Single Speed for TD

[Foster]

Anyone have any thoughts on this.  Thinking about switching to a SS.  There are many positive reasons why this would be a good idea in the realm of simpler mechanics.  But can anyone list off some negative issues of riding a single speed for the Tour divide.  For those that ride single speeds do you have problems with your knees and did riding a single speed help or create knee pain?  Just wondering as I consider my options for this years TDR.  And also wondering if those of you think that the switch is too soon before the TD.

 

[phil_rad]

Foster, I don't think it's too late to switch to SS for the TD next year. Can't think of any negative except maybe if you had a good strong tailwind you wouldn't be able to really hammer it, be like spinning out the whole time. Would give you some R&R though:-)

[dutchwheelz]

Can't give you any advise, but I am interested in which gear you are thinking of. I'm only riding single speed but in Holland that's very easy since there are no serious mountains.

[THE LONG RANGER]

Riding 32 x 19 this year, it was miserable on all the flat sections, literally a top speed of 16mph or so. I probably wasn't strong enough to ride anything higher (for that distance), but I'd encourage you to gear higher than me, even if it means taking a 15 minute walk a few times, during the race.  Been working on my overall strength during these autumn days.

I also played around using a Tomicog as a backup, if somehow my freewheel exploded (which, it did!), but the frame really wouldn't have allowed me to ride fixed. Something to think about, fairly easy, cheap, and light ultimate backup system.

[stappy]

Why do you need simpler mechanics? Standard geared bikes are pretty reliable. Of course plenty of talented single speeders have posted super competitive rides on the divide. Personally, I can't believe that a single speed can be as fast, just my opinion. How much fun is it to be hopelessly spun out on the parts of the ride that are tedious to begin with. My advice would be, if you are going for your first finish, give yourself every advantage, make it as easy as possible. TD is hard enough. If riding a single speed fits in making it easier for you, or makes you happy, go for it.
I ran a triple with a road cassette(closer ratios), just the opposite of a ss. I wanted to be sure I could always have the cadence my legs asked for on the flats.

[brooklyn]

I think the hardest part about switching over to SS for the TD is choosing the right gearing for you. For this year's TD I chose a  slightly higher than ideal gearing and had to do more hiking than I would have liked. Next year I'm planning on a more reasonable (for me) gearing of 32x17.

I chose SS because I love the simplicity. It's the type of bike that I usually ride anyways, so I guess I wanted to go with what I know.  I do agree with stappy that you will be faster on a geared bike, and gears are fairly reliable, but I would still rather be in the middle of nowhere on a SS bike, again, going with what I know...and trust.  I never had any drive train issues, but as a precautionary measure I did replaced my chain about halfway through the TD. 

I'm no doc, but from my experience, knee pains can usually be attributed to your gearing in relation to your strength, and bike set up. I personally never had any knee issues during the TD, I had other issues though. Early on in Montana my feet swelled up a lot, this isn't necessarily a single speed specific issue and I'm sure some people with gears had this problem too. I don't know the cause, but was probably attributed to all the pressure to my feet. This had me worried for a bit, but I kept my shoes loose and swelling was down after a few days.

It's not too late to start SS riding before the TD, just get started messing around with various gearing options to see what works best for you!

[pbasinger]

Negatives?   Lots of flat or fast sections and a really sore butt.  Props to Jefe and others for pulling it off and with style, but I  like ss  for most of my riding because it’s fun, and the Divide on a ss does not sound fun. 

[Foster]

So based on everyones posts here I made a list of negative and positive aspects for riding a SS on the TDR.  Turns out there are more negatives for me that there are positives.  The negative ones for a SS turn out to be a big deal in terms of consequence, whereas the negatives for gears are much more manageable.  I can see how having a SS would be good in some ways and not others, but in terms of keeping your body in from falling apart along the way it would be much harder on a SS.  Especially with my previous knee issues.  I won't ride the TDR on a SS but I think I will give it a try for just my daily riding.


Thanks for the thoughts on this.  Props to all those that can do it with one gear, sounds freaking hard.

[THE LONG RANGER]

A huge plus for riding SS is price: It's quite possible you're going to trash your drivetrain anyways on the TD and replacing a ring ($30), a cog ($25) and a single speed PC-1 chain ($15) is hundreds of dollars less than replacing a SRAM XX, or something like that.  And that's why I went SS: Replacing my X.7/X.9 30 speed drivetrain, especially thinking about all the crummy 10spd chains I was going to go through during the race just wasn't something I could afford. Switching to 9speed/8speed would have been basically as expensive. It is something to think about, as this race is nothing but expensive to do. Keeping costs low(er) usually makes things funner. If I was to do it again SS, I would seriously consider a belt drive system. Which, funnily, would blow my, "It's cheaper!" argument, right out of the water. Ah, the freedom of not planning to do the TD next year

[bmike-vt]

So based on everyones posts here I made a list of negative and positive aspects for riding a SS on the TDR.  Turns out there are more negatives for me that there are positives.  The negative ones for a SS turn out to be a big deal in terms of consequence, whereas the negatives for gears are much more manageable.  I can see how having a SS would be good in some ways and not others, but in terms of keeping your body in from falling apart along the way it would be much harder on a SS.  Especially with my previous knee issues.  I won't ride the TDR on a SS but I think I will give it a try for just my daily riding.


Thanks for the thoughts on this.  Props to all those that can do it with one gear, sounds freaking hard.

I'd be curious to see your lists.

