Single Speed Evangelists are weight weenies

[Agteros]

I have never cycled on SS, think I am a bit sh@t scared to try one. All I know is they normally make my name gat when I am walking up a hill with all my gears to choose from and here comes a guy flying up the hill on his SS. Last year at Karoo 2 coast I saw a few of them. Just imagine doing that whole race with 1 gear.

 

Respect

 

quite easy actually!

Riding SS you save loads of energy due to

1. No having to think about

a.) which gears to choose

b.) when to change gears

c.) worrying about chain cross

 

2.) All the SS lessons in HTFU

 

3.) Not killing yourself cardio wise going down the hills pushing the biggest gears you can find, but rather tucking in and rolling down only MARGINALLY slower

 

 

All of this translates into having more energy for going up the hills faster

 

[fabes]

Ok if only I had enough time to organise one for tomorrow's K2c

[RexFuzzle]

There is a lot I can say and rant about SS, but at the end of the day nothing can compare to riding one and experiencing it for yourself. I am actually wandering now if there is anybody that has tried it and never wanted to do it again... Speak up and tell us why???

Oh, wrt to the weight "issue"- didn't steel is real come from the SS movement?

Edited September 22, 2012 by RexFuzzle

[Agteros]

There is a lot I can say and rant about SS, but at the end of the day nothing can compare to riding one and experiencing it for yourself. I am actually wandering now if there is anybody that has tried it and never wanted to do it again... Speak up and tell us why???

Oh, wrt to the weight "issue"- didn't steel is real come from the SS movement?

steel IS real! Carbon is for 700c!

[Wyatt Earp]

There is a lot I can say and rant about SS, but at the end of the day nothing can compare to riding one and experiencing it for yourself. I am actually wandering now if there is anybody that has tried it and never wanted to do it again... Speak up and tell us why???

Oh, wrt to the weight "issue"- didn't steel is real come from the SS movement?

 

Nope.

[Stretch]

singlespeed smInglespeed.....that large oke I see down at the local Has a nospeed!!!

[RexFuzzle]

Nope.

Please enlighten me then Mr DangleSS

[goya-goya]

 

I have zero experience with an SS but can only say one thing about anyone trekking 40km's on one of them: RESPECT

Why?

 

You can ride singlespeed without making your bike lighter!?

[L.T.G]

Why?

 

You can ride singlespeed without making your bike lighter!?

Dude... you'll never know what it's like unless you try it but it sounds as though you've made up your mind here..

 

I don't ride a SS for recognition.

I don't ride one to prove a point.

Someone once said "If you ride a SingleSpeed in the woods and no one sees you.. is it still cool?"..Funny, but if that's the way a SS rider feels, he's doing it for the very wrong reasons.

I ride a SS because I cannot get enough of it!

I love riding bikes, all bikes... but when it comes to being on my SSs.. it's just better!

I have a Duel Susser that set me back a couple tens of thousands of ZARs... that gets tons of love and attention.. but no riding time, instead my old, very basic 2008 Scott, billion kilo hardtail that I converted to SS gets ridden ALL the time, purely because it's SO much fun!

 

I read this a while ago and it's spot on for me

 

"One of the funnest things about trail riding is flow, flow comes from momentum, the art of momentum is truly learned from riding single speed."

 

this also hits home for me

 

Single speeding can be an experience that demands more of a person, and so a person finds that extra drive, that extra strength to do something that perhaps he didn’t believe he could accomplish before. Or even relate to. Single speeding is quiet. It’s simple. It’s pure. But it’s way more than that -- it’s personal.

[Dirty Sanchez]

Why?

 

You can ride singlespeed without making your bike lighter!?

Meh, if I have gears I'll use them.

 

I might get tired of cleaning the bike after a day in the mud, then I'll consider getting an SS.

[J0KER]

Single speed... Clear mind...

[Wyatt Earp]

Please enlighten me then Mr DangleSS

 

The first road bikes were made of steel.

Companies started using Columbus and `reynolds and these soon became very well known for their comfort.

The alloy bikes and some plastic bike became more and more the norm

Steel is Real was the phrase that got coined.

[Witkop]

ummmm, singlespeed..........

why?

 

dunno, just something you do.

 

At some stage you realise that the number of gears on your bike, the amount of tupperware in your cupboard and the weight of things are not as important as the quality of your experience.

 

So it is a bit of a counter culture, like drinking real beer brewed properly at a real brewery, eating real food prepared from real ingredients in a real kitchen, like running barefoot (or at least as close to it as possible), like doing your best (Always) and doing one good turn a day.........

 

It is just something you do.

[arendoog]

Dude... you'll never know what it's like unless you try it but it sounds as though you've made up your mind here..

 

I don't ride a SS for recognition.

I don't ride one to prove a point.

Someone once said "If you ride a SingleSpeed in the woods and no one sees you.. is it still cool?"..Funny, but if that's the way a SS rider feels, he's doing it for the very wrong reasons.

I ride a SS because I cannot get enough of it!

I love riding bikes, all bikes... but when it comes to being on my SSs.. it's just better!

I have a Duel Susser that set me back a couple tens of thousands of ZARs... that gets tons of love and attention.. but no riding time, instead my old, very basic 2008 Scott, billion kilo hardtail that I converted to SS gets ridden ALL the time, purely because it's SO much fun!

 

I read this a while ago and it's spot on for me

 

 

 

 

"One of the funnest things about trail riding is flow, flow comes from momentum, the art of momentum is truly learned from riding single speed."

 

 

 

this also hits home for me

 

 

 

 

Single speeding can be an experience that demands more of a person, and so a person finds that extra drive, that extra strength to do something that perhaps he didn’t believe he could accomplish before. Or even relate to. Single speeding is quiet. It’s simple. It’s pure. But it’s way more than that -- it’s personal.

 

 

 

Well said .SS is more about the rider and less about the bike .Also hooked .Your legs and riding style, momentum becomes your gears

[goya-goya]

I rode with a bloke a few weeks ago - Abbey.... single speed rider who helped us set up the route at the Ride the Rhenoster... with a rigid fork... Showed me a thing or two about riding!!!

 

Things I learnt from this SS'er:

1) dont be afraid to stand and pedal

2) dont be afraid to free-wheel

3) if you pedal air you are wasting your time

4) dont be afraid to get off your bike

5) smile the whole time!!

6) you will always get warmer - dont over dress!

 

So guys... I am not intrinsically fused to my opinions... they are permanent until they change! Then they are permanent again!

 

I dont have respect for SS'ers... I just think they are better riders... because it aint about the bike!

[Skylark]

I think people who don't understand SS are maybe the ones that had deprived childhoods with no BMX's...... no memories of the furious pedaling and ecstatic hours of thrashing around the neighbourhood conquering hills with absolutely ridiculously inappropriate gear ratios.

 

The beauty of SS is definitely that the rider and his flow becomes paramount

The timing that is needed for the flow becomes everything , there's no gearing to fall back on so you are forced to focus 100% , every ounce of momentum is important.

 

Keeping the flow alive is stimulating and exhilarating and not least of all due to the obligatory thundering blood flow to keep it all together!!

Edited September 22, 2012 by Skylark