I got out for a ride the other day with a friend of mine
who just finished turning his perfectly fine Schwinn into
a single speed. His NRS 2 was in the shop. I took a close
look at the SS and it DID look sleek. I was pretty
curious about the bike and how the two of us would
"measure up" so to speak.
Long story short, he smoked me on uphills where he didn't
have a sharp transition. He would stand up and crank and
the ratio would carry him up. He always smoked me on hills
anyway. The man is a cardio monster. But this was
different. Since we were in "my woods" I was usually in the
lead so I can't say how it handled on the downhill
sections. I assume it was fine. Where I noticed a big
difference (and a frustrating one for him) was in a sharp
transition section. For instance, there is a part of the
trail that drops down to a small stream crossing then takes
a short turn and up a rooty 5 or 6 foot hill then a longer
uphill. Another section, the trail cuts across a ridge face
then turns uphill in the middle of a small rock garden. He
never made it through those sections without dabbing. He'd
loose 'mo and never recover. He's a very good rider so I
think this made him nuts.
Have to admit not hearing him shift was odd.
He seemed to have fun but I still like my "geared pig".
Marty
p.s. Next time I'll give it a ride..