What draws you to a single speed bike?

[Roberta]

I am truly curious.  How is it different than just not shifting?  How is it more fun?  When I was looking for a second Riv, Will (at Riv) suggested their single speed (I didn't do it).

I had a 49 lb Raleigh LTD-3 for a few months prior to Riv, which had been converted it to a single speed.   I rode the bike around downtown for errands.  It was tons of fun, but Philadelphia is flat downtown, so SS was OK. I'd be concerned about any hills.

Roberta

[Collin A]

Roberta,

I built my first single speed when I moved to Sacramento (no hills in a 40 mile radius) and wanted to have a project bike to tinker and optimize for the kind of riding I planned to do in Sacramento (flat and lots of fun urban singletrack + levee roads). I ended up selling it and incorporating those optimization lessons into a new frame I bought, but stuck with gears this time.

The main draw was just a simple bike with one gear, which meant:

• Less hassle when it comes to maintenance
• lower weight
• cleaner looks
• Let me use some parts I had lying around
• I hadn't built up a SS bike before

Photo here. I miss it, and will probably end up building a SS grocery getter when the local bike co-op opens up and I can pick up a mostly good-to-go bike.

Cheers,

Collin, Sacramento

[Eric Norris]

Roberta:

If you’re worried about hills, why not try a three-speed? Sturmey Archer hubs come in a 120mm width to fit “fixie” or “single speed” frames, but also easily adapt with spacers to fit 126mm (perhaps wider). Set your top gear as your “flatland” gear and go down from there. Unless you’re climbing something really steep, you can gear down enough to get over most hills.

I rode fixed for years, then switched to Sturmey Archer’s three-speed fixed hub (S3X) and them converted that hub (on two different bikes) by replacing the splined S-A cog with a one-speed freewheel.

Reminder that Tommy Godwin rode 3- and 4-speed bikes up and down England in 1939 through two brutal winters and the start of WWII … completing more than 75,000 miles before the year was out! So yes, long and difficult rides can be done on internally geared hubs!

--Eric Norris
campyo...@me.com

Insta: @CampyOnlyGuy

YouTube: YouTube.com/CampyOnlyGuy 

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[Joe Bernard]

"I am truly curious.  How is it different than just not shifting?  How is it more fun?"

Hi Roberta! 

It really isn't different if you can stick with it, but I've tried a hundred times and can't do it. If that next higher/lower gear is available I'm grabbing it! For me what makes a true singlespeed fun is that inability: All I can do is hop on and pedal and if I run out of oomph I get off and walk. It's not my thing these days but I still see the appeal, it's freeing. 

Joe "I think I walked more that rode my last singlespeed" Bernard

On Sunday, April 18, 2021 at 8:55:54 PM UTC-7 Roberta wrote:

[Joe Bernard]

...which, incidentally, was a thing Grant promoted when the Quickbeam was released. He was big into getting off and running or walking as part of the ride, which I thought was the coolest thing. You're outside on a bike, why not walk or run a bit, too??!

[Ryan M.]

Back when I rode mountain bikes more than I do now I loved to ride a single speed...actually, a fully rigid single speed. I have a Niner Sir9 setup single speed with the RDO fork they offer. Great light mtb. It's lot of fun and while technically "harder" there is just something about the simplicity that is appealing...maybe the extra challenge of picking the right lines for a rigid bike and for rear wheel traction while standing while pedaling made it more fun. For a while there I completely preferred to ride a single speed mtb over anything with gears. The trails aren't particularly flat either with lots of really steep short climbs that you have to use momentum and technique (and stand up power) to get up.

Last year I bought a used Frank Jones Sr. and have been riding some on the back roads during the pandemic. I like it a lot but most of the routes I take with it are fairly flat...more out of laziness than anything. It's a great bike to just cruise around on and I don't have to care at all about shifting. Just pedal and go. It's also a beautiful bike and has a lively ride, which make the experience more pleasurable.

