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| David Duffield | |
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Those of you who have come out on our Sunday off-road epics recently might have noticed the disappearance from my bike of seemingly essential items such as derailleurs, shifters, a couple chainrings and a lot of rear cogs. They might have also noticed how I now tend to spin like a hamster in a wheel most of the time, attack hills like if a dog was chasing me (which dogs actually sometimes do with me), and generally bear a stupid smile while riding. All of these have a simple but rational explanation: I've discovered the joys of singlespeeding. Back in January, I found on a French website an interesting deal on a second hand Sunn titanium MTB frame, so decided to upgrade my ageing steel commuter to a rust-free, light and bombproof frame. The following Saturday, I was off to Paris by coach and, at 10am on possibly the coldest day of the year (my words froze as I spoke them), I was on the Champs Elysées waiting for my contact. The deal was done, and the morning after I was back home. The Sunn frame is actually made by Morati, a Czech Republic company which is also specialised in military weaponry, but has started diversifying since the fall of the steel gate. They also make a weird looking bar/stem combo, and an amazing hollow titanium crankset, made of 39 different pieces welded together…their site Morati.com is worth a click. The frame came with forks, derailleurs, seatpost, etc…, and while assembling my "new" bike, I began to realise that, combined with the spare parts I'd been accumulating over the years, I would be left with almost enough to build a third bike ! My plan then was to build it up and sell it cheap, possibly to someone in the club so that I'd still be able to see it from time to time (I've never liked selling my bikes…). On that Sunday ride, someone suggested I'd built it as a singlespeed, which was perfect because I didn't have the shifters - and it's hard finding eight speed stuff nowadays. Like me, you've possibly read about singlespeed bikes, which are quite trendy in the USA and rising in number in the UK, but only regarded them as the latest gadget for people who have already got everything and need something new and challenging to excite them. But this was the perfect opportunity, and just in time for the next Tuesday's night ride, Project Singlespeed was ready to roll. I must say that particular first ride felt like the best I'd had for years, and people started thinking I was on drugs as I was jumping around and spinning like a madman. I think part of that great feeling was due to the fact that the muddy trails we'd been accustomed to in the last months had frozen, giving a nice solid feel to the ground, but mostly to the whole new way of riding that singlespeed implies. As I'd also switched back to rigid forks and - a first for me - riser bars, it occurred to me this feeling was reminiscent of my BMX years, when we were cruising in downtown Geneva or off-roading at our favourite trail, the infamous (for us) "death course". Memories…Did you use to ride a BMX ? Remember how you'd be spinning that small chainring on downhills, keeping the braking to a minimum to keep momentum, and pounding out off the saddle on climbs till you reached the top/collapsed ? Remember the comfort of those wide high bars, the motorbike noise made by the playing card attached to the forks and rattling on the spokes ? Well, apart from the last one, I've found all of these great forgotten sensations on my new SSB. There are also numerous advantages on a fully rigid singlespeed, like: - Not constantly having to think about being on the right gear, thus being able to concentrate purely on the trail. - Not having to think about what could go wrong with you shifters/derailleurs/cassette/forks/rear suspension, not having to clean the whole lot after riding in muddyland. Also the cheaper maintenance cost. - The weight gain (more than 2 lbs on my bike) and general "cleaner" look of the bike. - The almost absence of chain noise (no twisting around those jockey wheels). - The feeling of oneness with the trail. - The joy of overtaking a geared fellow on an climb ! - The added training for your legs, which will suffer a lot more on climbs, but will learn to spin quickly elsewhere, as you tend to forget on a geared bike. The added challenge, etc, etc… So, surely by now you must be asking yourself, when can I start building my own SSB, and where do I need to start ? My own conversion cost me about £95 - but it could have been done for £0. Here are a few guidelines, based on my experience and a few useful websites: - Frame: basically you can take any old frame that you have lying around. If it's steel you get bonus points, because steal is real. Invest in British Steel! If it's aluminium, never mind. If it's any other material, better forget about it. Don't worry too much about the weight, if it's heavy it should be solid enough to withstand the added stress you will put in the pedalling area. If the frame's got horizontal dropouts at the back, you get 1000 points: "proper" SSBs have these instead of the vertical dropouts common to MTBs. This means you can adjust the chain tension by pulling the rear wheel back and forth. If it's - most probably - not the case, you can do as me and use, either a rear mech, or either a special device which will tension the chain in the same way a mech does (only it looks better). More about this further on. - Things you can get rid of: shifters (if they're separate from the brake levers it will help) and associated cables, big and small chainrings (leave only the middle one on, you'll need special shorter bolts £4.50, but you can leave a same size or slightly bigger outer ring - which will also act as a bashring - and do with the original bolts), all but one rear cog: once again, proper SSBs have dedicated rear hubs, which are meant to accommodate a BMX style freewheel. These hubs are hard to find generally expensive. If you've got a normal MTB cassette hub, it's fine: you can take your cassette apart, keep the right cog and fill the space with…spacers (you'll need a lot of them, 9 or 10, bike shops should have some spare ones). You can then adjust the chainline (by adjusting the spacers/cog's position along the freehub body) so it's as straight as possible.
