Any 50+ Convert to Single Speed?
07-16-18, 08:13 AM
#26
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I set up my road bikes single cog with either a 2-Speed SRAM Automatix or 3-Speed Sturmey Archer S-RC3. No speed loss on our usual rides. Our terrain here is mostly flat with short, steep sand dune hills.
07-16-18, 08:33 AM
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Number 2 bike is single-speed, since 2-3 years ago. I like it better fixed, just waiting for the new chain to wear enough to match with the worn fixed cog then I'll flip it back. I haven't given up multiple gears though.
07-16-18, 11:44 AM
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I just picked up a 1984 Raleigh Team Professional that was converted to fixed gear.
I have to admit that I haven't made my mind up about it yet.
I have to admit that I haven't made my mind up about it yet.
07-16-18, 11:58 AM
#29
You gonna eat that?
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I stop for people / whose right of way I honor / but not for no one.
Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
07-16-18, 05:55 PM
#32
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i'm 71 ... i'm still fixed ... some people never ever gear up
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07-16-18, 07:58 PM
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Almost single speed
I'm not exactly 50+, more like 60+. My daily ride isn't exactly a single speed, though I only rarely change to the bigger gearing... Is a 1x2 drive train, using an old Dura Ace derailleur to change between to the cogs in back. The gear I don't use much is a slightly larger (gear inch wise), than what I spend most of my time on. I do like the more minimulistic approach to bikes. I was one of those people that used to be on fixed gears 95% of my cycling time, but since hip repair, have yet to try a fixed gear, yet. I hope I will again, someday soon, but for now, I stick (for most of the time) to a virtual single speed.
07-16-18, 09:06 PM
#34
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Every geared bike can be ridden like a single speed ... don't shift. I've done this a number of times to feel what my commute would be like on an SS.
07-16-18, 10:48 PM
#35
You gonna eat that?
Well that part *is* juvenile.... as in, there's no way my old creaky knees would stand up to that. I have brakes.... two of them.
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I stop for people / whose right of way I honor / but not for no one.
Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
I stop for people / whose right of way I honor / but not for no one.
Originally Posted by bragi "However, it's never a good idea to overgeneralize."
07-17-18, 05:37 AM
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I've done both -- kept my geared bikes and keep a singlespeed around too. I like the elegant simplicity of the one-speed bike, depending of course on my mood in the moment and the route I'm planning to ride.
07-19-18, 08:30 PM
#38
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Single speed is like running: I graduated from that #%$ a long time ago and ain't going back!
07-19-18, 09:00 PM
#39
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Given that I have to ride up a 16% grade just to get beyond a block from my house, there will never be a single speed bike in my garage. I can see that a fixie might be fun if you lived in the flatlands, but they're just not feasible here. I did have a single speed bike when I was a teenager living in England. The only reason for that was because singlespeeds were the cheap bikes and my parents didn't want to spend money on a geared bike for me.
Last edited by davester; 07-19-18 at 09:50 PM.
07-20-18, 09:07 PM
#40
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Converted three bikes to singlespeed but haven't hung onto any of them. Last one was an early '90s Cannondale hybrid converted by removing all but one cog from the freehub and adding a surly singleator. That was about 15 years ago and it was my backup bike for a while.
No interest in singlespeed since going 'bent.
No interest in singlespeed since going 'bent.
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07-20-18, 09:34 PM
#41
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I didn't "convert" but I did start riding a fixed gear bike in early 2016, a Wabi Special. It took about a month before I felt really comfortable riding the bike. I got addicted pretty quickly as well, having installed Challenge Strada Biance open tubular tires and latex tubes. The ride and feel is a lot more visceral than my Pinarello. I loved it so much I bought another even lighter model the Wabi Classic with their light wheels. I'm 6' 3" at 200 lbs and the bike takes it fine. No sign of stress at all on frame or wheels.
All I can say is WOW about the Classic! I find I get a better workout and build more stamina on the rolling hills in my area with a fixed gear. You have to really hammer the hills on a fixed gear. There's no backing off into an easier gear. When I jump on my Pinarello I really fly. I'm 60 years old by the way.
Here's my classic. It weighs-in at ~19 lbs (with the lighter Wabi "Sub-15" wheels - a highly recommended upgrade) and built with Reynolds 725 chrom-moly double-butted throughout with Shimano Dura Ace brakes (my upgrade) and Challenge Paris Roubaix tires with latex tubes (also my upgrade - and makes the bike addictive to ride - reminiscent of a tubular tire ride).