The key to having a good time on a single speed is to find the right gearing for you so that you are somewhat comfortable most times. You will always be in the wrong gear, but it's more tolerable when you aren't spinning too much on the flats or grinding away on the flats. When you do encounter a climb, you stand up and use your body weight...and shift your body weight to retain traction. If it comes to the point where you are grinding too much, you hop off and walk it. Nobody can really give you much crap for that since you are riding a single speed. ;)  Going down...you do a lot of coasting. (I never really got along with fixed gear bikes because I like to coast when I can).

A true single speed, and not one that uses a chain tensioner like a Paul Melvin, feels like every watt you are putting out is being put into making you go forward. There is a simplicity in the whole drivetrain that you can actually feel while riding.

Plus, maintaining a single speed bike is stupid simple and cheap. 

Also, I think bikes look better without all that shifting stuff hanging from the tubes. 

If you are on facebook there is a group called Single Speed or Death and it is filled with people addicted to the single speed bike. Some of them take that whole single speed only a little far, but it is a good group for the most part. 

[Eric Daume]

Central Ohio, where I ride, is mostly flattish, so riding single speed adds some challenge to my rides. And I like to ride fixed gear, which IS different than just riding a geared bike in one gear. 

Eric

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[Shoji Takahashi]

I've found single speeding to-be less stressful (assuming appropriate terrain). It sounds puzzling, but for me when single speeding there's less to do: just pedal (stronger or weaker... just go). I do like the challenge of turning a high gear for an uphill (occasionally). The simplicity of mechanicals, clean handlebars also are appealing. 

That said, I keep a geared back for the grocery runs and steep hills. Single speeds are great for toodling with my kids.

I'm eagerly awaiting Roaduno; hopefully I'd be successful in snagging one unlike the Platypus!

Good luck!

shoji

[Erik Wright]

Hey Roberta,

I'm also in Philly and popped a ss/fixed gear into my rotation in February 2020. I've dabbled in fixed gear riding twice before this over the past 10 years, so for me I think a piece of it is nostalgia. I agree with what folks are saying about the simplicity of having one gear. I find I just think about my riding less when I don't have the option to shift. Go faster? Pedal faster. Going uphill? Stand up.

Two other pieces for me are variety and perpetual tinkering ("what other kind of bike could I ride?"). I got this bike (Mercier Kilo WT) mainly as a winter bike, and it's fully fender-able and accommodates a pretty wide tire (50mm max). It's not a zippy, race-y fixie like a lot of people like to ride; it's just about as heavy as the rest of my bikes, but I like it. Grant talked about this in a recent Blahg about their upcoming fixed/ss model, but I like how the momentum of riding fixed carries you through the undulations of the road.

I used to work in Roxborough (for non-Philly folks: a hilly northwestern part of the city) and felt I'd never be able to get up to my office with only one gear. In late 2019 we moved our office down here to South Philly (flat) so I thought it was an appropriate time to add one to the rotation as a "bop around town" kind of bike. Whenever I head into West Philly the hills are just a refreshing challenge, but that's the case whether I have gears or not.

Thinking about Will's recommendation, I think when compared to your Joe Appa and Homer, a single speed would likely be a lighter bike that just requires less thought. Just a nice bike to add in there to add some variety in your riding experience.

Erik, Philly

On Monday, April 19, 2021 at 9:19:17 AM UTC-4 Eric Daume wrote:

Central Ohio, where I ride, is mostly flattish, so riding single speed adds some challenge to my rides. And I like to ride fixed gear, which IS different than just riding a geared bike in one gear. 

Eric

On Sunday, April 18, 2021, Roberta <rcha...@gmail.com> wrote:

I am truly curious.  How is it different than just not shifting?  How is it more fun?  When I was looking for a second Riv, Will (at Riv) suggested their single speed (I didn't do it).

I had a 49 lb Raleigh LTD-3 for a few months prior to Riv, which had been converted it to a single speed.   I rode the bike around downtown for errands.  It was tons of fun, but Philadelphia is flat downtown, so SS was OK. I'd be concerned about any hills.

Roberta

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[Erik Wright]

Ah, meant to post a pic!

