Going singlespeed for long distance commuting?

[Binaural]

Does anybody out there have any experience of long-ish distance commuting on a single speed road-converted MTB? I've been seized with the urge to simplify my work bike by knocking gears out of the equation, but am worried that the 200+km I ride each week to work through some of the hilliest parts of Sydney might be a bit much. Millions of people ride single speed for street etcetera but if there are any single speeders out there riding similar distances then I would be very interested to hear your experiences, positive or negative :)

[Dumbellina]

One of the Sydney couriers used to ride one of those long cargo bikes from Strathfield into the city and then ride all day. I used to see the poor soul wrestling the thing on the Cooks R. Cycleway.

My gear cable snapped half way home (at Summer Hill) leaving me to ride my roadie home in a 38-11 ratio. The quads hurt for several days after. That said I rode three days in a row (the 40 km return per day) deliberately stuck in 38-14/15 with no diffulties.

I see lots of slower singlespeeders having lots of fun and riding pretty slow, and I get my arse whooped by singlespeeders on the Anzac Bridge on all too regular occassions.

[Binaural]

I see lots of slower singlespeeders having lots of fun and riding pretty slow, and I get my arse whooped by singlespeeders on the Anzac Bridge on all too regular occassions.

Yeah, the other thing that worries me is the loss of speed. I'm too bloody competitive to just cruise, so I am fairly certain that chasing down roadies across the Anzac bridge is going to be a more painful experience than it is already :) (I live in Petersham and work in Chatswood).

[climbo]

I ride a fixed gear to and from work abot 50% of the time, it can be hard work on the hills but it certainly saves maintenance and hassles on the road or mountain bike. Plus, with a cheapy fixed gear I'm not too worried about theft and damage leaning it against poles and the like.

[Rik]

I was doing 30-40km a day on singlespeed and found it boosted my fitness massively. Even with a competitive/hammering riding style it worked well as I was forced to rest on certain sections and stomp on others.
Of course the maintainence/component life factor is big too, BMX chain + DH ring + SS sprocket = tough drivetrain that'll last a long time. Get a stainless chain and forget about it for 6 months :)

[dr.evil]

From Canberra. I do over 200km/week on a converted SS commuter (Giant Iguana c.1994) on the road, bikepaths and firetrails. I run a 32:16 and I find that covers just about everything I come across. I am lucky enough to have lots of routes to pick from depending on how I feel and how much time I have. Us SS'ders usually pass the 'geared' commuters going up the hills only to be passed on the way back down. SS'ding is just good wholesome fun and is an easy minimalistic way of commuting.

Just try it - I turned an old MTB into a SS commuter, I loved it so much I bought a production SS for competitive events. I just got to work out how to be competitive now.

[positron]

I commute 400km a week (Mon-Fri). Will hurt to begin with, but you will got nuts if you stop it.

[Binaural]

I commute 400km a week (Mon-Fri). Will hurt to begin with, but you will got nuts if you stop it.

Blimey, I should be grateful I only have 200km!

Thanks for all the advice guys, I'm definitely going to do it now. I'm going with a DMR single speed kit (with the simple Tension Seeker), with a 16t rear cog. Is a dedicated BMX/singlespeed chain really worth it over a regular MTB chain? I have a PC990 ready to go on unless I am can get significantly (~30%) wear out of a dedicated singlespeed chain.

On the subject of gearing, I run 26" wheels with 1.3" low profile Continental tires and 175mm XT cranks. Any suggestions on chainring size? I was thinking of running a 38t chainring initially since that is what I currently have, is this going to be reasonably close to correct?

[climbo]

38 x 16 should be a good place to start. Depending on how hilly the route is you may need to go a bit bigger.
Standard chain is fine unless you need to run a 1/8" cog for some reason.

[Some Guy]

On the subject of gearing, I run 26" wheels with 1.3" low profile Continental tires and 175mm XT cranks. Any suggestions on chainring size? I was thinking of running a 38t chainring initially since that is what I currently have, is this going to be reasonably close to correct?

I suspect you will need bigger given how small your tyres are. On the road I run 44x17 with 1.5" slicks, although I don't have to ride many hills. Give the 38 a try seeing as you already have it, and that should give you an idea of how well it works.

