# ss fs how long to get used to it?



## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (11 May 2009)

hi guys,

just completed my conversion to ss on my scott genius ltd carbon fibre fs, i had been thinking about it for a while but when i saw a few on the trails i decided to go for it. i'm running 32:18 which is just about do able for where i live. things i like so far are, the quiet, the simplicity, the fact that i don't need to spend more time cleaning than riding to keep xtr running, better lines on the trails (weirdly i can clear more than with gears), the satisfaction of clearing any hills easier than i thought.

things i hope i will get used too,

pushing (lol), trying to puke my lungs out, lower back ache(this is getting better each day), sweating more than i thought possible, face ache from grinning too much!!!

i did feel like i was starting again with regards to ride lengths but i've been at 3 weeks now, and amazed at how quickly my body is adapting, did proper conversion saturday.

how long did it take you guys to get to the point that it felt second nature and start clearing everything? for example, i could clear lee quarry up and down but now i do have to push a bit more than i would like.

ow ow another question, where can i get a single speed red chain?


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## RedBike (11 May 2009)

You know who to ask !
http://www.trio25.blogspot.com/

Just to make you feel really bad shes using a higher gear than you and doesn't struggle around Lee quary!
http://trio25.blogspot.com/2009/05/my-first-cross-country-race.html

Red chain will be BMX stuff. 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1-8-OLD-SCHOO...8|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:0|293:1|294:50
Double check that it will work with your currect chainrings before you buy it (I think it will).


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (11 May 2009)

cheers red, yeah i know who you mean, lol. she's a bit more hard core than me at mo, hehehe i'll get there tho. you doing mtl again this year? rumor has it 'you know who' is getting you round opposite way next time.


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## RedBike (12 May 2009)

I probably wont be riding the MLT again. 

Although I'm looking at riding the pennine bridleway from Buxton up to somewhere near Rooley moor. 

It all depends on what campsites I can find / what it's like pulling a heavy trailer off-road.


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## trio25 (12 May 2009)

Wow a full-sus singlespeed, how did you deal with the chain growth due to the suspension?

I still don't clear everything, there is one hill on the red at lee quarry that I have walked everytime, after the berms on the red. I also only just get up tramway - not looking forward to having to race it on sunday! The thing is if I have to walk it is no slower than the geared riders are walking really!

Lower back was a problem with me too, I couldn't cope with a rucksac at first, I actually did some back strengthing exercises and it just got stronger from riding!

I will definetly be up for the MTL again this summer, thinking of starting buxton way, bivvy somewhere up the top and back down the next day!


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## RedBike (12 May 2009)

> I will definetly be up for the MTL again this summer, thinking of starting buxton way, bivvy somewhere up the top and back down the next day!



Thats almost what i'm looking at. I'm thinking of starting from Leek, riding to Buxton, Hebden Bridge (so half the MLT). From there I want to link with the pennine cycleway and carry on to Kendal. 

This will be over a few days. I've no plans to bivvy any of it but I might wild camp one night (No where near any windmills!) but more than likely I will book myself into campsites so that I can get a shower / wash my clothes!


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (12 May 2009)

hi trio, hi red,

well at the moment it's a bit ghetto, i recycled my xtr mech, i took out the top jockey wheel out and put in some longer screws to lock it in place, i have ordered a surley but nick on t'other forum reckons it may not do. if that is the case then i will order the yess one which will defo do it. lbs is pretty confident the surley will be ok, i hope so it's £35 cheaper. i don't think i'm up to doing mtl on ss just yet, but then again i didn't think i was ready for mtl ccw last time and i did it, so no doubt will probably do it in june as planned. you're really going hardcore aren't you? entering races willy nilly, bivvying, what's next? lee quarry at night with no lights..lol. good luck in your race. might have nosey up depends what i do on saturday ride wise, thinking of checking out the new section pennine bridleway at gorple.


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## trio25 (12 May 2009)

Not hardcore, just didn't realise racing should be scary the first time. Now I get scared but everyone is so nice! Would like to see your bike, only ever seen ss hardtails!