[Robert Gardner]

Hey everyone --

Shared my QB the other day, so not a new post, but I ride a single speed everyday and I love it. Yes, it is easier to repair. Yes, it is simpler to operate. Yes, hills suck. But also yes, it is just fun. I genuinely like knowing exactly how much effort I have to put in to go up a hill or on a long ride. The peace of mind is solid. 

I rode fixed for a long time and that is a whole other beast. I'm 42 so those days are probably over. 

 

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[Philip Barrett]

I did the single-speed thing some time ago (long before the hipsters), firstly using an old frameset I had then rebuilding with a Spice track frame. I put the dual hub wheel on so I had a freewheel on one side & a fixed on the other. I have to say the fixed was a rather fun & unique experience but not one I would want to live with every day. Surly make a nice little pocket wrench that allows you to quickly do the change over mid-ride if it all gets too much for you. I had a 105 brakest on the front as I wasn't willing to be killed at an itersection!

Experiences; lightweight is a give, along with that, acceleration that leaves most others in the dust until you spin out of course! Lots of fun, back then fixies were unusual so I got a lot of questions too but I wouldn't have one as a primary bike.

I sold mine at the height of the craze & turned a small profit on it.

[Benjamin L. Kelley]

Lots of the reasons for me are already listed in others posts but here's mine.

I've been riding primarily fixed for years. I'm currently 41 and what most folks would consider overweight, but in better biking shape than most folks I know.

I've owned a total of 4 single speed or fixed gear bikes over the years. Current:  Orange Riv QB, my daily driver.  2017 Surly Steamroller, trying to be a grav bike but also very lean. Previously owned:  Jamis Beatnik and a Surly Pugsly SS.

My only multi-gear bike currently is a RB-2 which never gets ridden really.

Simplicity. The main factor I choose in most mechanical things, does it do the job well and easily and not much else.  Swiss Army Officer model vs one that has 40+ mediocre tools and a comically small flash drive.

Lower maintenance. Hate hate hate dérailleur maintenance/tuning, On the RB-2 I use friction shifting to make it even palatable to ride. I did the same on the Disc Trucker I owned before.  In NY I also had a old Fuji Thrill I rode to the ferry if I didn't want to do a full commute, I just found a ratio I liked never shifted.

I pay more attention to the road and my body rather than just mashing thru gears.

Kansas City has some hills but not too bad once you're used to them. I was automatically faster than anyone going over the bridges in NYC(e-bikes excluded) because I was commuting up the river bluffs here.

I don't race or group ride much and KC isn't so hilly that I need wildly different gears.  Honestly I think a 3 speed would do 95% of riders locally.  Still faster than all my friends who ride multispeed bikes and every group ride I've been to my normal speed is still much faster than the slow riders.

I also like the aesthetic which is key'ed by the simplicity and minimalism.

I don't care about weight, but do care about having a bunch of parts I never use. The weight is better used in a rack and fenders.

--ben in KC

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[Jay Lonner]

Years ago when I was living in Wisconsin I trashed a nice bike (an XO-1 actually) by riding it my first winter there. (Well the frame was OK but the drivetrain was a total loss from exposure to road salt.) So I bought a 70’s vintage no-name frame from Goodwill and built it up as a singlespeed for my year-round commuter. Not a super lively bike (esp. with studded Nokians on it) but simple and bombproof. “An elegant weapon for a more civilized age.” I lived on top of a small hill, and on really cold mornings the grease in the freewheel would seize up so that the pawl wouldn’t engage the ratchet - the pedals would just spin and spin. I’d coast down the hill and by the time I got to the bottom friction had generated enough heat to free things up and I could pedal again. Good times. 

Jay Lonner

Bellingham, WA

Sent from my Atari 400

On Apr 19, 2021, at 9:11 AM, Philip Barrett <philipr...@gmail.com> wrote:

I did the single-speed thing some time ago (long before the hipsters), firstly using an old frameset I had then rebuilding with a Spice track frame. I put the dual hub wheel on so I had a freewheel on one side & a fixed on the other. I have to say the fixed was a rather fun & unique experience but not one I would want to live with every day. Surly make a nice little pocket wrench that allows you to quickly do the change over mid-ride if it all gets too much for you. I had a 105 brakest on the front as I wasn't willing to be killed at an itersection!

