First race I did got a 'does your mom know you ride thst thing?'. But massive thumbs up to my LBS who thought I was completely nuts so let me sit on their shop floor and borrow their tools to figure things out. Back then dedicated parts were hard to find. Spacers scavenged from cassettes, chainrings lasercut, a tensioner I designed snd had a machine shop make up... 24 years later I'm still at it. Singles speeds are awesome.
Cool stuff, Meg. Your concerns are real, but the gains are real too! The last SS conversion on Steve's bike introduced me to Andrew's using a chain guide as a tensioner. Brilliant idea.
I think you will enjoy the single speed. I waited until I was in my late 40's to finally try it. I still ride geared bikes, but the single speed makes the same trails more fun.
Love singlespeeding here in Austin, TX. Awesome SS crews here as well. Even my gravel bike is a SS - oh and an oval chainring actually works on a SS without a tensioner! Go figure. Yes, I have a carbon full sus bike, and yes, I attack things differently on my SS vs my sus bike. Have a blast on that bike - and yes - his comment about 3 "speeds" is absolutely correct. Sit/Stand/Push. It is the great equalizer, but you would be surprised at what you can do if you attack vs sit in and punch to the eagle gear.
Now that we're hooked on the simplicity and elegance of single speeding in the trails, we're exploring the idea of getting a single speed city commuter bike, so thanks for the gear ratio tip!
Here in Croatia, people don't understand single speed... I had people questioning my sanity (really) because both of my bikes are single speed (road fixed gear/single speed frame,and 1 mountain bike frame) The roads and trails are mostly on the flat side here, but people are addicted on their geared and suspended bikes 😔 As soon as money allows, I'll turn my mountain bike rigid! Rigid forks are quite pricey here in Croatia! Greetings from Kris 😎
That’s awesome, Kris! We’ve had people tell us we’re crazy for mountain biking, so people just draw an arbitrary line on what’s sane, and it’s usually just beyond where their comfort level is (disclaimer: we’re not psychologists) 😜
I have done all my SS Mtn bike wrenching but use dedicated SS frames. It makes things easier. A used steel or aluminum frame with sliding dropouts or an EBB could cost you less that bolting on SS conversion parts.
Although that’s not the case in our situation, that’s a good point to keep in mind! It’s hard to argue which setup looks cleaner in the rear triangle though! 😜
If a guy walks in and asks “ can you show me how to convert my geared mtb to a single speed “ Shop “Sure $200, I’m booked out two weeks.” Meg walks in asks the same question Shop “ I’d love to! Let’s get started!”
First race I did got a 'does your mom know you ride thst thing?'. But massive thumbs up to my LBS who thought I was completely nuts so let me sit on their shop floor and borrow their tools to figure things out. Back then dedicated parts were hard to find. Spacers scavenged from cassettes, chainrings lasercut, a tensioner I designed snd had a machine shop make up... 24 years later I'm still at it. Singles speeds are awesome.
That's so awesome! 🙌 Lots of people are missing out on such a neat part about biking
Cool stuff, Meg. Your concerns are real, but the gains are real too! The last SS conversion on Steve's bike introduced me to Andrew's using a chain guide as a tensioner. Brilliant idea.
Thank you for the encouragement! It’s certainly a transition but I am truly enjoying it thus far. Isn’t Andrew’s idea brilliant, as you say! - M
@@HardtailLife Looking forward to an update on your experience after you've spent some time in the saddle. Have fun on the trails!
So rad! You and Steve convinced to convert to SS. It’s a trip! Great stuff!
That is really very inspiring to hear! - M
I think you will enjoy the single speed. I waited until I was in my late 40's to finally try it. I still ride geared bikes, but the single speed makes the same trails more fun.
Yes, the forty’s are all about jumping in with both feet!! Thank you! - M
Not always in the right gear. Never in the wrong gear.
Haha! 😂- M
Love singlespeeding here in Austin, TX. Awesome SS crews here as well. Even my gravel bike is a SS - oh and an oval chainring actually works on a SS without a tensioner! Go figure. Yes, I have a carbon full sus bike, and yes, I attack things differently on my SS vs my sus bike. Have a blast on that bike - and yes - his comment about 3 "speeds" is absolutely correct. Sit/Stand/Push. It is the great equalizer, but you would be surprised at what you can do if you attack vs sit in and punch to the eagle gear.
It’s so nice to hear from a single speeder in Austin, TX! Wow! Would love to try riding there one day! Thanks for your great feedback on SS! - M
Dripping Springs SS rider here! Bring your crew out to Reimers Ranch for a ride sometime. I’d love to connect with like minds!
I ride 34/16. That’s just about right for commuting and grocery getting.
28/22 would be my MTB ratio for sure!
Now that we're hooked on the simplicity and elegance of single speeding in the trails, we're exploring the idea of getting a single speed city commuter bike, so thanks for the gear ratio tip!
Here in Croatia, people don't understand single speed...
I had people questioning my sanity (really) because both of my bikes are single speed (road fixed gear/single speed frame,and 1 mountain bike frame)
The roads and trails are mostly on the flat side here, but people are addicted on their geared and suspended bikes 😔
As soon as money allows, I'll turn my mountain bike rigid! Rigid forks are quite pricey here in Croatia!
Greetings from Kris 😎
That’s awesome, Kris! We’ve had people tell us we’re crazy for mountain biking, so people just draw an arbitrary line on what’s sane, and it’s usually just beyond where their comfort level is (disclaimer: we’re not psychologists) 😜
Thinking trying SS on my FS. My other three bikes, which two are ht and a rigid, all SS
Does the moving rear triangle make it more challenging to single speed?
I have done all my SS Mtn bike wrenching but use dedicated SS frames. It makes things easier. A used steel or aluminum frame with sliding dropouts or an EBB could cost you less that bolting on SS conversion parts.
Although that’s not the case in our situation, that’s a good point to keep in mind! It’s hard to argue which setup looks cleaner in the rear triangle though! 😜
Always wanted to build a SS MTB besides from the DJ bike 👌
If you have horizontal dropouts, it’s a piece of cake. Just built mine.
@ or a chain tensioner or simply an old/broken rear mech
@@XeviSi true true
Go for it! 🙌
If a guy walks in and asks “ can you show me how to convert my geared mtb to a single speed “
Shop “Sure $200, I’m booked out two weeks.”
Meg walks in asks the same question
Shop “ I’d love to! Let’s get started!”
😂😂😂 -S