How many people strictly ride/race a singlespeed?

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Permalink Reply by Josh on October 11, 2008 at 8:38am

I've been racing mountain SS exclusively for several season and occasionally race SS 'cross as well -- tons of fun.
42x18 is my default SS' cross gearing.

Anyone else looking forward to racing singlespeed at nationals?


One other nice thing about racing your singlespeed...

If you well, everyone is amazed you did it on a singlespeed.
If you suck, "Hey, what did you expect? I'm on a singlespeed!"

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Permalink Reply by Chocolate pudding on October 13, 2008 at 7:21am

Well this might sound pitiful but I roll around using 36 to 18. I use this gear for commuting (which is a mix of road and trail) and everything else. I guess my biggest races right now would be chasing down road riders preparing for El Tour de Tucson on the climbs into the foothill, so I can't really judge effectiveness on my gearing.
Oddly enough it's cooled off enough in Tucson for me to switch back into fixie mode as that keeps me warmer on the rides downhill. Yup, was a chilly 50 degrees F yesterday. Funny how cold fifty feels after a summer with temps over 110.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Nelson on October 13, 2008 at 7:37pm

I can race both at events here in town, but out of town usually my geared and ss group go at the same time, so I am doing SS this year. Mostly cause it's a lil smaller and close knit, and it's like a B+ or A- class ^_^

That's interesting that your SS race is before your geared race. Here I usually find after my geared race I have the lines pretty sorted out and it translates into my SS race.

Here in nor cal most of the time its pretty flat, so I run 42x18/17, but I learned this weekend that laguna seca is kinda hilly. I'm going to be headed out with a 38x18/17 and a 40x18/17 from now on :) I'm kinda a masher also

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Permalink Reply by Lillypad on October 13, 2008 at 10:11pm

i'm not a masher....i ride 38x18 for a hilly course, and 38x16 for a roller/flat course. If it's really flat, then i'm screwed as i spin out. There's times i want to go to a 20, but then my boyfriend/mechanic tells me in so many words that i'm a loser, and i just need to race harder....

he's partly right and i also think he just doesn't want to change out my gear! So, i just have to suck it up and go hard, and usually it works, i don't win but i have fun, and can use the excuse that hey ..."you try ridin' ss on this course excuse". typically the response is why do you ride ss? hmmmm? light 18lb bike that i can carry a lap if i need to?!

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Permalink Reply by lithuania on October 15, 2008 at 10:09am

Ive only raced SS so far but I did just obtain a geared bike. My plan is still to race SS but I am interested to see how I do on a geared bike since I have never raced cross on one before.

We dont have a SS class in the mid atlantic region so the geared bike will be a pit bike.

Im more of a masher and Ive been racing on a 38/17 this year. Last year I was on a 42/18.

Im curious what you SS'ers use for training. Other than skill work do you exclusively train your bike fitness on the SS? I primarily train on my road bike unless I am doing cross skills workouts.

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Permalink Reply by Tim on August 5, 2009 at 9:03am

I've raced road disciplines since 1981 but always enjoyed off road riding more.

In 2006 I was introduced to CX and it was love at first sight... those knobby tires on a normal looking bike!

I've raced my geared cross bike to podium finishes since then. Thought about upgrading my Kona Jake the Snake to a Major Jake but have decided to buy the Major One instead. It's 18.5lb Scandium with a carbon fork and geared 42/18. We are in Manitoba Canada flat lands- home of the Red River Valley, so that 63" gear should work nicely. I also run and train on an old garbage dump man made hill nearby.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Dolan on August 6, 2009 at 2:51pm

I think the short answer is tons of people race exclusively on SS, and are super competitive riders. I see people on SS's fly by me all the time...

I have an older Peugot track bike that I love riding around the city, but for cross I always use my geared bike. I usually need to make up as much time as I can on the flat sections, so being able to switch to a bigger ring helps me out there.

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Permalink Reply by Jeremy on August 8, 2009 at 8:26am

I'm a SS only guy, but thats probably because I only have 1 'cross bike. Not competitive on it, but then again, I would not be on a geared bike either.

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Permalink Reply by Beth Hamon on August 9, 2009 at 9:28am

I am a NEW racer this year, taking up 'cross on a dare. Started with my local short-track series this summer so I wouldn't go into 'cross cold -- had a BLAST!. I'm racing on a Kona Fire Mtn, rebuilt as a SS. "Stompy" is currently running 32 x 19 (I'm a spinner, not a masher) for the berm-heavy short track course; gearing may change for 'cross. I found that the Soulcraft Convert kit works quite well; combined with a recently-acquired Truvativ Stylo crankset the bike feels rock-solid to pedal. I chose SS for budgetary concerns and lightness. Showed up at short-track beginners class racing women who are mostly half my age (I'm 46); and got a lot of weird looks when they realized that I was on a SS, fully-rigid mtn bike. Out of 24 women only three of us rode SS. The guys running the pre-race clinics told me I'd finish near-last but to keep at it because it would help my bike-handling skills. The women mostly thought I was nuts. Meanwhile, I had what I consider a successful short-track season, finishing every race I started without DQ'g or DNF'g. I even managed to ride one more lap in the final race than I ridden in the previous three. I'm encouraged.

So far, I remain committed to SS as it has indeed helped strengthen my bike-handling. My first 'cross clinic is this week and I secretly hope no one will laugh at me for showing up on a SS mtn bike. My season begins October 4. Yikes.

This is me at the final short-track race, on the bike I will race 'cross with. This racing thing is REALLY hard but I am having the time of my life.

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• stxc8-3.jpg, 71 KB

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Permalink Reply by Cyclocross Magazine on August 9, 2009 at 1:41pm

just throwin' your image up inline for easy viewing. keep it up! report back in the forums with what you've learned at the clinic!

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Permalink Reply by Booksy on August 20, 2009 at 8:30am

I only ride SS and have had a lot of success against the geared guys. I think of it as an advantage. I run a 39x18 always. always always always. I figure changing out the gearing defeats the purpose and only leads to gearing regret. Most of the fast guys run a taller gear, but they tend to suffer in the long grass or long climbs. I train exclusively on this bike and would argue that it's crucial to developing the ability to spin super high cadences and stomp up steeps or out of hairpins. If you're going to race ss all the time, make sure you can spin ridiculously fast, you'll need to on the pavement. 1 speed puts me on the offensive and there's no bailout gear. Ditch the gears.

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