Experiences; lightweight is a give, along with that, acceleration that leaves most others in the dust until you spin out of course! Lots of fun, back then fixies were unusual so I got a lot of questions too but I wouldn't have one as a primary bike.

I sold mine at the height of the craze & turned a small profit on it.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/85ff8c3d-ca27-4044-8cd4-f16a46b100f8n%40googlegroups.com.

<IMG_1398.JPG>

[Benjamin L. Kelley]

Jay,  funny about your freewheel.  I think the one on my Steamroller is the opposite. 

Hasn't been used since the day I rode it home because the shop didn't have an 1/8 fixed cog in stock at the time.  It's fully seized up and will not spin free at this point.

Last time I had it in a shop I asked them to just take it off and they couldn't even remove it easily so I told them not to bother.

--ben in kc

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[Patrick Moore]

I ride fixed a lot, but I recently built a single speed mountain bike (Monocog) and it has some of the qualities I like in riding fixed:

Interesting: I like the challenge (psychological) and difficulty (physiological) of adapting to different conditions by changing my pedaling style and "planning ahead" -- for example, to pick an easier line up a hill, or gain momentum for a deep sandy patch, or conserving energy for a longer climb.

The dumb simplicity. I can wash and lube my one derailleur bike, but there's so much less to wash and wipe and annoint with just one cog and ring.

The ruggedness: hardly anything to break. Of course, derailleur bikes aren't exactly fragile, especially if you use a friction system.

I do like fixed on the road better than ss; there is a perhaps very minor but I think discernable "momentum" effect as the wheel forces the crank by its inertia over the top of the pedal stroke. Some people scoff at this idea, but OTOH, when I ride fixed for a while and then start riding a freewheel, my pedaling style is at least for a very brief while somewhat choppy. Also, interesting, it's noticeably easier to "post" over bumps while pedaling if the drivetrain is fixed than if it has a freewheel. Momentum or just ingrained habituation to keeping your crank turning? At any rate, easier for me than with a fw).

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

[Patrick Moore]

Forgot: I do like climbing in a higher gear, and you often do that with a ss bike, but then you can do this with a multispeed bike too, so it is only the removal of the temptation to downshift that is a side benefit of ss/fixed.

[CapNMike]

Roberta, I picked up a Roadini frame when Gravel and Grind offered one in my size at a significant discount. I decided to build it as a single speed to offer a change from my other bikes. I built the frame up from my parts bin and purchased set of wheels with the White Industries ENO rear hub from Rivendell. 

 

I live in an area with rolling hills and found that riding a single speed for a few years has resulted in stronger climbing legs. I stay in higher gears when climbing hills on my Hilsen and usually never shift out of the big ring on that bike unless the hill is daunting.  I agree with others that riding a single speed offers (for me at least) a certain level of peace and simplicity.  There is also a different feel to the engagement of the drivetrain. The bike feels more responsive. It could be placebo effect or the fact that it's more of a "road bike" but I've always attributed the feeling to the lack of derailleurs.

One other bonus is that the bike fits in a vehicle easily. I can remove the wheels in a matter of minutes and place the wheels and frame on the floor behind the front seats of our Chevy Equinox without removing the handlebars or seat. The ease of sliding the bike in the car means that I am more likely to take it on trips than if I had to put it outside on a car rack.  The attached photo was taken on one such vacation to Hermann MO. 

Cheers,

Mike 

 

[Tom Palmer]

Hi Roberta,

The others have covered it well. For me it is just fun, like when I was a kid riding my bike everywhere.

I especially enjoy single speed mountain biking. 

