Singlespeed, good for training or not?

"Coyoteboy" <[email hidden]> a écrit:

Quoted message said:

So, not having a road bike, I thought I might build up my old
rigid super-light frame and throw on some old kit i have, maybe
make it a single speed on the rear and just have a 44/34 front
end. Will the lack of gears aid my training for a decent long
distance (for me, 54miles) at >17.5mph or damage it? My training is ~18
miles of up 'n' down (goes 4 or 5 times from
~100ft to 250ft each direction, with flat sections between).

You'll certainly work harder on the hills on a singlespeed, and you'll also
have to spin faster on the flats. My experience is that it's a good way to
improve general fitness.

I'm not so sure about your 2-speed idea, at least not as you suggest it. One
of the attractions of a singlespeed is its mechanical simplicity. Assuming
you'll need a chain tensioner of some sort, if you really want a 2-speed,
why not dispense with the front derailleur and keep two sprockets at the
back?

James Thomson

"Coyoteboy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Ive been running the full sus (28lb XC, no bob) as a commuter, but
chatting on here recently I got ridiculed for running a full sus on road
🙂 So, not having a road bike, I thought I might build up my old rigid
super-light frame and throw on some old kit i have, maybe make it a single
speed on the rear and just have a 44/34 front end. Will the lack of gears
aid my training for a decent long distance (for me, 54miles) at >17.5mph
or damage it? My training is ~18 miles of up 'n' down (goes 4 or 5 times
from ~100ft to 250ft each direction, with flat sections between).

It will also be good to have the full sus build up for offroad instead of
with slicks which need changing each time.

Thoughts....?

I like singlespeeds (but prefer fixies).
Off road singlespeeds seem to be 32/16, on road single speeds seem to come
out about 48 by 18/17/16.
Depending how long/steep your hills are, one of the above ratios should be
OK.

Can't really see the logic of a 34/44 front. How you going to shift it?

Peter

Coyoteboy said:

Ive been running the full sus (28lb XC, no bob) as a commuter, but chatting
on here recently I got ridiculed for running a full sus on road 🙂 So, not
having a road bike, I thought I might build up my old rigid super-light
frame and throw on some old kit i have, maybe make it a single speed on the
rear and just have a 44/34 front end. Will the lack of gears aid my training
for a decent long distance (for me, 54miles) at >17.5mph or damage it? My
training is ~18 miles of up 'n' down (goes 4 or 5 times from ~100ft to 250ft
each direction, with flat sections between).

It will also be good to have the full sus build up for offroad instead of
with slicks which need changing each time.

Thoughts....?

I've been riding two 68" fixies over the winter; approx 4000km since
November. I am *definitely* stronger now - both on the flat, and up
hills, which is saying a lot given that I live in Norfolk.

I've even been audaxing on the Pompino a few times.

Not sure about Singlespeed though... it still leaves you open to the
temptations of girlie freewheeling... 😉

Quoted message said:

I've been riding two 68" fixies over the winter; approx 4000km since
November. I am *definitely* stronger now - both on the flat, and up
hills, which is saying a lot given that I live in Norfolk.

I've even been audaxing on the Pompino a few times.

Not sure about Singlespeed though... it still leaves you open to the
temptations of girlie freewheeling... 😉

I've been on a fixed since October and have really taken to it, legs
feel a lot stronger and overall the bike just feels more like an
extension of the limbs in a way that I never quite got on a
freewheel. I'm going to do a triathlon on the fixie in a couple of
weeks, it may slow the time down a little but I'm not too bothered,
it's worth it.

The geared freewheel only ever sees the road now when the fixie's in
the shop or off the road for mods, and I always notice these things:

I never change gears even though they're there, just don't feel the
need.
Hardly ever stop pedaling, even when the pawls disengage.
It's a horrible sensation whenever the freewheel kicks in - yuck.

How about a flip-flop hub with a freewheel one side and fixed cog the
other? Y

James Thomson proclaimed to uk.rec.cycling ...

Quoted message said:

I'm not so sure about your 2-speed idea, at least not as you suggest it.
One of the attractions of a singlespeed is its mechanical simplicity.
Assuming you'll need a chain tensioner of some sort, if you really want a
2-speed, why not dispense with the front derailleur and keep two sprockets
at the back?

James Thomson

The two front was purely for when I cry and cant get up the last hill to
work! I was going to maintain the front mech and lock the rear in one
position, removing the rear cogs either side of ideal.

--
J
__________________________________________
http://www.jbuckle.homeip.net << My personal site
http://www.aoskc.com << Ainsdale Kitesurf Club

peter-potato proclaimed to uk.rec.cycling ...