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## GrumpyGregry (13 May 2009)

My short answer to the OP's question is 'never'. Whilst I love my SS full stify MTB for its zen like simplicity and lightweight it is, like all of them, a compromised, and limited beast.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (13 May 2009)

hi greg,
you think it's limited? why? trio has ss and from reading her blog she isn't limited at all. if i can get to her level of fitness i will be well chuffed. when i was riding geared i was getting lazy, i.e., i was into granny gear at drop of a hat. i get more satisfaction from 'clearing' a steep hill ss than a daft hill in granny when walking would have been quicker. plus my fitness is improving every ride by unbelievable amounts. trio did mary townley loop in a day with an extra 30 miles, how can you say that is limited? hey trio, heres a question, do you think you would have done it any faster with gears? i know i had constant problems with mud baking hard and causing shifting problems, eg, set of get caked in the mud (it's always muddy round my trails even in height of summer), then after an hour shifting problems would start because the mud / gloop would start to harden, the front mech was always the first offender.
cheers


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## RedBike (13 May 2009)

> hey trio, heres a question, do you think you would have done it any faster with gears?


No, she would of just been waiting for me even longer.


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## trio25 (13 May 2009)

I think I probably would have been about the same speed on my geared bike. But I ride my singlespeed all the time. Conversely at the lee quarry race the other week I think I would have been faster with gears as I would have been faster up the hills - I was on the edge of falling off winching my way up the main climb. I get lazy on gears now and use granny way too much, but in a race situation I don't. It is hard to compare as I harly ever ride gears, only when I need to be able to ride slower so usually when working!

Singlespeed is a love-hate thing, I love it! I'm not sure I would if I wasn't fit though, but singlespeeding got me fitter! My sort of riding singlespeeding isn't limiting, as the main limit is spinning out on the flats/downs and that for me is a bonus as it gives me a rest!


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## GrumpyGregry (13 May 2009)

shaun - unlikely though it may seem I agree with every word you say; riding SS off road will make you fitter stronger etc., but _some_ hills round here you _can_ go up faster on a geared bike, and _some_ downhills you can descend faster on a geared bike as you can drive the bike down the hill for longer.... and if you ride in company when you get to the tarmac or flat bit your geared mates will drop you like a stone... I only ride SS on my jack not in company.

if I can clear a steep hill on my ss why would I granny ring up it on my geared bike instead of sticking it in an ss-ish gear ratio and staying there bearing the pain that is my due for being unfit and overweight? That's how I learnt, under the influence inspiration of mr chipps chippendale, back when I built my first SS in the late 90's, that it was do-able - "don't touch the freakin' shifters"

Mud clearance is a vexed problem in the clay of sussex, and front mech is usually the first casualty, usually followed ime by the rear wheel. an ugly but effective neoprene boot on the front mech solves the first, and running old narrow spesh mud tyres (I bought lots when they got remaindered) goes a long long way to solving the second as does buying a bike that is built with uk conditions in mind with clearances to suit.


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## trio25 (13 May 2009)

My geared bike climbs better with me sat down, I will be in an easy gear than my ss as I will be out of the saddle getting that up the hill!


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (13 May 2009)

red..., although i remember you being in front on that cheeky climb i was going the wrong direction on

i'm thinking of making mine a 2 speed ss fs (manual change over. the chain tensioner will allow me to do this i think). 32:18 for trails, 32:16 for the road to stop spinning out whilst commuting, going to leave this for a while though to see if i can start to use 32:16 for both, probably won't be till the end of summer when i'll be strong enough. just debating on where to go on my ride tonight as the wind and rain is horrendous. what time is the race on sunday trio? might come and have look at how fast the racing is around there, just to get an idea of how slow i am.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (13 May 2009)

trio,

i know what you mean about being quicker round lee quarry on geared it is a funny place in terms of ascents / descents. especially if your racing against geared, but that is pretty obvious isn't it? but beating geared bikes must be a complete thrill and attention getter.

greg,

i'm pretty lucky really, i like my own company and prefer to go out on my own, meet people on the way, have a quick chat, sometimes a beer. i find if i go out in company there's a bit too much of a macho thing going on, whilst there is nothing wrong in that, i just prefer to challenge myself, that way no-one will laugh when i make a complete arse of myself trying new stuff or anyone to moan when i keep trying over and over again to do new stuff till i get it right. so you can probably see why ss is perfect for me, less stress, more time to enjoy "brain free mtbing" (i read this somewhere and it sums up ss for me)


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## GrumpyGregry (13 May 2009)

shauncollier said:


> greg,
> 
> i'm pretty lucky really, i like my own company and prefer to go out on my own, meet people on the way, have a quick chat, sometimes a beer. i find if i go out in company there's a bit too much of a macho thing going on, whilst there is nothing wrong in that, i just prefer to challenge myself, that way no-one will laugh when i make a complete arse of myself trying new stuff or anyone to moan when i keep trying over and over again to do new stuff till i get it right. so you can probably see why ss is perfect for me, less stress, more time to enjoy "brain free mtbing" (i read this somewhere and it sums up ss for me)



yeah exactly; probably 90%+ of my non commute cycling is on my todd be it geared or ss, road or mtb and through choice. Happy to chat to the folks I meet along the way and have tea and cake, though rarely beer, if invited etc., but part of cycling for me is to get away from everyone including myself. cycling esp ss = leaving the plan behind = doing something for the sheer pointless dumb pleasure of it = true freedom

One of the great things about FNRttC (a highly eccentric group road ride from London to the coast that I discovered last year) is you can take part and be as sociable or not as you like. You can ride on your own undistrubed by others but still be part of the bigger group. You can blast off the front, or lag behind at the back, and you can share as much or as little of yourself as you like.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (13 May 2009)

not the best photos, took them with my phone and it was going dark, like i said before will look better when surly tensioner arrives.


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## trio25 (15 May 2009)

Looks good.

Race on sunday is at 10am, worth having a look or evening entering!

I don't ride with people who do the macho thing, don't see the point. But the look on blokes faces when I pass them on my singlespeed can be funny!

Redbike is uber fast uphill, no chance I will ever be in front of him! I have the advantage on the downhills though!


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## GrumpyGregry (15 May 2009)

good for you trio! 15 years ago I learnt an awful lot about mtb'ing from a young lady much younger than me who went past me one day like a greased whippet on a technical section. I simply asked her "Can you show me how you cleaned that?" and a friendship was born.


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## RedBike (15 May 2009)

Well I think it's a crying shame to have single speeded that lovely bike. Then again i'm still not converted to single speed. 

I've never had any problems with the gears clogging. Perhaps I just don't ride for long enough in muddy conditions.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (15 May 2009)

i don't see why you would say that red. it's not done any damage to the bike, ok the xtr chainset is butchered but i had made the decision to get rid of that unnecessary expense for slx chainset anyway. the front mech was worn out. so i decided to try ss and i really really like. i had my first scalp from easily 2 miles back on rossendale bridleway at a speed i wouldn't have managed fully geared. 

did you not see the crap on the bike this is how she usually gets within 15 minutes on the trail. i reckon that by the 17th june i will be back to the same ride lengths as i was on fully geared. in fact i'll be doing mtl 17th june. 

i don't think there will be hill i won't be able to do faster. 

when i was going to lee quarry i was grinding everything, then one day a bloke actually walked past me on the big climb to the quarry. that's the day i started thinking ss. for me it's brilliant, but i do go out onto muddy trails nearly every day, for at least 2 hrs.


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## RedBike (15 May 2009)

I'm highly jealous of the XTR drivechain but I still can't get my head around singlespeeding MTBs. (I have enough trouble getting up the hills as it is!)
So from my blinkered point of view switching from the XTR to SS is a crying shame. 

I can fully understand why you've done it though; and anything that improves your enjoyment has to be a good thing. 


Best of luck with the MLT on the 17th!


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## RedBike (15 May 2009)

Is the MTL on the 17th an organised event?

Here's the next loop i'm attempting. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eapb2sEgbGk/Sg2J9tVomXI/AAAAAAAABg8/fb4-sLJmcbo/s1600-h/IMAGE_451.jpg

I'm keeping my gears (I need them!) but no doubt Trio will single speed it. 

I'm in the middle of purchasing another fixed wheel bike to ride back and forth to work on. After a few months of riding that, who knows I might see single speed MTBs in a different light.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (15 May 2009)

yes it is, i booked on to it before i actually did it solo. wasn't going to go as i prefer solo. but as i've gone ss i've decided to keep my place. it's being run by the ranger so his insight to the route should be interesting. 

if i was going bivvying / wild camping then i would prefer company.

the way you climbed that hill i don't think fitness is holding you back, it just isn't for you.

i'm going to do a poor mans jeff jones on the crank set, going to get it shot blasted in the morning, well i hope so, going to ask a shot blast place near me.

going to get a red or black ss chain probably a kmc.

next time my chain ring needs replacing i will get a blackspire velo.

i noticed trio's route, i'm surprised they can resist the temptation of gisburn forest seeing as they are going so close, i know i couldn't.