Tom Palmer

Twin Lake, MI

On Sunday, April 18, 2021 at 11:55:54 PM UTC-4 Roberta wrote:

[Max S]

Roberta, 

   I'd ridden SS / Fixed off and on just for the heck of it in past years – initially as a way to get a rideable bike out of a dumpster bike that had a busted derailer... Then in grad school, 'cos I wanted to tool around NYC all cool-like, as the messengers... "NOBR...AKES"
Anyhow, I've recently got back into it again, mostly out of curiosity to keep up with a riding buddy who was riding his fixie a lot, nearly exclusively. Well... I've done close to 300 miles on a SS this year, about half (?) my miles so far. (In Michigan, the riding season is on the short side.) Rode 50 miles, only 1,500 ft of elevation gain total, on Sunday in single-speed mode, and 23 miles this morning in fixed... My average speeds have been mostly the same as on a geared bike similarly configured. 

One thing I noticed when riding fixed is that my position / fit on the bike gets sorted out real quick. I also noticed my pedaling load and cadence ranges expand. Aside from that, it's just got a nice simplicity :-) 

- Max "just one" in A2

[Patrick Moore]

From BS's today's post, describing a current electric shifting system and comparing it to the needs of ordinary riding. Thoughts like this make me appreciate ss/fixed even more.

Speaking of the app, it’ll provide all the analytics and customization features with Rival AXS as it does for SRAM’s other AXS groupsets, such as time spent in each gear, battery life, and component usage. Or if you don’t want to bother, that’s also fine, but it’s nice to know the information is there if you want it. Firmware updates are also done wirelessly.

Do you really need to know how much time you spend in each gear? It’s amazing how much tech exists purely in service to itself, and does nothing more than look up its own ass. They should really be careful though, because if your components tell you how much time you spend in each gear you might figure out how many of them you don’t need, and next thing you know you’re riding around on an old mountain bike with seven speeds and friction shifting.

[Roberta]

Thanks.  All so interesting. When I had the Raleigh for such a short amount of time, I also found it so much fun, but I couldn't explain why. 

CapNMike--were you on the G&G customer ride a year before they moved?  I was there and if you live in those parts, those are MOUNTAINS to me, with only the  beginning of the ride rolling hills.  I am impressed.

Eric--Philadelphia downtown and south would be a good place to do fixed/SS.  I notice a huge number of fixed/SS gear commuters.  I love the shades of grey in your photo, and go over that bridge to NJ's Wiggins Park often,  one of my favorite rides.  Certainly on the other spectrum of the Appa, so that probably is why Will suggested it. 

Perhaps it's in the future for me.  It's nice to know so many have a truly different bike that you a different thrill than geared bikes.

[Jason Fuller]

I should really read all of the posts in here before I write my own thoughts, because any insight I'm about to offer has probably been repeated ad nauseum already.  And yet, here I go anyway.  

Firstly, I live in a mountainous area and single speed doesn't really make sense here. And yet, I've had a couple, and I've also had a couple fixed gear bikes and there is a pretty thriving fixed gear scene here (of which I am not even remotely a part of, but I appreciate that it exists).  

When I ride any of my geared bikes, I can't imagine having a single speed, because I use the heck out of the full range I have available to me - it doesn't seem to matter how big the range is, I'm going to use all of it.  And yet, for reasons I can't explain, when I ride a single speed, it's pretty much fine that I don't have other gears. You just sort of put it out of your head that different gears exist on some bicycles, and removing the thought of shifting from your riding is a noticeable and enjoyable simplification - now you just pedal, steer, and brake.  Of course, you also strain to grind up some hills and hope your knees don't explode, so it's not all rainbows, but removing the complexity of worrying about what gear you should be in has a surprisingly profound effect. 

Of course, the limitations often outweigh this benefit, particularly if you carry varying amounts of load - so I don't have a SS bike anymore :D 

[Steve Gipson]

I agree with all the comments here but there is another reason to go single speed and thats SPEED. I regularly rode geared and single speed bikes over rolling countryside paved roads often back to back and the single speed was invariably faster. The same holds true when i went offroad and single track, my single speed mtb was faster over the same route. Doing 24hour mtb events with 15km loops the only thing faster than a single speed is a single speed at night. Why are bikes faster at night? Is it because we cant see the hills and danger or are we simply reverting to our childhood for a while when nobody can see

[Evan E.]