Quoted message said:

I like singlespeeds (but prefer fixies).
Off road singlespeeds seem to be 32/16, on road single speeds seem to come
out about 48 by 18/17/16.

I generally run 44/15 on the way in to work, and shift a couple either way
at most. I'd never use it offroad - im not that fit 🙂

Quoted message said:

Can't really see the logic of a 34/44 front. How you going to shift it?

Keep the front mech, using the 34 purely as a "run home to mommy, i cant
make it up the hill" gear.

--
J
__________________________________________
http://www.jbuckle.homeip.net << My personal site
http://www.aoskc.com << Ainsdale Kitesurf Club

Duncan Smith proclaimed to uk.rec.cycling ...

Quoted message said:

The geared freewheel only ever sees the road now when the fixie's in
the shop or off the road for mods, and I always notice these things:

I never change gears even though they're there, just don't feel the
need.
Hardly ever stop pedaling, even when the pawls disengage.
It's a horrible sensation whenever the freewheel kicks in - yuck.

How about a flip-flop hub with a freewheel one side and fixed cog the
other? Y

I dont think I'm hardcore enough for fixed wheel, i think i might actually
die. Certainly with heavy traffic too?

--
J
__________________________________________
http://www.jbuckle.homeip.net << My personal site
http://www.aoskc.com << Ainsdale Kitesurf Club

Coyoteboy said:

The two front was purely for when I cry and cant get up the last hill to
work! I was going to maintain the front mech and lock the rear in one
position, removing the rear cogs either side of ideal.

If you're going to do this, do it properly!

If you can't make it up the hill, you can force yourself to go a bit further
every day before you get off and push. Then you've got some of your
training covered as well! You'll be surprised what you can get up in a
given gear once you no longer have the choice to change down.

Anthony

"Coyoteboy" <[email hidden]> a écrit:

Quoted message said:

The two front was purely for when I cry and cant get up the last
hill to work! I was going to maintain the front mech and lock the
rear in one position, removing the rear cogs either side of ideal.

I realise that. My point is that if you really want two gears, as you'll be
keeping the rear derailleur anyway to tension the chain you may as well run
two sprockets at the rear. That would let you dispense with the front
shifter, front derailleur, and two chainrings.

James Thomson

"Coyoteboy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Duncan Smith proclaimed to uk.rec.cycling ...

Quoted message said:

The geared freewheel only ever sees the road now when the fixie's in
the shop or off the road for mods, and I always notice these things:

I never change gears even though they're there, just don't feel the
need.
Hardly ever stop pedaling, even when the pawls disengage.
It's a horrible sensation whenever the freewheel kicks in - yuck.

How about a flip-flop hub with a freewheel one side and fixed cog the
other? Y

I dont think I'm hardcore enough for fixed wheel, i think i might actually
die. Certainly with heavy traffic too?

Oh go on...you'll love it...it's why god invented kneecaps.

Has the frame got vertical or horizontal drop-outs?
Peter

Coyoteboy said:

Duncan Smith proclaimed to uk.rec.cycling ...

Quoted message said:

The geared freewheel only ever sees the road now when the fixie's in
the shop or off the road for mods, and I always notice these things:

Quoted message said:

I never change gears even though they're there, just don't feel the
need.
Hardly ever stop pedaling, even when the pawls disengage.
It's a horrible sensation whenever the freewheel kicks in - yuck.

Quoted message said:

How about a flip-flop hub with a freewheel one side and fixed cog the
other? Y

I dont think I'm hardcore enough for fixed wheel, i think i might actually
die. Certainly with heavy traffic too?

Not a bit of it, stick to quiet roads for the first couple of days -
it won't be a problem. Never as bad as you think..

Regards,

Duncan.

peter-potato proclaimed to uk.rec.cycling ...

Quoted message said:

Oh go on...you'll love it...it's why god invented kneecaps.

Has the frame got vertical or horizontal drop-outs?
Peter

🙂 Vertical unfortunately, but I can knock up a tensioner from an old rear
mech no problem, have done that already on my trials bike.

--
J
__________________________________________
http://www.jbuckle.homeip.net << My personal site
http://www.aoskc.com << Ainsdale Kitesurf Club

In article said:

peter-potato proclaimed to uk.rec.cycling ...

Quoted message said:

Oh go on...you'll love it...it's why god invented kneecaps.

Has the frame got vertical or horizontal drop-outs?
Peter

🙂 Vertical unfortunately, but I can knock up a tensioner from an old rear
mech no problem, have done that already on my trials bike.

But if you want to go fixed, not just single, you will need to keep the
chain taut while slowing down too (or even while pedalling backwards
for a trackstand). Allegedly it's possible to do this with two chain
tensioners, one on the top chain run and one on the bottom, or if you are
lucky enough with your lengths and cog choices that a tensioner isn't
really needed much.

