Nice article in today’s San Francisco Chronicle. Makes me want to go out and order one today. How hard would it be to convert an older Stumpjumper hard tail to a SS?
Single-minded cyclists have old-school cool
Dan Giesin, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, April 17, 2008
(04-16) 22:20 PDT – In a world full of modern technological wizardry and gimcrackery, sometimes simple is better.
Take, for instance, single-speed bicycles.
There’s been a movement in the mountain biking community over the past decade or so to rip out all the unnecessary parts - derailleurs, cassettes, cables, shifters and other components of the modern 27-speed drive train - and get back to the basics of propelling a two-wheeled vehicle.
One chain ring, one sprocket, a chain (or belt) and a lot of leg work.
Clean, elegant, efficient.
“We’re shedding new light on an old tradition,” said Carl Decker of Bend, Ore., a two-time national single speed champion (2004, '05) and runner-up in last summer’s Single Speed World Championships in Scotland.
“You feel like a purist,” said Julia Violich of San Anselmo, a runner-up (on a multi-geared bike) in the UCI Masters Mountain Bike World Championships in France in August. “You don’t need all those fancy gears.”
Too many gears can actually spoil the ride. By eliminating both front and rear derailleurs - and their attendant components - single-speed bikers have a more efficient pedal stroke, with less chain drag through derailleur pulleys making pedaling a bit smoother and easier. Also, the chain line is straight, which enhances performance. Plus, you’re shedding a lot of weight.
“My fully geared racing mountain bike weighs 211/2 pounds,” Violich said. “My single speed bike weighs 17 pounds.”
Ironically, despite dumping the cassette and double (or triple) chain ring, single-speed riders still have to make a gearing choice: What size chain ring and rear sprocket to use.
“Gearing is key; it’s the most important thing,” Violich said. "That’s something we single-speeders talk about all the time. A common thing to say to another single-speeder is, ‘What’s your gear ratio?’
“That one choice is a big one.”
The most common gear ratio is 2:1; i.e., having a 36-tooth ring in front and an 18-tooth cog in back, or 34 and 17, etc. Other riders advocate a 1.8:1 ratio (32-18), which is a better suited for the hilly terrain in the Bay Area.
(Speaking of locals: Single-speed bikes differ from what a lot of urban youth use to buzz around town. Many of those folks use a fixed-geared machine, which doesn’t have a free-wheel in back, so they can’t coast and they have to back-pedal to brake the bike. That’s not a great option for off-road riding.)
Finding the proper gearing for your riding style will take a little experimenting. Do you want something that will help you up steeper hills, but have you frantically spinning on the descents? Or do you want a bit of control on the downhills and have to work harder going up?
Remember: It’s you against the terrain, not you and a bunch of gears against the terrain.
“Don’t be afraid if you have to get off the bike and walk,” Decker said. "It’s all part of the game.
“But once you get set up, not much can go wrong.”
It’s the clean and simple lines that attract single-speeders, who tend to eschew Lycra in favor of baggy shorts and T-shirts. They harken to the early days of off-road riding - think back to the Repack crowd of the mid-'70s - when it was all about having fun on the bike and when beer, not some electrolyte replacement drink, was the fluid of choice.
“They are such a cool group,” said Jeff Frost, the athlete services director at this weekend’s Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, where some 60-70 single-speeders, including Decker and Violich, are expected to compete. “They are more down-to-earth. They like to consider themselves hard-core mountain bikers. … They’re just old school.”
“It’s kind of a counter-culture,” Decker said. “I’ve been mountain bike racing since 1984, and these (single-speed) races are like those early days: good crowd, great scene, fun to be around.”
Added Violich: “There is that underground element: a little bit different, a little bit dangerous.”
Despite the throwback, party-hardy attitude, there is something thoroughly modern about single-speed cycling: It’s a heck of a training regimen.
“It’s a fabulous workout,” Violich said. “You use your body a lot. You use a pushing-out motion to help you get up hills. You use your stomach, your back, your arms … you use your body a lot more for leverage.”
“It does make you a stronger rider,” Decker said. “At the U.S. nationals two years ago (at Sonoma County’s Infineon Raceway), I rode both multi-gear and single-speed cross-country races, and I found myself doing faster laps on my single speed.”
Buns of steel notwithstanding, most single-speeders are in it for the pure joy - and challenge - of it.
“I love it; I ride my single speed 99 percent of the time,” said Violich, who admits that she had to tape direction markers on her handle bars to remind her how to shift at last summer’s event in France. “I really like the challenge, and it’s really fun.”
It’s the simple pleasures of cycling.
E-mail Dan Giesin at dgiesin@sfchronicle.com.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/17/SPI11064U2.DTL