[Sumgy]

Blimey, I should be grateful I only have 200km!

Is a dedicated BMX/singlespeed chain really worth it over a regular MTB chain? I have a PC990 ready to go on unless I am can get significantly (~30%) wear out of a dedicated singlespeed chain.



KMC 8 speed chains have served me well on my SS.
I am using the same chain after over 1000km of riding including the DW100, Kooralbyn Marathon, Flight Centre Epic along with various 6, 12 and 24hr events over the past 12 months.
And best of all they sell for under $20.

[alchemist]

I suspect you will need bigger given how small your tyres are.

Yes, but you're in Melbourne.

38:16 is a good place to start, after a month or so you might find something bigger will be needed if you want to chase roadies down on the flat, but it's more than enough to chase them over ANZAC Bridge.

[Bodin]

Yes, but you're in Melbourne.

Gotta love flat ol' Melbourne - I don't run a single speed, but I only use four of the gears I have on my bike:

46/14 for the hills and false flats
46/13 for the good flats
46/12 for when I see a roadie ahead of me
36/14 for the last few hundred metres before I get to home/work so I don't rock up a sweating mess...

All done with 175mm cranks and 26" wheels with a set of 1.3" slicks.

I've often considered doing away with the gears and just settling on the 46/14 for all purposes, but I still like being able to choose my cadence and in 10 years of commuting I've never even heard of some of the mechanicals that people talk about. I mean, how the f*** does a gear cable "snap"?!?!? Being that I don't ever experience these weird-arse "mechanicals", I never feel motivated to do away with my gears for the supposed simplicity that the single speed life offers.

[alchemist]

I mean, how the f*** does a gear cable "snap"?!?!?

http://www.wirebelt.com/images/pliers_b.jpg

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[RCOH]

I am currently doing at least 200km a week on my fixie, 38:14. It is fine. You will get used to it within 2 weeks & then it will feel normal.

[ebuk]

- I don't run a single speed, but I only use four of the gears I have on my bike:

I run my bike as a 3 speed to work with the easiest gear 44:14. I commute North Sydney to Terrey Hills and use this gear for all hill climbs. On the flat I will change to 44:13 44:12.

i like the idea of SS but I don't wanna ride 44:12 for the hills.

3 speed suits me well.

[Captain Muppet]

I did 80km round trip in Brisbane on a Trek 4300 Disc then a Giant Rincon that I converted both to Single Speed. I ran 43/16 on both and it was great, a little tough on the hills but I was running 1.2 Conti SportContacts, in my opinion they are the best, MTB based commuting rubber.

[flognoffsky]

noooo dont do it i ride SS in a really hilly area to work and i wish i had gears it would make my commute so much faster

[Grover]

I mean, how the f*** does a gear cable "snap"?!?!?

Yeah, I would have thought the same thing - but it happened to me - astounded. Did take about 30,000km of shifting on the roadie to do it, probably should have changed them well before but...didn't really care for roadie maintenance when there was the mtb to tinker with. Got a good roadie now though so tinkering with it is a bit more enticing.

Now back to the question at hand - single speed is the cool thing atm and plenty of people are doing it. I think the quickest setup is probably pretty similar to the quickest setup for bike couriers - and while single speed/fixie is what most of them run, the fastest are on roadie's with the full complement of gears.

[Binaural]

Now back to the question at hand - single speed is the cool thing atm and plenty of people are doing it. I think the quickest setup is probably pretty similar to the quickest setup for bike couriers - and while single speed/fixie is what most of them run, the fastest are on roadie's with the full complement of gears.

Spot on regarding the setups couriers ride. That said, I borrowed a singlespeed to ride into work today (thanks Cave Dweller), and I found it quite a bit more involving than my geared rig. You really have to throw yourself into hills, using your upper body lots to help get the power you need, and maintaining speed through the city requires plenty of cunning since you don't want to slow down unless you absobloodylutely have to. I daresay that the greater entertainment value vs reduced efficiency counts for a lot when you are riding all day, every day. Really looking forward to doing the conversion now :)