Why single speed mountain bike

I sold that years ago to oddball mountain bike collector for a considerable profit and went full custom at the height of the bull market.

I have no regrets. It also helps me keep perspective on bike tech and conspicuous consumption by reminding me of two crucial facts:. Search Search. Taj Mihelich. Twitter Icon. There was even the obligatory cringe-inducing New York Times trend piece in Serious road cyclists and mountain bikers are turning to single-speeds as a training aid because, they say, the bikes help improve fitness, efficiency, pedal stroke and bike handling skills.

Filed to: Bikes Biking Mountain Biking. Read this next. The Best Winter Bikes of Until you develop those improved skills, you may find the lack of an easier gear a hindrance on more technical trails.

This is most notable on slow and technical climbs where low gears are almost always favoured. There is a temporary method and a more permanent method to get your bike setup as a single-speed. The quick method is to simply not change gear while riding. You will need ninja-like discipline not to shift gears though!

For that reason, and the fact the bike still has all the dangly parts weighing you down, it is better to fully convert your bike or buy a single-speed. If you're looking to convert an existing derailleur geared bike, then it's worth noting that typically it's best to use a hardtail or other rigid frame.

And often starting with a fresh chain, rear cog and chainring is the best to ensure ultimate reliability. To start the transition, you'll want to get hold of a single-speed conversion kit. These kits often include a rear cog, spacers and a tensioner for the chain.

The install will vary from bike to bike, but the general approach is to start by removing the existing drivetrain. Install the new chainring often with shorter chainring bolts and rear cog with the provided spacers — take the time to ensure the rear cog sits in a perfectly straight line to the front chainring. It's then time to size the chain as short as possible.

If you are lucky, you will be able to connect the chain with no slack in it known as 'the magic gear' , but more likely, you'll need to use that chain tensioner to remove the spare slack. Actual gear selection can be a difficult choice and it may take some trial and error, or at the least, some advice from a fellow local single-speeder. Traditionally the most common gear ratio used on single-speed mountain bikes is , with a 32T chainring and 16T rear cog being a popular example of that.

This ratio is commonly customised for the rider, with desired terrain, fitness, wheel size and even bike type dictating the exact gear used. If you're riding steep terrain with a 29er wheel, you'll want something easier, while flatter terrain may call for a higher gear.

And if you're on the road, you'll certainly want to gear up far higher again. There is something very appealing about a single speed mountain bike, most likely the idea that it is a machine that can theoretically conquer everything yet is so simple. But just like any bike decision, there are tradeoffs.

Those tradeoffs may be worth it to you. The drivetrain of a single speed mountain bike consists of a crank, one chainring, the chain and one cog. That is all; there are no derailleurs, multiple cogs or chainrings, cables or shifters.

Skipping all of those parts saves weight and maintenance. While the bike is more simple, it takes a bit more forethought to pedal over obstacles that you could tackle with a geared bike. Gears make bikes faster and more efficient. And sometimes you will come to a section of trail that will be a pure leg-breaker, perhaps bordering on knee-breaker if you get bogged down enough in your single gear a single gear, which on the same ride could be both radically undergeared and overgeared depending on terrain.

The bottom line is that your riding style will change. A single speed mountain bike should be quieter. Singlespeeds are great for combating burnout. Ridden the same trails Try those trails on a singlespeed and the challenge will refresh and motivate you. And I guarantee you will discover things about those trails you never noticed on your geared bike. Ride a singlespeed, and you will learn to pray at the altar of momentum.

Consequently, you will begin to ride in ways that maintain momentum, which means choosing better lines, building speed at every opportunity, letting the bike roll and carry speed, and braking less. You will see the trail in a new way, and when you apply the lessons learned to your geared bike you will be smoother and faster than ever.

This also makes the drivetrain very smooth. And when you combine a quiet and smooth drivetrain with the riding style you will naturally adopt—a flowing, swooping style that maintains your momentum—you get a riding experience that is enjoyably meditative. We all know that riding has fitness benefits, but riding a geared bike can make you lazy in some ways: You can stay seated a lot, and you can spin a highly efficient low-torque, high-cadence stroke.

You will need to stand up and grind out high-torque, low- cadence revolutions; you will need to pull the bars hard and thrust your body to keep the bike moving.