"Alan Braggins" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article said:

peter-potato proclaimed to uk.rec.cycling ...

Quoted message said:

Oh go on...you'll love it...it's why god invented kneecaps.

Has the frame got vertical or horizontal drop-outs?
Peter

🙂 Vertical unfortunately, but I can knock up a tensioner from an old rear
mech no problem, have done that already on my trials bike.

But if you want to go fixed, not just single, you will need to keep the
chain taut while slowing down too (or even while pedalling backwards
for a trackstand). Allegedly it's possible to do this with two chain
tensioners, one on the top chain run and one on the bottom, or if you are
lucky enough with your lengths and cog choices that a tensioner isn't
really needed much.

Or a phantom sprocket (which I've never seen...).
I be interested to see someone using two chain tensioners on a fixie!
Peter

"peter-potato" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

But if you want to go fixed, not just single, you will need to keep the
chain taut while slowing down too (or even while pedalling backwards
for a trackstand). Allegedly it's possible to do this with two chain
tensioners, one on the top chain run and one on the bottom, or if you are
lucky enough with your lengths and cog choices that a tensioner isn't
really needed much.

Or a phantom sprocket (which I've never seen...).
I be interested to see someone using two chain tensioners on a fixie!

I think it would be a bit [censored] :-( One of the great things about a fixie is
the directness of the drive - introduce a lag with chain tensioners, and
although the chain won't fall off, it just won't be the same. (this assumes
the tensioners are sprung ones - non-sprung could work, but would be [censored]
for different reasons, not least because the forces involved are quite
high).

cheers,
clive

In article said:

"Alan Braggins" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article said:

peter-potato proclaimed to uk.rec.cycling ...

> Oh go on...you'll love it...it's why god invented kneecaps.
>
> Has the frame got vertical or horizontal drop-outs?
> Peter

🙂 Vertical unfortunately, but I can knock up a tensioner from an old rear
mech no problem, have done that already on my trials bike.

But if you want to go fixed, not just single, you will need to keep the
chain taut while slowing down too (or even while pedalling backwards
for a trackstand). Allegedly it's possible to do this with two chain
tensioners, one on the top chain run and one on the bottom, or if you are
lucky enough with your lengths and cog choices that a tensioner isn't
really needed much.

Or a phantom sprocket (which I've never seen...).

I've seen photos of tandem sync trains being done like that:
http://sheldonbrown.com/tandem-build2.html#okeefe
but Sheldon points out here that trying to do it on a fixed gear
would mean losing the drive side chainstay:
http://cyclingforums.com/archive/index.php/t-69240-p-2.html

But http://fixiefaqs.xwiki.com/xwiki/bin/view/Main/WebHome#Q2.18
implies it's possible on some setups.

Quoted message said:

I be interested to see someone using two chain tensioners on a fixie!

Googling, maybe I imagined that. Certainly you would have to be very
careful (just using a derailleur wouldn't work, it's got to allow the
chain to go completely taut in reverse).

On the other hand I'll swear I have seen photos of a "fixed" conversion
which actually used two chains, one on each side, with one freewheel
acting normally and one in reverse (being a normal freewheel on the
wrong side, not a left-drive freewheel), and I can't find that now
either.

Alan Braggins said:

On the other hand I'll swear I have seen photos of a "fixed" conversion
which actually used two chains, one on each side, with one freewheel
acting normally and one in reverse (being a normal freewheel on the
wrong side, not a left-drive freewheel), and I can't find that now
either.

http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2005/mar/TheBikeCo-op.htm

Anthony

Coyoteboy said:

Thoughts....?

I'm a 16 stone fat b*****d in a general state of un-fitness. I've been
riding an on-one pompino (with freewheel) since the middle of last
year. The past few months I've started using it more frequently for
commuting to work (up to 3 times a week now.) The journey is about 22
miles (11.5 miles in, 10.5 miles out, Tayport to St Andrews, I vary my
route slightly.) I'd say it has done wonders for my strength and
fitness and also made me quicker (though still slow by anybody else's
standards.) I've also found it much more fun than a multi-geared bike
as I either have to work or walk. On my geared bike I dropped down to
the granny gear on the slightest incline and it took ages to get
anywhere.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I dont think I'm hardcore enough for fixed wheel, i think i might
actually die. Certainly with heavy traffic too?

Quoted message said:

Not a bit of it, stick to quiet roads for the first couple of days -
it won't be a problem. Never as bad as you think..

True. Let's face it, fixed is for people so stupid that they can only ride
in circles on bikes with no brakes. A normal person will have no problems.
😉