Single Speed - Are you ever in the right gear?

Single speed bikes are they for me?

As autumn dawns and the days get shorter it's hard not to think of biking in the rain and cold. For someone who bikes everyday, and alot off road, maintenance in winter can be a killer. That in combination with losing leg strength as age takes it toll I found myself looking for a solution. A single speed seemed like a silver bullet, build leg strength and less/no winter maintenance.

Modern day bikes are great for making everything easier...look at e-bikes. Even non electric bikes have evolved along the lines of cars...safer...faster and a hell of a lot more expensive. As a result the maintenance also becomes more expensive. If you live in a wet country like N.Z. that means you either get out less or you spend a lot of time maintaining your pride and joy.

The answer to this conundrum seems to be the single speed. As I quickly found the name doesn't really sum up the reality. A better summary is one gear but three speeds:

• Cruising
• Slow cranking, or
• Pushing

Single speed kits are widely available, and they're cheap. If you can remove a cassette you can make a single speed. Mine a kit from Aliexpress (see pictures), rear cogs and spacers, chain tensioner and meaty chain. No rocket science involved, apart from chain tension. Make that as tight as you can otherwise you'll also certainly get the dreaded slipping. To check the chain tension put your finger in the middle of the chain once everything is set and you should only be able to get a 1.5cm of inflection.

Out on the trail or road it’s really freeing. Like how I’d imagine it would feel like to walk into an office without pants on. But throw in a whole lot of hills and it gets tiring quickly. Two hours and 1,000m of climbing is about the limit for body and bike.

Gearing. Loads online about this. I went with 16 teeth at the back and 32 at the front. Seems to work reasonably well in most conditions. Alot will depend on personal preference and what conditions you ride. It takes a fair bit of time to build up confidence in the equipment. There will be creaking on a carbon frame (and your body) and you'll definetly wonder if the chain can take the stress on those really steep climbs...it can if you get a heavy duty chain.

My rig below. A frankenstein of old parts and wheels..but it's light and really fun to ride.