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## trio25 (16 May 2009)

Redbike is towing a trailer, so not sure Gisburn forest would work, I have never rode there though.

Singlespeed is a love/hate thing. I love it, red did try it and didn't really like it - his bike was ss for maybe a week (is that right red?) I can see why he wouldn't like it, I am happy enough when I spin out, red being a roadie at heart is trying to get more speed out of the bike - I usually hold on to his rucksac on the slight downhill sections on the road otherwise I get left behind!

You are right Shaun Red has no problems going uphill, he is amazing uphill, but he expects to be faster as most of his riding buddies are cat 1 road racers! I am probably the slowest person he rides with, I'm sure its just for my map reading skills and route planning!

I find the idea of a full-sus ss interesting, I spend all my time stood up on mine that I wouldn't want rear suspension. I suppose it probably is a light bike anyway being carbon so that is less of an issue.

Red the only places I have had problem with mud clogging gears is at races down south, up here is gritty and ruins stuff but it doesn't clog in the same way! I can't afford to run gears all year round at rivi though!


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (16 May 2009)

trio,

i have full lock out with remote switch, when it's locked out it's locked. i haven't been to gisburn forest for years but it had loads of well shod fire roads and single track. i believe that more technical type trails have been built recently, it really is a pretty place to ride. there is a thread on the other forum regarding the forest.

red,

it will be interesting to see how you get on with a trailer off road, what trailer have you got? with regards to ss, if you're an eyeballs out type of rider then i am not surprised ss isn't for you. i'm 40 on june 18th and my days of road riding eyeballs out are way behind me, now i ride for enjoyment. if i spin out, it means gravity is doing the work for me and i wait till i can spin again. 

i was going to go for a road bike, probably a moulton, as i have a huge commute starting in sept, but i decided that i'd only save 20 to 30 minutes either way. for me 20 to 30 minutes either is nothing to worry about, just means less time in front of the box, which is a good thing really.


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## trio25 (16 May 2009)

20 to 30 mins would be a lot for me on a commute! I would probably find I commuted less if it was that much longer, not as much the coming home but the getting up silly early to commute!


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## RedBike (16 May 2009)

> Singlespeed is a love/hate thing. I love it, red did try it and didn't really like it - his bike was ss for maybe a week (is that right red?)


Trio, I don't think the bike was ever truely single speed. I switched my cassette for a singlespeed sprocket for a few days but I didn't remove the gears. I wasn't very keen. To me it just felt like there was something wrong with my gears. 



> red, it will be interesting to see how you get on with a trailer off road,


It's not the first time i've pulled a trailer off-road. I did a brief tour with a cyclo-x bike and a bob trailer about 2 years ago. I took it around the North Face trail Grizedale. I was still quicker than most MTBs on the climbs. Downhill i'm always useless so having a trailer on the back didn't really make any difference. 

This new cheap trailer is a LOT heavier and signifcantly harder to pull. It's going to slow me down a lot. Thankfully i'm in no rush. 



> what trailer have you got?


There's a few posts on my blog about it. Just a cheap one (£45 with postage) off ebay. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=230338334201
A bob trailer could well of cost me 10x that, just too expensive at the moment.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (16 May 2009)

trio, 
i think you misunderstood, my commute is going to be 25 miles each way to uni. so 20 minutes extra doesn't bother me. it's only in 6 weeks blocks then my placement may be significantly nearer. mind you said that, i've had an email from manchester uni saying to ring them as they may have place for me, then my commute would only be 17 miles each way.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (16 May 2009)

ps,

hehe the weather is just perfect for a cold sunday race. glad it's not me. hey, i just finished putting the dmr2 tensioner on. looks great. bit fiddley but ok. looks a lot better now. i ordered my red chain as well. had to strip my headset bearings, clean and re oil. they are buggered but i may get couple months out of them. going to get a hope set ordered. you looking forward to tomorrow?


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## trio25 (17 May 2009)

Race was good, rain started as I started riding home. I was riding rubbish though, had to walk up hills and my descending looked like I hadn't been on a bike before!

20mins in that commute means a lot if it is raining or been a hard day, I had 20miles on fri, took the best bike so it took less time!


