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Will riding a singlespeed improve technique?

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  • August 29, 2013 at 8:23 am #19728
    MrBLH

    Approaching winter I’ve been thinking about converting my commuter (Specialized Allez comp) into a singlespeed. I do a 60 mile round trip Surrey – London once a week which is a little lumpy but not hilly.

    I was thinking that the benefits of going singlespeed would be:
    – Less components to get messy and maintain through winter
    – Slightly lighter
    – Improved cadence/pedal stroke
    – Increased speed/strength on hills
    – Prettier bike

    Although I cycle a fair amount already (200km per week) I think there is room to improve my technique & strength, is this a reliable way of doing it?

    Or am i being a mug and bikes evolved to have gears… and I’ll regret it?

    I tried today’s in a single gear and did fairly well but I lack the discipline and did change up/down occasionally.

    I know this may be an each to their own type question but lets hear some opinions & anecdotes.

    Cheers, Ben

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  • September 10, 2013 at 1:33 pm #754169
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    Matt eaton

    +1 for fixed. I ride mine all
    +1 for fixed. I ride mine all year and am planning a century on it next month (although I might wimp out and ride something else)

    September 10, 2013 at 1:18 pm #754167
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    CycleLuddite

    Sorry, was away for a while.
    Sorry, was away for a while.

    Thanks for the tips Farrell and Gepin. Excellent. May see what I can find on flea-bay 🙂

    September 4, 2013 at 12:54 pm #754165
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    Gepin

    CycleLuddite wrote:I can’t

    CycleLuddite wrote:
    I can’t afford another bike, so fixie bike is out of the question.

    farrell wrote:
    As mentioned, try and pick up a cheap old bike, whip the gears off and adjust the chain. A good old steel frame would be my first choice but that’s my personal preference, anything would do.

    This is what I did…. It’s going to get covered in road salt and have to deal with the being ridden through the winter so who cares if its not carbon or running flash wheels. All in mine cost me £20 for a rear track wheel of flea-bay.
    Fixed wheel running a gear of 74.3 inches by way of a 44 chainring and a 16 tooth rear sprocket.

    September 4, 2013 at 10:32 am #754163
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    farrell

    CycleLuddite wrote:
    Is it

    CycleLuddite wrote:

    Is it possible to get the same kind of benefit by just sticking to single gear on my road bike?

    Yes, the difference is with SS/Fixed you can’t wimp out and shift to a different gear as you simply don’t have that option. Numerous times I’ve thought ‘I just want a light, easy, soft pedal home’ but have had to give it some rice because the soft pedal wasn’t possible. It’s a ballache at first but you do soon get into it.

    CycleLuddite wrote:
    I have compact 11-28, so wonder which gear would most closely approximate that of single-speed bike.

    Any or even all of them, it depends on how you set your single speed up – What combination you have of crank at the front and what cog you have at the back. I simply took the derailleurs off an old bike and figured it out by adjusting the chain to move up and down the cassette until I got to the one I wanted. It’s a bit of trial and error but one persons ratio might be completely off for someone elses.

    CycleLuddite wrote:
    I can’t afford another bike, so fixie bike is out of the question.

    As mentioned, try and pick up a cheap old bike, whip the gears off and adjust the chain. A good old steel frame would be my first choice but that’s my personal preference, anything would do.

    September 4, 2013 at 10:05 am #754161
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    CycleLuddite

    Please forgive my luddite
    Please forgive my luddite question.

    Is it possible to get the same kind of benefit by just sticking to single gear on my road bike? I have compact 11-28, so wonder which gear would most closely approximate that of single-speed bike. I can’t afford another bike, so fixie bike is out of the question.

    Recently, I have been trying to increase cadence at the lower (harder) gears so on my morning commutes to work (which is slightly hilly), I’ve stuck to limiting myself to four sequential gears (do they even have a numbering system?). The ultimate aim is to get to work one day in one gear. It’s crazy perhaps but it’s a personal challenge.

