Awesome! SS is liberating. When I converted years ago I made a 1 year commitment to myself to keep on keeping on. Now I'll never look back and I'm a much much better rider and my legs are much much stronger.
That is inspiring to hear. I love that you made a full year commitment. That sounds about right for me too. I love the “much much”; my legs could certainly become “much much” stronger as well! Thank you! M
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.
Can not wait to hear what you think of the change. I started mountain biking in 1990 and around 2004, at the encouragement of a couple friends I regularly rode with and despite being very skeptical, I converted a GT Zaskar hardtail to single speed. My friends rode their single speeds on the local fast, twisty singletrack, but what did it for me was the first time I rode a local trail that has lots of relatively short punchy climbs with some tech. I enjoy all bikes, but my favorite ride is still a single speed.
Hi @stmp1994 So far, so good!! There’s this little, short, punch, tech climb, that is essentially a short cut; whilst “the group” is riding along the fire road, some braves souls head up “The Thing” (and many don’t make it). But alas, I was thrilled to make it!! Besides that clear victory, I am truly enjoying the feeling of the bike and pedalling. It’s really smooth and somehow supportive. I love it so far! The only small, hardly mention worthy, drawback is pedalling like mad to keep up with my friends on the flat…. And still falling way behind ;-). Thank you so much for sharing! Cheers, M
Great Video! It covers all of the main points that any MTBer need to consider when going Singlespeed. For me, I have a full suspension so I also need to add a chain tensioner to allow the chain to "grow" when the rear suspension is compressed. A 28-22 drive train is great for North Shore, and that's what I started with. However, when I use my bike on flatter terrain I was spinning out, so I came up with an idea to put on a 2-by chainring with a single rear cog. This way I can climb on the 28-22 combination but then when riding downhill or flat I can manually switch to the bigger chainring (34) so I have a dual singlespeed (Dinglespeed?) with a low / high gear.
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.
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) 😜
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!
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!”
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
you both are absolutely delightful
🫶
Awesome! SS is liberating. When I converted years ago I made a 1 year commitment to myself to keep on keeping on. Now I'll never look back and I'm a much much better rider and my legs are much much stronger.
That is inspiring to hear. I love that you made a full year commitment. That sounds about right for me too. I love the “much much”; my legs could certainly become “much much” stronger as well! Thank you! M
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
Can not wait to hear what you think of the change. I started mountain biking in 1990 and around 2004, at the encouragement of a couple friends I regularly rode with and despite being very skeptical, I converted a GT Zaskar hardtail to single speed. My friends rode their single speeds on the local fast, twisty singletrack, but what did it for me was the first time I rode a local trail that has lots of relatively short punchy climbs with some tech. I enjoy all bikes, but my favorite ride is still a single speed.
Hi @stmp1994 So far, so good!! There’s this little, short, punch, tech climb, that is essentially a short cut; whilst “the group” is riding along the fire road, some braves souls head up “The Thing” (and many don’t make it). But alas, I was thrilled to make it!! Besides that clear victory, I am truly enjoying the feeling of the bike and pedalling. It’s really smooth and somehow supportive. I love it so far!
The only small, hardly mention worthy, drawback is pedalling like mad to keep up with my friends on the flat…. And still falling way behind ;-).
Thank you so much for sharing! Cheers, M
Great Video! It covers all of the main points that any MTBer need to consider when going Singlespeed. For me, I have a full suspension so I also need to add a chain tensioner to allow the chain to "grow" when the rear suspension is compressed.
A 28-22 drive train is great for North Shore, and that's what I started with. However, when I use my bike on flatter terrain I was spinning out, so I came up with an idea to put on a 2-by chainring with a single rear cog. This way I can climb on the 28-22 combination but then when riding downhill or flat I can manually switch to the bigger chainring (34) so I have a dual singlespeed (Dinglespeed?) with a low / high gear.
That’s certainly a great idea! Thanks for sharing your experience. It’s great to hear of new ideas and making things up along the way! Cheers, Meg
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!
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
So rad! You and Steve convinced to convert to SS. It’s a trip! Great stuff!
That is really very inspiring to hear! - 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!
Great tips 👍
We are so lucky to play in the #andrewmajorleague ;-)!
Not always in the right gear. Never in the wrong gear.
Haha! 😂- M
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 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!
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
Four speeds now. Sitting, standing, walking and BMX. Keep riding if you’re watching this.😊
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