Roberta: I have just one thing to add to this thread. One of the things I like most about single-speed is that it encourages effort. When I’m out on my single-speed bike and I see a hill up ahead, I start pedaling harder right away so that when I reach that hill I’ll get up it without suffering too much. I live in a hilly place, so I ride with a steady threat of pain. This threat keeps my feet spinning and my heart pumping, and that’s a good thing. About halfway through each ride I’m reminded that I’m moving faster than I do on my geared bike, and faster is fun. 

[Patrick Moore]

Many people use this strategy, but it's funny, I have been doing the opposite for almost 25 years: pace myself so I have energy to torque up the hill; often standing for a mile or so (or, this is what I did when younger). One one hill, ~7 miles long though mostly gradual, I'd stand for a mile, sit for a few yards to rest, then stand again. I must try that hill again one day, but with a bailout gear or 2 in case of emergencies.

On Fri, Apr 23, 2021 at 11:22 PM Evan E. <evanel...@gmail.com> wrote:

Roberta: I have just one thing to add to this thread. One of the things I like most about single-speed is that it encourages effort. When I’m out on my single-speed bike and I see a hill up ahead, I start pedaling harder right away so that when I reach that hill I’ll get up it without suffering too much. I live in a hilly place, so I ride with a steady threat of pain. This threat keeps my feet spinning and my heart pumping, and that’s a good thing. About halfway through each ride I’m reminded that I’m moving faster than I do on my geared bike, and faster is fun. 

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[Philip Barrett]

Well this conversation got the juices going so I picked this up at a local swap meet yesterday for $40. Bike was semi-complete (some pretty junky parts but BB, HS & brakes were good) & came with 2 wheelsets, I forgot to take a "before" picture  before I stripped it though. Plan is for a single speed conversion using the rear wheel that has the Shimano hub and a convertor/spacer set. Need to find some commuter tires (white sidewalls ya think?) but I have nearly the rest I need to complete including a rather nice vintage Suigino crank.

[Patrick Moore]

One of my favorite fixed gear beaters, back circa 2003-2005-6, was an early Raleigh Technium sports tourer for about $25 from Goodwill, with narrow gauge aluminum tubes stuck into ugly plumbing pipe lugs (lugs were painted black to emphasize their blockiness against the red tubes). Long wheelbase; heavy -- heavier than many steel bikes I have owned; noodly. I shod it with white Vittoria clinchers that were wide for the time at about 32 mm, installed a Tubus Fly rack and a ~17 t cog on the freewheel hub, and use it as a commuter for a couple of years until I decided it was stupid to have that 2003 Curt Goodrich hanging on the wall gathering dust while I did most of my riding, commuting across town, on a beater. Dave Porter converted the 2003 to horizontals and remove the shifting brazed-on bits. 

But the Raleigh also served as a baby chariot puller (I had a 2-seater, for child and groceries), and we had some fun times battling NM headwinds on the Rio Grande bike path to and from old town. I wish I still had that Raleigh; it was a plush ride indeed, even if not exactly spritely (it probably could have taken 38s at a pinch).

The Raleigh handled rear loads well with the stiff Fly; recall carrying about 20 lb of library books -- stack 2' high -- on the left side only to drop off at the mid-point library during a commute to work.

On Sun, Apr 25, 2021 at 12:34 PM Philip Barrett <philipr...@gmail.com> wrote:

Well this conversation got the juices going so I picked this up at a local swap meet yesterday for $40. Bike was semi-complete (some pretty junky parts but BB, HS & brakes were good) & came with 2 wheelsets, I forgot to take a "before" picture  before I stripped it though. Plan is for a single speed conversion using the rear wheel that has the Shimano hub and a convertor/spacer set. Need to find some commuter tires (white sidewalls ya think?) but I have nearly the rest I need to complete including a rather nice vintage Suigino crank.

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[Philip Barrett]

My winter bike when I was racing was an 80's Team Technium, not quite as ugly as they were blue with white lugs bag then. Still looked like a trip to the plumbing department though!

