Latest Reviews and Articles
Will your next bike be Intelligent? ABS and Smart Bike Tech
Vitus Vitesse EVO Disc Review – Speed Machine indeed!
Soul searching on singlespeed.
-
- Posts: 166
- Joined: Thu Apr 22, 2010 7:28 pm
- Location: Melbourne, AU
Soul searching on singlespeed.
Postby adaml » Wed Aug 08, 2012 2:50 pm
The lowest available ratio, and the one I've been using 95% percent of the time, is 28:14 (51.5 gear inches or a gain ratio of 3.8 with my current setup). I understand this should be a low, easy gear but for me it isn't. My commute, for those who are familiar with the area, is from Brunswick to the Melbourne CBD, which means a gentle downhill grade on the way in and vice-versa on the way out. Riding in is fine, but riding out I have to mash the pedals and riding is noticeably slower and more difficult than on a geared bike. Furthermore, I hurt my knee mountain biking two weeks ago, and riding like this aggravates it. Indeed, I believe it would have healed by now were I riding on a geared bike.
Moving up to the next ratio, 38:14 (69.9 gear inches, gain ratio of 5.2) is difficult enough that I barely use it. I feel overgeared almost all the time, which is obviously a problem given that this much closer to a 'standard' single-speed ratio.
I don't know what on earth is wrong with me. It seems that practically anyone can buy an off-the-peg singlespeed with 42:16 etc, and ride it happily. I'm not old (30), overweight or sedentary, and I've been commuting by bike for three years.
I'm still trying to decide what to do with my commuter. The sensible thing to do would just be to get another shifter and keep it as a geared bike, but I wonder if I should single-speed it to force myself to become a better cyclist. Maybe keep the commuter as a geared bike and look at building up a SS as a training tool...
-
- Posts: 292
- Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:52 pm
Re: Soul searching on singlespeed.
Postby Alistair » Wed Aug 08, 2012 4:53 pm
I think there is more info needed - aim for around 70 inches if you live somewhere flat like brunswick and are on a roadie.
If you need to spin a tiny gear it is probably best to drop hipster aspirations and stick to gears.
-
- Posts: 725
- Joined: Sat Jul 09, 2011 8:33 pm
Re: Soul searching on singlespeed.
Postby BRLVR.v2 » Wed Aug 08, 2012 5:43 pm
adaml wrote:I broke the right shifter on my commuter hack,
The sensible thing to do would just be to get another shifter and keep it as a geared bike.
Condensed your post , and solved your problem for you
- bychosis
- Posts: 5410
- Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2012 1:10 pm
- Location: Lake Macquarie
Re: Soul searching on singlespeed.
Postby bychosis » Wed Aug 08, 2012 6:04 pm
-
- Posts: 1494
- Joined: Thu Apr 29, 2010 8:10 pm
- Contact:
Re: Soul searching on singlespeed.
Postby high_tea » Tue Aug 14, 2012 10:14 pm
- ldrcycles
- Posts: 8437
- Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2010 3:19 pm
- Location: Kin Kin, Queensland
Re: Soul searching on singlespeed.
Postby ldrcycles » Wed Aug 15, 2012 2:32 pm
- waramatt
- Posts: 346
- Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2011 8:52 pm
- Location: Newcastle
Re: Soul searching on singlespeed.
Postby waramatt » Wed Aug 15, 2012 8:24 pm
To be honest, about an hour after arriving I wished I'd taken my geared road bike. I love my SS, but that's because where I live it's reasonably flat with the odd hill with 8-10% gradient. Anyway, in Wanaka I did a 60k ride out to Lake Hawea and found myself having to grind up a long steep rise from the Clutha River onto Hawea Flat and cursed my stupidity for packing SS for the trip.




It's true that riding SS can improve your pedalling form, but I say save that for the flat and slightly undulating terrain.
Why punish yourself? There's nothing wrong with you. The way you describe your commute, it's better suited to a geared bike. Save the SS for flatter terrain.

Giant TCR Adv 0 Di2
SE Draft Lite SS
Felt Dispatch SS
Surly Cross Check CX
Fuji Nevada 3.0 MTB
Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race. H G Wells
- HLC
- Posts: 720
- Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2012 11:23 pm
- Location: Sydney.
Re: Soul searching on singlespeed.
Postby HLC » Thu Aug 16, 2012 12:33 am
Cup of concrete and she'll be right.
65-70gi is ideal for Melbourne. Going smaller is just stupid.
- boyracer
- Posts: 750
- Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2008 9:29 pm
Re: Soul searching on singlespeed.
Postby boyracer » Thu Aug 16, 2012 12:53 am
What about a flip flop hub? ride to work/flip,ride home. rinse, repeat.
- PeteV
- Posts: 167
- Joined: Fri Nov 12, 2010 11:01 am
- Location: Northern 'burbs, Adelaide
Re: Soul searching on singlespeed.
Postby PeteV » Sat Aug 25, 2012 1:37 pm
boyracer wrote:^^^49/17 in Adelaide for 45k roundtrip commute. And i am old! I don't remember any real 'up' from Melb CBD to Brunswick.
What about a flip flop hub? ride to work/flip,ride home. rinse, repeat.
This! Or get a new shifter... Gearing is a very personal thing, what some people push easily is a nightmare for others. I enjoy spinning & have crunchie knees so I am very content on 44/18 all day, everyday, others might like 52/14 etc.
-
- Posts: 172
- Joined: Fri Aug 24, 2012 12:58 pm
Re: Soul searching on singlespeed.
Postby sb944 » Tue Sep 11, 2012 11:12 pm
-
- Posts: 1358
- Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2012 5:58 pm
Re: Soul searching on singlespeed.
Postby boss » Wed Oct 31, 2012 10:09 pm
Found it easy to ride, could still smash climbs up to 10% without knee issues.
My main gripe was is wasn't quick enough on flats or descending.
Return to “Fixed Gear/ Single Speed”
- General Australian Cycling Topics
- Info / announcements
- Buying a bike / parts
- General Cycling Discussion
- The Bike Shed
- Cycling Health
- Cycling Safety and Advocacy
- Women's Cycling
- Bike & Gear Reviews
- Cycling Trade
- Stolen Bikes
- Bicycle FAQs
- Serious Biking
- Audax / Randonneuring
- Retro biking
- Commuting
- MTB
- Recumbents
- Fixed Gear/ Single Speed
- Track
- Electric Bicycles
- Cyclocross
- Dragsters / Lowriders / Cruisers
- Children's Bikes
- Road Racing
- Road Biking
- Training
- Time Trial
- Triathlon
- International and National Tours and Events
- Cycle Touring
- Touring Australia
- Touring Overseas
- Touring Bikes and Equipment
- Australia
- Western Australia
- New South Wales
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Victoria
- ACT
- Tasmania
- Northern Territory
- Country & Regional
- The Market Place
- Member to Member Bike and Gear Sales
- Want to Buy, Group Buy, Swap
- My Bikes or Gear Elsewhere
- Cycling Brands
- Azzurri
- Bianchi
- BMC
- Campagnolo
- Cannondale
- Cervélo
- Colnago
- Focus
- Fuji
- Garmin
- Giant
- Malvern Star
- Merida
- Scott
- Shimano
- Specialized
- SRAM
- Surly
- Trek
- Custom Builders
- Generic Carbon
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users
- All times are UTC+10:00
- Top
- Delete all board cookies
About the Australian Cycling Forums
The largest cycling discussion forum in Australia for all things bike; from new riders to seasoned bike nuts, the Australian Cycling Forums are a welcoming community where you can ask questions and talk about the type of bikes and cycling topics you like.