ss fs how long to get used to it?

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

trio,

i know what you mean about being quicker round lee quarry on geared it is a funny place in terms of ascents / descents. especially if your racing against geared, but that is pretty obvious isn't it? but beating geared bikes must be a complete thrill and attention getter.

greg,

i'm pretty lucky really, i like my own company and prefer to go out on my own, meet people on the way, have a quick chat, sometimes a beer. i find if i go out in company there's a bit too much of a macho thing going on, whilst there is nothing wrong in that, i just prefer to challenge myself, that way no-one will laugh when i make a complete arse of myself trying new stuff or anyone to moan when i keep trying over and over again to do new stuff till i get it right. so you can probably see why ss is perfect for me, less stress, more time to enjoy "brain free mtbing" (i read this somewhere and it sums up ss for me)

 

[GrumpyGregry]

greg,

i'm pretty lucky really, i like my own company and prefer to go out on my own, meet people on the way, have a quick chat, sometimes a beer. i find if i go out in company there's a bit too much of a macho thing going on, whilst there is nothing wrong in that, i just prefer to challenge myself, that way no-one will laugh when i make a complete arse of myself trying new stuff or anyone to moan when i keep trying over and over again to do new stuff till i get it right. so you can probably see why ss is perfect for me, less stress, more time to enjoy "brain free mtbing" (i read this somewhere and it sums up ss for me)

yeah exactly; probably 90%+ of my non commute cycling is on my todd be it geared or ss, road or mtb and through choice. Happy to chat to the folks I meet along the way and have tea and cake, though rarely beer, if invited etc., but part of cycling for me is to get away from everyone including myself. cycling esp ss = leaving the plan behind = doing something for the sheer pointless dumb pleasure of it = true freedom

One of the great things about FNRttC (a highly eccentric group road ride from London to the coast that I discovered last year) is you can take part and be as sociable or not as you like. You can ride on your own undistrubed by others but still be part of the bigger group. You can blast off the front, or lag behind at the back, and you can share as much or as little of yourself as you like.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

not the best photos, took them with my phone and it was going dark, like i said before will look better when surly tensioner arrives.

 

[trio25]

Looks good.

Race on sunday is at 10am, worth having a look or evening entering!

I don't ride with people who do the macho thing, don't see the point. But the look on blokes faces when I pass them on my singlespeed can be funny!

Redbike is uber fast uphill, no chance I will ever be in front of him! I have the advantage on the downhills though!

 

[GrumpyGregry]

good for you trio! 15 years ago I learnt an awful lot about mtb'ing from a young lady much younger than me who went past me one day like a greased whippet on a technical section. I simply asked her "Can you show me how you cleaned that?" and a friendship was born.

 

[RedBike]

Well I think it's a crying shame to have single speeded that lovely bike. Then again i'm still not converted to single speed.

I've never had any problems with the gears clogging. Perhaps I just don't ride for long enough in muddy conditions.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

i don't see why you would say that red. it's not done any damage to the bike, ok the xtr chainset is butchered but i had made the decision to get rid of that unnecessary expense for slx chainset anyway. the front mech was worn out. so i decided to try ss and i really really like. i had my first scalp from easily 2 miles back on rossendale bridleway at a speed i wouldn't have managed fully geared.

did you not see the crap on the bike this is how she usually gets within 15 minutes on the trail. i reckon that by the 17th june i will be back to the same ride lengths as i was on fully geared. in fact i'll be doing mtl 17th june.

i don't think there will be hill i won't be able to do faster.

when i was going to lee quarry i was grinding everything, then one day a bloke actually walked past me on the big climb to the quarry. that's the day i started thinking ss. for me it's brilliant, but i do go out onto muddy trails nearly every day, for at least 2 hrs.

 

[RedBike]

I'm highly jealous of the XTR drivechain but I still can't get my head around singlespeeding MTBs. (I have enough trouble getting up the hills as it is!)
So from my blinkered point of view switching from the XTR to SS is a crying shame.

I can fully understand why you've done it though; and anything that improves your enjoyment has to be a good thing.


Best of luck with the MLT on the 17th!

 

[RedBike]

Is the MTL on the 17th an organised event?

Here's the next loop i'm attempting. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eapb2sEgbGk/Sg2J9tVomXI/AAAAAAAABg8/fb4-sLJmcbo/s1600-h/IMAGE_451.jpg

I'm keeping my gears (I need them!) but no doubt Trio will single speed it.