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (17 May 2009)

i came down to watch, i was the guy with the marshall at the end of the descent after the rock garden, where it switched backed to the climb up the hill. there were 4 ss i counted. one bloke was in top 4, i think, before a puncture, he was going to give up till 2 lads were taking mickey saying he was going to be beaten by a girl (you), he scrounged a tube and was on his way.

yeah it did rain hard, i did about 20 miles on mtl after, was soaked and filthy. my legs are killing me today, i did 25 mile on tar yesterday. takes some getting used to ss doesn't it?

well done on another trophy.

i've put on my new tensioner and having skipping problems on really steep sections, may have too much tension, going to let some off as i don't have a lot off chain in contact with the rear sprocket.


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## trio25 (17 May 2009)

I was having a bad ride, can't remember anyone. I think we were the only two singlespeed riders.

Does the tensioner push up or down, I've heard up is better. But I think there are other problems associated with ful-suss bikes and the chain tension!


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (17 May 2009)

no there was at least 4. 
it pushes down, i had no problems at all with the ghetto mod, i have put an awful lot of tension as i thought it would be better. so i am going to slacken it off to something similar to what the mech tension was. i don't think push up would work on fs as there is quite a lot of slack needed for chain growth so the tensioner fouls the chain stay. 

i've had a good week with regards to mileage and time on the bike, i am absolutely drained, falling asleep like an old man, just like when i started back on the bike in december. on the upside the average time i am taking on my routes is decreasing and i am clearing more and every day. plus my jeans are getting slacker and slacker so i must have lost weight...bonus.

was humorous when every time you passed you were talking to yourself about being knackered. you did look tired on the last lap, you seem to struggle getting up the climb.


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## trio25 (17 May 2009)

I was talking to myself all the time, I was riding so badly. Walked most of the climb! I struggled on the ride to the race though so that wasn't a suprise!

How many hours this week then?


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (17 May 2009)

m-3,
t-3 1/2
w-2
t-4 1/2
f-2
s-2 1/2
s-4

i think these times are in the right order, times are right just might have mixed days up.

90% off rd, these are near enough guesses as i don't tend to keep accurate records. i used to but, i decided to stop taking a watch, putting phone on silent, took off my computer. i do enjoy riding a hell of a lot more. i just take a look at the clock before i go to the garage and have a look when i get back. when i say i am getting faster and fitter, it is a statement on more of a hunch, based on quick looks at the clock in the hallway. tbh though, you know when you are getting better and you know when you having a tough day. friday was a tough day in the wind.


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## trio25 (17 May 2009)

Wow that is a lot of hours! 15hours is an average for me, but I am trying to build in a rest/recovery week one in every four. I thought that was a lot!


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (17 May 2009)

i don't do that every week. last year my doc said i was repaired enough to get back biking, so i started riding a couple of times a week. since the beginning of this year i have been out, 90% of the time, every night. at first i was doing tar work with slicks on to build up for a commute to new job, the company went bust after a week. that commute was 13 miles either way. since then i've been planning on going back to uni and have been planning on a 25 mile commute. my kids are grown up and off to uni soon and my wife is great. i was bike mad before we met and she says i've done my duty so i should get to do what i enjoy, cycling wise. so i've been out a lot this year, but tar work is BORING. as my fitness started to improve, i couldn't resist the pull of the bridleways / lee quarry and now that's mostly what i do. i've still got an awful long way to get back to my former self and fitness but i now feel it won't be long and hopefully by the end of the year i will start thinking of training for senior class triathlons. your spending a lot of time on the bike, are you training for something?


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## RedBike (23 May 2009)

Shaurn thats some serious mileage / time on the bike. 

Just thought I would post up a pick of my new bike. 
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250425784515&_trkparms=tab=Watching
Gotta love the irrony in light of my anti singlespeed stance! (and the reason for this post). 

In my defense it will very soon be a fixed wheel and I have no intentions of trying to ride it up a rocky hill anywhere!


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## trio25 (24 May 2009)

Put some cross tyres on it and it'll be perfect!

I'm doing a few races again this year but its mainly for fun. Main event is transwales again, did it last year and loved it!


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## RedBike (24 May 2009)

> Put some cross tyres on it and it'll be perfect!


Lol, i've already looked to see if the cross tyres would fit. I breathed a sigh of relief when they wouldn't! 

I did want a pompino/roadrat instead but they worked out too expensive for a hack bike. I will only be doing the one cross race at Tivot dale. I will be on a MTB!

Trio it could be intresting now you've got the advantage of being a lot fitter and having a cross bike. I'm not loosing again!


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