[Ray Varella]

When I was a teenager and before I could afford a ten speed, I rode an old green Raleigh 3 speed that I stripped down and put ten speed wheels on with the chain in the center of the 5 speed sprocket. Removing the brakes, shifters, heavy wheels and all the bits made it rally sporty. Aluminum wheels made it the nicest bike I had ever owned. It had no breaks so I would wedge the back of my boot between the rear tire and the seat tube. I had excellent (in my mind) braking. The guy at the boot store wanted to know how I wore the U-shaped channel in the heel of my boot. 

I rode that bike everywhere and never gave it a second thought. It had a Brooks saddle. 

I currently have an Ibis Scorcher which is by far the best fixed gear bike I have ever owned. 

Once in a while I consider selling it but then I ride it and remember just how great it works for me. 

It currently sports 38mm Rene Herse knobbies. I think it’s close to as good as it can be. 

It looks like it would fit a 44mm tire in the rear but not the front. 

I prefer fixed to SS and flip flop wheel has never been flipped beyond checking the chain length. 

Roberta, if you’re curious  about such bikes, build one. I would advise getting something that fits at least a 32mm tire, fatter if possible. 

Only you can decide if it works for. 

It’s a little like asking someone who rides a motorcycle why they ride one.  A dog hanging his head out the window of a truck understands why. 

Ray

[Patrick Moore]

My first full bike build, from scratch age 15 (high summer, December 1970, 90 miles south of the Equator; bought local frame, crank, bb, scavenged and traded rest) had a 50 t cottered crank and 15 t fw for a 90" gear, and no brakes because the frame was a cheap Indian copy of a Raleigh DL-1 frame made for 635 mm bsd wheels, and my rear wheel was (steel, flip flop, Czecho) 700C and the front 24" from my kid brother's bike. I rode it all over the countryside on narrow, winding, really dangerous roads and in downtown traffic without brakes, jamming my right Ked hightop against the (small) front tire. I wore a deep groove laterally across the sole. Finally I got tired of that and installed a flea market coaster brake, which must have been quite worn, or perhaps the high gear was responsible, but it was either on or off. Sold the bike for KS 150/- to finance a ratty early '60s Varsity. How do kids survive?

[Carla Waugh]

Roberta,

I have two bikes set up as single speed's. My favorite is a 650B with 42 size tires it also has a Marks rack in front with a Wald basket so its able to be my grocery getter and I also ride other places. I have a 700c that I haven't used this season setup for road with Phil hubs its fun and fast for me. I always have a single speed bike.

[Patrick Moore]

Speaking of single speeds, the Monocog continues to ascend to ever high planes of utilitarian usefulness and beauty,

I installed Velo Orange reverse levers -- reverse levers would be ideal on this bar -- but they were cheap and flexy, so I installed a pair of Shimano 600 AX levers (I think that they are AX) for which I could find no other use, them lacking hoods. They still allow reasonably convenient braking from the end-of-bar position.

BB7s replace the OEM Tektros, and the nice ENO crank is ex-Bill.

[masmojo]

OK, just curious; I know I posted a reply to this thread, but it seems to have been deleted??

No biggie, but if there's some reason for it I'd like to know what it is, so I don't make the same mistake in the future!?

 

[Ian A]

Probably nothing you did wrong as it seems to happen without moderator intervention from time to time. Possibly some Google filter that jumped on your post for no discernable reason. I have had one or two disappear in similar circumstances and it hasn't been due to a moderator. It is also possible you inadvertantly deleted your own post - that's happened to me before too, if the page has loaded slowly and I've been clicking impatiently.

IanA Alberta Canada

[Ray Varella]

Patrick,

Kids survive because they are resilient and fools rarely suffer the same sort of consequences as those who know better. 

To add to what Ian said, you may have also inadvertently sent the reply to the op. That would also explain why it’s not on the forum 

Ray

[Paul Choi]

I just talked to Will about the Roaduno. He said that they have a lot coming but they won't be here until 2022. 

Completes. Purple and Green. 700 and 650b for smaller sizes. Exciting :)