Cycling - Single Speed Bikes

I know that there are some keen cyclists on the Org, so I have a question for those in the know.

Single speed bikes, are they any good or not?

What are the pro's and cons?

[maviczap]

Are we talking fixed gear single speed?

Teaches you legs to pedal properly, lightweight no gears to go wrong.

Murder up hills if your gears too high

Fizz will be along soon, he's riding his about at the mo

I had one once, difficult to master

[fizzwheel]

I've got one, Are you wanting a single speed with a free wheel or a single speed with a fixed wheel ?

Pro's

Simpler drive chain, means less maintenance, quieter drive train

Builds up leg strength as you have only one gear you have no option to get or stay on top of it, rather than dropping down into a lower or easier gear when the hill gets steep.

If you ride fixed, once you get going, the back wheel works like a flywheel and it can push you along which means you dont loose momentup up small incline

Looks, mine is a steel frame, so its a traditional old school kinda looking bike which personally I really like.

Makes you focus on your pedalling technique.

Cons

If you live in a hilly area, its not much fun.

If you ride fixed and you dont concentrate on what you are doing, you will crash and break things.

If you ride fixed, its difficult to stop quickly, good for practising forward planning / observation, not good when next doors little kid runs out in front of you.

Descending on a fixed wheel isnt alot of fun either, you get to a point where you are spinning the gear out, but you have to keep up with the bike. Can be tricky.

Personally I dont like riding fixed in traffic / around town. I prefer it freewheel. I have a flip flop hub so I can switch the wheel around one side is a freewheel / one side is fixed wheel.

On the whole I quite like it. Particularly good if you live in a flat area and commute through winter etc etc. Personally if I only had to have one bike, it would not be a single speed.

Heres mine

Sorry to clarify, single speed with a free wheel, and thanks for the replies!

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by danf1234

Sorry to clarify, single speed with a free wheel, and thanks for the replies!

Thats what I prefer.

Simply put, if you live in a flatish area and want something simple to maintain and ride about on either for pleasure or to commute on then IMHO theres no reason not to get one. Its a bit liberating, not to have to keep thinking about gears all the time just the freedom to pedal without complication.

How hard work are they? I have the top spec Boardman Hybrid at the moment and an old Road Bike that are both geared so I am not sure what to expect?

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by danf1234

How hard work are they?

Its not an easy question to answer. On flats or a slight incline, its not to different to riding a geared road bike, as long as the single speed gear is suitable for the speed / cadence you like to ride / pedal at.

Uphills, its a different kettle of fish, in short it can be b*stard hard work.

Downhills, its a PIA on because you spin the gear out so then you have no choice but to freewheel till the speed drops and the gear will bite again. I spin the gear out at 24mph ish, I can keep up with it till about 26mph but thats like a washing machine on a fast spin in terms of pedal RPM.

It also depends how strong your legs are, one things for certain, if you get one they'll be stronger than they are now after a few months of hill climbing on a single speed

I used to MTB Single speed, was good fun. As mentioned, you have two options when coming to a hill either ride it or get off and push, you find yourself riding it as its a real challenge.

Does wonders for your fitness too! I used to have to pick my route carefully so it had good uphill sections. on the road it was a pita!

I have a Giant bowery single speed (with freewheel) i find it ok, a bit harder work on longer rides (obviously due to the lack of gears) but i`m pretty much sold on it. I use it to go to work some times which is 14 miles each way and don`t feel any more tired than I used to when riding geared bikes. I think once you manage to find the ratio that works for you then it`s ok. I use a 52T (front) and (14T) rear - quite a big gear ratio but it works for me. I find the standard bike`s have a tiny gear ratio and your legs go like the clappers.

Rgds

in london, and i could be wrong on this, it means you can get to the front off traffic and if the light is red either jump it or stop in the middle of the lane. then when the lights change you can wobble off in the middle of the road and hold everyone up because you cant accelarate quickly enough.