- Gearing ratio: 2*1 is generally recommended. This means you'll be riding around 10-15 mph most of the time (although I can't attest of this, in the search for simplicity I got rid of the cyclocomputer as well). On the road your bike will feel pretty useless and you'll quickly be bouncing off the saddle, but as soon as you reach the trail the magic will start to be felt. And amazingly enough, you should be able to clear all but the mightiest hills. Of course you will suffer a bit, but you'll soon learn to keep your speed and pound on the pedals instead of switching to the small ring. Even at slow speed, it's possible to keep going uphill. This means if the front ring is 32 your cog will be 16. I think for the kind of riding around Croydon this is fine, but you might want to experiment longer/shorter ratios. - Chain tensioner: I started with a spare rear mech, tensioned by a cable cut about 4 inches near the cable stop then fitted so that the cable stop goes in the back of the mech. Then, in an act of vanity, I ordered a £35 Singleator which is basically a mech with only one jockey wheel and less the parallelogram mechanism. It looks tricky but means I can't change my gearing, which would be possible with a mech that compensates for chain tension increase/decrease.
- Tires: on one hand, as you're not going as fast as on a normal bike, so you shouldn't need really aggressive tires. On the other one, you will need loads of traction on the back end for hills. It's up to you really. I started with Michelin semi-slicks, which were OK, then switched to some good old Ritchey Zmax (2.1 front, 1.9 rear), inflated to 2-2.5 bars, which feels safer and more comfortable, especially at the front.
- Handlebars: risers are recommended, because of the extra leverage provided for the hills. I got a bargain on some Profile risers - but then again you'd be alright with flat bars & barends. If you opt for risers you'll probably need to increase the length of the brake cable housings due to the greater width. - Cranks: in the same search for of extra leverage, it is generally advised to fit longer cranks than the standard 170 or 175mm, ie 180mm. They say it makes a big difference, but I don't think it's worth spending money if you've already got some cranks at hand (I'm doing fine with 170mm). - Pedals: the only compromise to the "fun bike" scheme, I've fitted Time clipless pedals, which really help climbing and general control of the bike - and as I've upgraded to clipless on my other bikes years ago I could never go back to flatties… Since building this bike I've actually hardly ridden my proper X-country bike, enjoying so much the ride of my new singlespeed. The other Sunday, after a long ride on the SSB, I got home and, feeling I was betraying it, went back for a short ride on the XCB. My fears of not enjoying it as much as before soon vanished, because the riding, though different, was as much enjoyable: more comfort with suspension forks, of course the gears - which I found myself not nearly changing as much as before, flat bars and bar ends allowing for a leaner climbing position, etc… So there it was: I now had two bikes with distinct riding sensations to them, and was able to switch between them given the mood (and the "mudiness" of the trails, SSBs are much easier to clean !). So far I've heard of one Addiscombe CC member who's started building his SSB, and I hope this will encourage others ! And now for the best bit: I've recently discovered that the World Championships !! of Singlespeed bikes are taking place, this year on June 3rd in Bristol. From what I've read about previous editions, this kind of race is not the serious type and resembles what used to be MTB racing in its first years, exciting and un-corporate. Some people spend the night before drinking (there's even a tale about having to intake a pint of beer after each lap), some disguise for the race, and the winner gets a mandatory tattoo ! I reckon this is not to be missed, I've even gone to the extent of buying a golden glitter saddle at the recent Bike2001, to add a funky note to the bike !! Unfortunately the venue is still pending due to the foot & mouth. On a recent update on yesweareontheweb.com, it appears things are not too compromised, and that in the case of trails being closed the race would take place in the town streets… Please contact me for info/comments/interest in Bristol ! (I know the beer stuff will attract at least a few of you - no names !). Singlespeed Sylvain.
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