wheel. an ugly but effective neoprene boot on the front mech solves the first, and running old narrow spesh mud tyres (I bought lots when they got remaindered) goes a long long way to solving the second as does buying a bike that is built with uk conditions in mind with clearances to suit.

 

[trio25]

My geared bike climbs better with me sat down, I will be in an easy gear than my ss as I will be out of the saddle getting that up the hill!

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

red..., although i remember you being in front on that cheeky climb i was going the wrong direction on

i'm thinking of making mine a 2 speed ss fs (manual change over. the chain tensioner will allow me to do this i think). 32:18 for trails, 32:16 for the road to stop spinning out whilst commuting, going to leave this for a while though to see if i can start to use 32:16 for both, probably won't be till the end of summer when i'll be strong enough. just debating on where to go on my ride tonight as the wind and rain is horrendous. what time is the race on sunday trio? might come and have look at how fast the racing is around there, just to get an idea of how slow i am.