I'm in the middle of purchasing another fixed wheel bike to ride back and forth to work on. After a few months of riding that, who knows I might see single speed MTBs in a different light.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

yes it is, i booked on to it before i actually did it solo. wasn't going to go as i prefer solo. but as i've gone ss i've decided to keep my place. it's being run by the ranger so his insight to the route should be interesting.

if i was going bivvying / wild camping then i would prefer company.

the way you climbed that hill i don't think fitness is holding you back, it just isn't for you.

i'm going to do a poor mans jeff jones on the crank set, going to get it shot blasted in the morning, well i hope so, going to ask a shot blast place near me.

going to get a red or black ss chain probably a kmc.

next time my chain ring needs replacing i will get a blackspire velo.

i noticed trio's route, i'm surprised they can resist the temptation of gisburn forest seeing as they are going so close, i know i couldn't.

 

[trio25]

Redbike is towing a trailer, so not sure Gisburn forest would work, I have never rode there though.

Singlespeed is a love/hate thing. I love it, red did try it and didn't really like it - his bike was ss for maybe a week (is that right red?) I can see why he wouldn't like it, I am happy enough when I spin out, red being a roadie at heart is trying to get more speed out of the bike - I usually hold on to his rucksac on the slight downhill sections on the road otherwise I get left behind!

You are right Shaun Red has no problems going uphill, he is amazing uphill, but he expects to be faster as most of his riding buddies are cat 1 road racers! I am probably the slowest person he rides with, I'm sure its just for my map reading skills and route planning!

I find the idea of a full-sus ss interesting, I spend all my time stood up on mine that I wouldn't want rear suspension. I suppose it probably is a light bike anyway being carbon so that is less of an issue.

Red the only places I have had problem with mud clogging gears is at races down south, up here is gritty and ruins stuff but it doesn't clog in the same way! I can't afford to run gears all year round at rivi though!

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

trio,

i have full lock out with remote switch, when it's locked out it's locked. i haven't been to gisburn forest for years but it had loads of well shod fire roads and single track. i believe that more technical type trails have been built recently, it really is a pretty place to ride. there is a thread on the other forum regarding the forest.

red,

it will be interesting to see how you get on with a trailer off road, what trailer have you got? with regards to ss, if you're an eyeballs out type of rider then i am not surprised ss isn't for you. i'm 40 on june 18th and my days of road riding eyeballs out are way behind me, now i ride for enjoyment. if i spin out, it means gravity is doing the work for me and i wait till i can spin again.

i was going to go for a road bike, probably a moulton, as i have a huge commute starting in sept, but i decided that i'd only save 20 to 30 minutes either way. for me 20 to 30 minutes either is nothing to worry about, just means less time in front of the box, which is a good thing really.

 

[trio25]

20 to 30 mins would be a lot for me on a commute! I would probably find I commuted less if it was that much longer, not as much the coming home but the getting up silly early to commute!

 

[RedBike]

Singlespeed is a love/hate thing. I love it, red did try it and didn't really like it - his bike was ss for maybe a week (is that right red?)

Trio, I don't think the bike was ever truely single speed. I switched my cassette for a singlespeed sprocket for a few days but I didn't remove the gears. I wasn't very keen. To me it just felt like there was something wrong with my gears.

red, it will be interesting to see how you get on with a trailer off road,

It's not the first time i've pulled a trailer off-road. I did a brief tour with a cyclo-x bike and a bob trailer about 2 years ago. I took it around the North Face trail Grizedale. I was still quicker than most MTBs on the climbs. Downhill i'm always useless so having a trailer on the back didn't really make any difference.

This new cheap trailer is a LOT heavier and signifcantly harder to pull. It's going to slow me down a lot. Thankfully i'm in no rush.

what trailer have you got?

There's a few posts on my blog about it. Just a cheap one (£45 with postage) off ebay. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=230338334201
A bob trailer could well of cost me 10x that, just too expensive at the moment.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

trio,
i think you misunderstood, my commute is going to be 25 miles each way to uni. so 20 minutes extra doesn't bother me. it's only in 6 weeks blocks then my placement may be significantly nearer. mind you said that, i've had an email from manchester uni saying to ring them as they may have place for me, then my commute would only be 17 miles each way.