Im thinking of a single speed bike...should I?

I have had a late 80's Bianchi steel frame road bike with upgraded components for the last two years or so. I have enjoyed the bike but maybe I am just bored. I have had a couple single speed bikes in the past and find myself longing for another one. I have been thinking about a Bianchi San Jose. My thoughts are maybe give a cyclocross event a try and get a spare set of cheap wheels and rubber for road riding. I don't usually ride any insane hills. I can handle minor and moderate hills with a single speed. I miss the simplicity of one gear also. What do thee GRM masses think?

I like gears, but I also live where there are mountains.

I live in Western Washington where there are plenty of hills, and I love Single Speed. I ride a Bianchi SASS regularly, and it is a very fresh, pure experience. I approve.

I like my cheapy single speed for the simplicity and just cruising around the neighborhood. I'm not hardcore enough to rock one everywhere though.

Like miata, SS is always the answer. Always.

Unless you have to climb a mountain In 11 years of riding some of the best mountain bike terrain in the country, I've seen one guy on a single speed.

I've got a single speed. It's my old cruiser bike. And it's always the wrong speed. But that's me. Still, my old 80's Bianchi has Campy components on it, and there have been times when a single speed might have been preferable But a properly set up Shimano rear? I wear no hair shirt.

That said - you'd had one, you miss it, so build another! Doesn't matter what we think.

Single speed for the boardwalk cruiser. Gears for everywhere else!

I don't see the appeal of a single speed unless you are trying to get in shape for geared bikes in the future.

That said, I've refreshed a Schwinn Le Tour 10 speed for myself. I could easily keep up with my friends fixies and I am by no means "in shape"....lol

You meet the hills on their own terms. You can either make it or you can't. You ride more, you get stronger, you ride more and walk less. Of course I live in Houston where the overpasses are the big hills. Out of the city training rides with hills are really really fun, but nothing I ride could ever be considered a mountain, not even a little one. I do love the flow of riding fixed off road.

I grew up at a time when single speed coaster brake bikes were all that was available. I will never ride one again, other than on a velodrome.

As long as it has brakes on the handlebars, and your glasses are functional and not at all ironic, its cool by me

I like the idea of a single speed. I even had a rare Bontrager version. My knees had a different opinion...

Keith Tanner wrote: I've got a single speed. It's my old cruiser bike. And it's always the wrong speed.

This is the problem I have, but with my 15 speed. No matter what gear I'm in, I'm working entirely too hard. Not because I'm actually working hard, but because I've got an idea that there's an "easier" gear.

I never had that problem riding single.

YMMV. I'd say go for it, especially if you know what you're getting into.

Haven't had a single speed since I was 11 but I have a Bianchi bike that I use as my pit bicycle at track days.

Yeah I too am looking at fixies. I came across these Wyatt bikes designed by some bike college student. Seems like a pretty good deal right now they are selling off old inventory for $350 and free shipping. No idea how good they are but though I would point them out.

I really want to just get a nice SS to ride around and since I live on the flats I'm not worried about gears. Anyone have any suggestions for other brands that are good but not cost an arm and leg?

In reply to jonnyd330:

Yeah. Go down to the thrift store, buy an old steel-framed road bike, purchase a set of cheap fixed gear wheels on ebay (some can be had with tires installed already), install new wheels, sell or scrap old wheels and derailleurs, ride. You should be able to get all that done for about $150. The crappier the bike looks when you get done building it and the better the lock you use, the less likely it will be stolen or vandalized. Ride it till it breaks or wears out or is stolen, and decide how much you like it.

I had been shopping for one, but after knee surgery ended up shopping for a geared bike because I was afraid of the added stress to my recovering knee. I ended up buying a Cannondale CX series bike after riding a ton of other stuff.

A year later, I love my CX. The disc brakes are amazing and the geometry is a ton better than the trek is replaced. It racks up the miles like a Goldwing and seems very well suited for my loop that includes road, crushed limestone and a short section of singletrack. That said, I'm building a single speed out of an early '90s Cannondale V frame just to see what the singlespeed craze is all about. What intrigues me most about SS is the lack of noise and "missed shifts".

Yes, just make sure you go with a freewheel the fixie will try to kill you.

What John said.

I did something similar and found a ratty old road bike at the peddlers mall for $25 bucks. Took off all the derailuers and even the rear cassette. I had an old bmx freewheel gear that just so happened to thread on to the rear axle. Threw a couple new tubes and new brake pads and had a single speed for under $50.

I just don't get the appeal of a single speed. I'd hate my car if it had one gear, why would I want that on my bike?

In reply to 92dxman:

DOO EET.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/my-singlespeed-bicycle-build/41803/page1/

I love mine and ride the crap out of it (mind you, I have 2 geared road bikes and a geared MTB)

Sonic wrote: I just don't get the appeal of a single speed. I'd hate my car if it had one gear, why would I want that on my bike?

what else are you going to ride to the liquor store to pick up your 6 pack of PBR?

I was out on my SS Mtb last night. They are a great cure for bike boredom. I'm not going to give you some zen, wholistic bullE36 M3 about not having to shift, but they are just a different flavor of riding. Give it a shot, just don't do anything to the bike that can't be undone.

I love mine. it's an 82 Fuji Valite frame. lightweight lugged steel w/odd ball 27" wheels. short 20 mile rides are a blast on it.

I've built a couple single-speed bikes, but the terrain here is just too much (for example, one of my regular training rides is 14 miles of dirt roads with 2100ft of elevation gain and maximum grades of 14%). I love the idea, and I loved riding them when I wasn't grinding up a hill, but the gearing compromise necessary to make it up those hills meant spinning like crazy anywhere else. The simplicity and lightness, especially with a smooth-riding steel frame, is really nice.