    It sort of works for endurance but perhaps I am approaching it incorrectly.

    September 4, 2013 at 7:33 am #754159
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    Low Speed Wobble

    @farrell @cycle_jim @geppin
    @farrell @cycle_jim @geppin @giff77 +1 to all you guys.

    September 3, 2013 at 7:54 pm #754157
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    giff77

    Totally with you Gepin.
    Totally with you Gepin. Getting my baby ready for the winter right now.

    September 3, 2013 at 6:11 pm #754155
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    Gepin

    I have been riding fixed
    I have been riding fixed through the winter for the last 3 years. I use it for fun, training and commuting. The frame is an old 1960’s Italian TT effort, everything else was just what I had lying around.
    For the first 8 weeks I hated it but on one cold but sunny commute home after a night shift it all fell into place the near silent progress and simplicity of the machine.
    So today I dragged the old girl out for its MOT after laying at the back of the shed all summer.
    Has it made me a better rider, stronger, given me Chris Hoy’s thighs? Dunno and don’t care! It’s been a great summer but taking the old Olmo around the block reminds me that though its going to get cold and dark, the trails will be under water and the roads will be covered in salt, I will be astride my Fixie grinning like a loon.
    I ride a 44 x 16 in lumpy Monmouthshire and Mid Glamorgan.

    September 3, 2013 at 5:22 pm #754153
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    Cycle_Jim

    BBB- What about riding for
    BBB- What about riding for fun? Thats what I ride for.

    September 3, 2013 at 5:19 pm #754151
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    Cycle_Jim

    I like to go to the shops and
    I like to go to the shops and try trousers on to find out the thighs are too big for them. Mostly in my spare time or on a lunch break.

    September 3, 2013 at 8:13 am #754149
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    farrell

    daddyELVIS wrote:Sounds like

    daddyELVIS wrote:
    Sounds like you’re looking for a reason to buy a new bike, or justification to give to your significant other ;)

    Within just a couple of weeks of switching to singlespeed my Mrs happily noticed that my thigh muscles were bigger and more defined. How’s that for a justification?

    (Or as BBB would put it, another “typical roadie anecdote”.)

    September 3, 2013 at 6:58 am #754147
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    daddyELVIS

    Sounds like you’re looking
    Sounds like you’re looking for a reason to buy a new bike, or justification to give to your significant other 😉

    September 1, 2013 at 10:48 pm #754145
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    Leviathan

    BBB wrote:Cycling is an

    BBB wrote:
    Cycling is an endurance sport and how fast you can cycle is determined by power (force x speed) NOT by max. force you can apply to the pedals (determined by strength).

    If you’re able to climb up steep hills and walk up the stairs, you have enough strength to ride a bike and the available training time will be better spent improving threshold power at your optimal cadence.

    There’s no evidence (only typical roadie anecdotes) to suggest that riding any bike without gears will improve your cycling speed and pedalling technique any more than a geared bike.

    In other words, if you think it will help, you know, just don’t change gear for a bit.

    September 1, 2013 at 10:11 pm #754143
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    BBB

    Cycling is an endurance sport
    Cycling is an endurance sport and how fast you can cycle is determined by power (force x speed) NOT by max. force you can apply to the pedals (determined by strength).

    If you’re able to climb up steep hills and walk up the stairs, you have enough strength to ride a bike and the available training time will be better spent improving threshold power at your optimal cadence.

    There’s no evidence (only typical roadie anecdotes) to suggest that riding any bike without gears will improve your cycling speed and pedalling technique any more than a geared bike.

    September 1, 2013 at 7:57 pm #754141
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    Low Speed Wobble

    BBB wrote:I wonder if you’re

    BBB wrote:
    I wonder if you’re confusing strength with power. ;)

    Perhaps I am.

    Can you explain to me, in this cycling specific context, the difference?

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