Sorcerer

The SS effect is definitely a feature for me.

​I've been routinely single speed mountain biking since 2010. I can still remember that when I started out doing it, I got so fatigued that I thought I might puke. I was in okay shape then, freewheel mountain biking-wise. I know that's a fact looking back on some of my tracks from before single speeding.

I did try fixed gear for a short time on that first single speed bike, a Soul Cycles Hardline, by putting a six hole disc mount cog on a flipping the rear wheel, I think in 2013. But that was a short lived experiment because the idea was to ride dirt and I quickly found out that the terrain was too technical for me to be safe. I do not think I will ever trail ride for extended periods on a fixed gear bicycle.

Yes single speed climbing does work the heck out of me. The pull on the bars is tremendous. The need for this type of strength renewed the daily requirement of doing pull-ups. Doing pull-ups keeps the body ready for the hard single speed rides.

​​​​​​At first single speed was a sort of toe in the water and then up to the thighs immersion. I was sceptical.

Even though I was achieving some successful measures the thought of doing certain routes was very intimidating. Gradually I was able to cover most of the local rides on SS, and that still blows my mind.

I still ride a geared mountain bikes and have other rides. Sometimes when I ride the geared bike on a tough hill I have cleared on SS I still can't believe it.

I've always been a bike commuter. Forever I would ride a double or triple chain ring road bike. At some point I got tired of regularly changing the front derailleur cable. It got worked too much for shifting from the middle to big ring all the time from starting out from stop lights. I also began to get so soreness from pulling the bar-con in my wrist.

​​​​​​I converted the bike to a 1x. It's okay.

But around that time I got a steel sliding drop-out paragon style 29" wheel frame and made that into a commuter. Single speeding to work was revolutionary to me. I had been missing out on this for decades! At some point I went to pinned platform pedals and thrilled at the luxury of not having to have special shoes to ride.

This year on October 31, the commuter bike became fixed. At first it was geared too low and I started out with platform pedals, but in a week I had to make changes. It's now 45x17 - feels very reasonable for what I'm doing on the commute. Went back into SPDs too - because I'm not interested in getting strapped in (good lord that is what I did in the 1970's and I hate toe clips and Christophe straps).

It's not yet a month of fixed gear riding and I am totally worked out in new ways. I don't think I'll be able to beat the geared bike records on fixed, but I think I'm at parity with single speed freewheeling. Anyway the elapsed time doesn't matter except for getting there on time.

Freewheeling mountain biking is a fantastic workout. What got me to go all in was a friend had a 26" hard tail with a White Industries enO hub rear wheel. I had never heard of this before and was only aware of the manufacturer as a name. Bought this bike and happily rode it.

Of course there are always the challenges of descending involved with mountain biking. These are fun and demanding - and seemingly the primary focus of suspension oriented mountain biking.

SS mountain biking turns the uphill and XC into it's own type of sport. It's really intense. It's too much for most people and then of those who would do it, there are fewer who would choose it - that's my guess.

One of the aspects I'd read about SS before I tried it, it was in the defunct Dirt Rag magazine I bet, was that you could get more exercise in the same amount of time Another alleged benefit was that SS on varied terrain builds interval training into the ride.

​​​​​​SS is not all positive though. Wonder what people think are the negative aspects. There could be more negative than positives, depending.

Another benefit, speaking positively, is in riding technique overall, such as crossing deep gulches for one example and carrying the momentum to get up the other side (whereas on a full suspension geared bike it's possible to gear down and charge) . Things like this are forced upon the single speeder and I think it has improved my overall skill a lot. When I get on my geared full suspension mountain bike l, which is rare and rarer, the experience is surreal.

Now that I'm starting to ride fixed gear in an urban commute scenario - and using the bike for grocery getting and other errands - single speeding is more than a workout. Single speeding is simply a reliable mode of basic transportation.

In the time it took me to write this, some may have been playing video games, practicing their music, learning about engineering and mathematics, gardening, and taking care of their livestock, walking the dog, visual art, what have you. Cycling takes up a lot of time that could be used for other choices in life.

Single Speed requires regular riding or else there's the risk of it becoming too difficult to carry on with.

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