It's a dream to ride and by far the most comfortable bike I have ever ridden, period. The Wabi Special comes in a close second place. Although the Pinarello is a more nimble bike to ride, it's also not nearly as forgiving. The Classic soaks up road bumps like like no other bike I've owned.
I highly recommend a Wabi Classi for anyone interested in getting a fixed gear bike. They are on close-out sale now as they have been replaced by the Wabi Road it appears.They come with drop bars but I added the bull-horns. You won't regret it, I promise. You'll probably get addicted as well. Just a fore-warning...
.
All I can say is WOW about the Classic! I find I get a better workout and build more stamina on the rolling hills in my area with a fixed gear. You have to really hammer the hills on a fixed gear. There's no backing off into an easier gear. When I jump on my Pinarello I really fly. I'm 60 years old by the way.
Here's my classic. It weighs-in at ~19 lbs (with the lighter Wabi "Sub-15" wheels - a highly recommended upgrade) and built with Reynolds 725 chrom-moly double-butted throughout with Shimano Dura Ace brakes (my upgrade) and Challenge Paris Roubaix tires with latex tubes (also my upgrade - and makes the bike addictive to ride - reminiscent of a tubular tire ride).
It's a dream to ride and by far the most comfortable bike I have ever ridden, period. The Wabi Special comes in a close second place. Although the Pinarello is a more nimble bike to ride, it's also not nearly as forgiving. The Classic soaks up road bumps like like no other bike I've owned.
I highly recommend a Wabi Classi for anyone interested in getting a fixed gear bike. They are on close-out sale now as they have been replaced by the Wabi Road it appears.They come with drop bars but I added the bull-horns. You won't regret it, I promise. You'll probably get addicted as well. Just a fore-warning...
.
Last edited by drlogik; 07-20-18 at 10:26 PM.
07-21-18, 04:57 PM
#43
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I added a Wabi Special Single Speed a few years ago, and absolutely love it. However, I have not given up on my other two bikes All are in a rotation.
07-24-18, 11:51 AM
#44
aka: Mike J.
Lemond Fillmore singlespeed/fixed, I’ve been using it lately for the local MUP lunchtime 12 mile ride. Turns out it is about the same speed or even faster than my geared bikes for the reasonably flat trail.
The geared bikes I’ve brought in I usually just leave them in one gear for the lunch loop so I figured the Fillmore would be just fine, and it is.
The geared bikes I’ve brought in I usually just leave them in one gear for the lunch loop so I figured the Fillmore would be just fine, and it is.
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07-24-18, 01:25 PM
#45
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you can have a single speed that is not fixed gear. I am planning to convert my Trek 1000 to a single speed as a retirement project. of course I am keeping my other road bikes.
07-24-18, 03:45 PM
#46
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I still dust off the single speed from time to time.
Likes For dregsfan:
07-27-18, 05:50 AM
#48
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Picked up a single speed a couple years ago (steel frame, Redline 9 2 5) I try to ride it at least once a week on a 17 mile loop (not many hills) I love the simplicity of it. It won’t replace my geared bike, but I’m glad I bought it!
- I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your musclesthan by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft... As for me, give me a fixed gear! — French track cyclist and sportsjournalist Henri Desgrange, on his preference for single-speed, non-freewheel bicycles
07-27-18, 01:25 PM
#49
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Picked up a single speed a couple years ago (steel frame, Redline 9 2 5) I try to ride it at least once a week on a 17 mile loop (not many hills) I love the simplicity of it. It won’t replace my geared bike, but I’m glad I bought it!
- I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your musclesthan by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft... As for me, give me a fixed gear! — French track cyclist and sports
journalist Henri Desgrange, on his preference for single-speed, non-freewheel bicycles
A 17 mile ride anywhere around here would result in 2,000' of climbing with at least one 15+% grade. No way any normal person is going to manage a single speed or fixed gear on that. Might be OK for Kansas, Florida, or other states with unchallenging terrain though.
07-27-18, 02:31 PM
#50
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Why down t it make sense? It’s only 17 miles (875 of elevation gain) and I realize it in the 50+ (I’m 57)