[Foster]

Negatives:

Harder on Body:  Knee primarily due to long climbs with less spinning.
Bad for long distances with large variability in grade of climbs.
Slow on flats in a tailwind.
No gears to allow for adapting to what you body wants=more suffering.  Suffering is fine but harder on body(back to knees)
Almost completely limited on gear choice once started. Can change at bike shop? but it cost money to change gearing.
More HAB possibly contributing to swollen feet.  This could be positive as well.
Slower at times
Being out of the saddle can wear you out more(goes back to more suffering)

Negatives are based on the TDR a 3000 mile race so keep in perspective that the negatives I list here are mainly associated with a really long ride and not a nice day ride where a lot of this doesn't come into play.

Positives:

Cheaper maintenance, less maintenance, less initial cast
More coasting on long flat sections giving breaks to legs
Lighter bike
Simplicity

I may be leaving some things out, some of them do overlap as well.

[krefs]

You forgot the added durability of a single-cog setup. In the clay mud, you'd potentially be able to ride much more than anyone with a derailleur without risking having the derailleur sucked into the spokes for whatever mysterious reason that happens in bad mud. That was one of the main reasons we went with a single cog on the tandem this past year.

Also, you technically can't change cog/chainring sizes during the race if you want to be considered as a true SS finisher. That's apparently how the original GDR interpretation was, and it has set the precedent.

Personally, I think SS on that route would be pure hell.

[Foster]

You forgot the added durability of a single-cog setup. In the clay mud, you'd potentially be able to ride much more than anyone with a derailleur without risking having the derailleur sucked into the spokes for whatever mysterious reason that happens in bad mud. That was one of the main reasons we went with a single cog on the tandem this past year.

Also, you technically can't change cog/chainring sizes during the race if you want to be considered as a true SS finisher. That's apparently how the original GDR interpretation was, and it has set the precedent.

Personally, I think SS on that route would be pure hell.

Where did you get you internal gearing setup from?  I don't know much about it but it sounds reliable.  Curious if I could go that route for this next year.

[kcampagna]

Eric-

I was planning on riding the 2013 TD on a SS since thats what usually race but after thinking more and more about it, Im not 100% sure just yet. I agree with what Kurt said and I have been thinking a lot about the Internal Gear idea, the only issue is price. (rohloff)    Looking forward to hearing more about this topic.   

[phil_rad]

All the arguments against single are true, no doubt about it but.....If single speeding is what you do and love then I think it's the right choice. If it's because of the maintenance thing then I'd seriously think of getting a Rohloff Speed Hub. That way you have the best of both worlds. Only downside is that the things are freaking expensive but well worth it.

[the tortoise]

I rode with two guys who had Rohloff hubs. Both had shifting issues with them and one running a belt broke his and could not find a replacement.
For me, one chain, one cassette same front rings and same shifters the whole way. Had cables and housings replaced in Butte. I broke the front cable with two days to go. Rigged it so I was in middle ring. Stupid me, left my spare cables at home and never thought to buy new ones along the way!
My shifting certainly was not flawless the whole way, but it worked.
Single speeders are a tough lot though. Certainly takes an already challenging ride to a whole new level!

[febikes]

I rode with two guys who had Rohloff hubs. Both had shifting issues with them and one running a belt broke his and could not find a replacement.

I like single speeding and think it was fine on the TDR route.  I did not finish but I don't really think the single speed had that much to do with my bio-mechanical issues.

Single speed is nice but it is not the fastest way to travel.  Give it a try and decide if you like it.  I don't personally think the durability issue is a big factor because running seven or eight speed with a cheap derailleur would also be plenty reliable and get the job done just fine.  Basically decide the type of riding you like and go with that style.  For me I just personally find that I like riding single speed far more then geared bikes.

Don't be oversold on the durability of single speed.  You can get an eight speed shifting system very cheap and if you do damage it you can convert to single speed along the side of the trail provided your frame has sliders.

[Foster]

Rohloff Speed Hubs are sooo freaking pricy.  That is definitely off the list for me

[febikes]

For ultra racing I was surprised in how many people run top of the line 10 speed systems.  My guess is that after the third day the people with cheapo eight speed setups have better shifting performance.

Eight speed grip shift style systems are cheap and allow you to run a stronger chain vs. the newer nine or ten speed systems.  For TDR with gears you could run 3x8 with a 11x34 cassette and if you really stressed about durability put an extra rear derailleur in your bag.  If your frame has sliders you can convert a geared bike to single speed trail side as well to get to the next town.  Eight speed parts will be available in most towns.  The grip shift style tends to be much more durable then the push button style of shifter as well.

[aaron w]

I'm not a singlespeeder so I'm not sure if this is an appropriate spot for my comments, but I can speak to the durability of a 10 speed setup.  I ran a shimano xt 3x10.  Before the race I put on all new rings, cassette, and chain.  I ran full cable housing and my shifting was absolutely flawless for the entire race. 

When I got to steamboat the shop told me my drivetrain was "shot" and should be replaced.  Why replace something that works perfectly?

To this day I am still running the exact same drivetrain that took me through the TD and I've put a ton more miles on it...just added 100 more miles yesterday!  Come to think of it I just switched out the front tire before my ride yesterday.  That Geax Saguarro had way over 4000 miles on it!

Maybe I've just been lucky but personally I'm seeing no durability issues with my 10 speed setup.  Yes, when it finally fails I'll have to replace everything, but I think even folks switching chains mid race still end up with an entire drivetrain that needs replacement.