Single Speed for TD

[THE LONG RANGER]

  Making a chart of the pros and cons I feel is the wrong approach.

Indeed. I spent about 3 seconds on the gear ratio. The conversation with my bike wrench went like this:

"32 x 19 sound good?"

"Yup."

Boom. Done. Time to ride bikes

Commit, and you'll find +'s and -'s to whatever and you'll adapt. If there is (ha!) a next time, maybe I'd gear a little higher, nothing *crazy*, but I'd do so, knowing I could push it.

Stop thinking so much!

[sthig]

Justin,

Going with this gear is sort of the boom. done. for me.  I was riding an easy gear before but am switching up to handle the flats...

...I'll be hiking a bike at times

[Pussywhipped]

I'm thinking about TD13 nobo on my Pugsley s/s geared 32-18. Havent committed yet. Need to see how strong i am in may.

Is 32-18 too spinny for the flats? I hate the hike a bike and want to be able to cruise up the railroad grades and steeper climbs. the pugs is a heavy bitch. Am I crazy?

I've been talking to C$ about it And he rocked a spinny gear for the majority of the ride last year. he's saying he'd go 33-27 if he went s/s this year. that dude has some patience in the flats! Maybe I'll go to 33 or 34 tooth chain ring.

I've got a tensioner and a front wheel set with a freewheel and a 20 tooth cog if I can't handle the hills. But I'd rather hike a bike then cruise at 12mph on the pavement.  And don't want to disqualify from the SMS category for 2 teeth.

I'd also probably hook up the surly black floyd 3.8s 120 tip for less rolling resistance. Hopefully they will handle the techy sections ok. Anyone have experience on this tire? Gonna go tubeless on them.

This guy has figured it out:

http://gypsybytrade.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/tubeless-moonlander/

I live and ride in Santa fe and Taos at 7000-8500 ft elevation. Hopefully that gives me an equal playing field with you sea level dudes on Ti bikes and no altitude acclimation. Grew up in Santa fe at 7500 ft so I'm pretty used to low oxygen scenarios and little water.

I've also got mechanicals disc brakes. I hate hydraulic brake maintenance and failures! The idea is for a low tech beast. Change the chain in the steamboat and rotate the tires and grease her up every morning and should be all the maintenance I need.

Will I be creating a Fatbike s/s category? There is no standing record for this yet that I know of. Am I fuckin crazy for rocking a steel fattie sans gears? Probably!

-Nick Wills

[Pussywhipped]

Aero bars on a fattie is gonna look hilarious btw

[gearsconfuseme]

I rarely post on here but do a lot of creeping. Being a single speed kinda of guy, thought I'd chime in.. As a general for gearing I'd say anywhere from about 52 to 50 inches would work for most. It is interesting to see huge difference between Jefe's 33x19 gearing and chris's 32x17 gearing. While Jefe had more detours one would think that he would have come very close, if not beat it, chris's record. I'd probably run a 32x18 or something very close. Either way the flats will suck mucho. If you're too worried about the flats, just run gears.

[THE LONG RANGER]

I'm thinking about TD13 nobo on my Pugsley s/s geared 32-18. Havent committed yet. Need to see how strong i am in may.

Is 32-18 too spinny for the flats? I hate the hike a bike and want to be able to cruise up the railroad grades and steeper climbs. the pugs is a heavy bitch. Am I crazy?

Nick, there was a challenger last year that had a fatty setup up front  - custom frame and everything. It looked really interesting to me and I think it worked well in the Flathead, but I lost track of him, after Butts. I do think he pulled out, not long after. He was familiar with a good portion of the course.

I'd be interested in hearing what you think of the fat bike tire's durability for such a long ride. If you make it to Idaho, I think your rig would be everyone's envy on the rail-trail. You may even have some fun!

I say, leave in March from the Southern Terminus on that Fatbike. See if you can't make the first winter/spring finish!

[BigPoppa]

Do you single speed guys get through the whole route with one chain and one set of cogs?

[THE LONG RANGER]

Do you single speed guys get through the whole route with one chain and one set of cogs?

For me: Yes. SRAM PC-1 chain, Surly Stainless Steel ring/cog. The Surly-brand chain tensioner: never again.

[BigPoppa]

I am going to go with a rholoff in 2014. I'm wondering if I'll be able to do it with one chain and gears or if I should think about shipping extras to a few post offices just in case....

[febikes]

I am going to go with a rholoff in 2014. I'm wondering if I'll be able to do it with one chain and gears or if I should think about shipping extras to a few post offices just in case....

Plenty of bike shops on route.

I got sick of chain wear and once bashed my knee when I snapped a chain.  I now do most of my riding with this....


I did not have the monster chain for TDR last year but the idea was rolling around in my head.  A friend of mine made it for me late last year.

That said it is not really "race" equipment but it's perfect when you want a bike that you can ride every day with zero maintenance.  In truth it is not light but I like it for my training/commuting bike because it rides nice and I almost never maintain the every day bike.  For TDR, I would recommend a KMC eight speed but in truth you can get by with just about anything.

In terms of gearing I ran 36x20 and it was about right.  The TDR route is not really single speed friendly because of the long flat roads.  I ran into body issues that were not really related to the gearing and while I had fun I might consider going geared if I ever return.  I don't actually ride or even own a geared bike right now so I am mixed on the idea of geared riding.

[pickupel]

I am going to go with a rholoff in 2014. I'm wondering if I'll be able to do it with one chain and gears or if I should think about shipping extras to a few post offices just in case....

I'm going with a Rohloff for 2013 and I think at most I'll have to change a chain. With the exception of the 13t all the Rohloff cogs are reversible, so when you wear one side out you can flip it and start again. I know a guy who has managed ~10,000 miles on a Rohloff cog before replacing it — that was when using it for road riding, so without the added abrasion of mud and muck that off-road riding brings. I plan on using a cheap and cheerful SRAM PC-1 chain — in my experience one chain is as good as another with the Rohloff and a cheap chain won't be a pain to replace.

For the TD I can't see a better solution than an IGH, it provides a huge range of gears with the simplicity of a single-speed. Other than regular lubrication and a new chain the setup should be just about maintenance free. The hub may be pricey, but compared to the cost of replacing an entire 10 speed drive chain after the race it doesn't seem so bad.

[ascar_larkinyar]

Plenty of bike shops on route.

I got sick of chain wear and once bashed my knee when I snapped a chain.  I now do most of my riding with this....


I did not have the monster chain for TDR last year but the idea was rolling around in my head.  A friend of mine made it for me late last year.

That said it is not really "race" equipment but it's perfect when you want a bike that you can ride every day with zero maintenance.  In truth it is not light but I like it for my training/commuting bike because it rides nice and I almost never maintain the every day bike.  For TDR, I would recommend a KMC eight speed but in truth you can get by with just about anything.

In terms of gearing I ran 36x20 and it was about right.  The TDR route is not really single speed friendly because of the long flat roads.  I ran into body issues that were not really related to the gearing and while I had fun I might consider going geared if I ever return.  I don't actually ride or even own a geared bike right now so I am mixed on the idea of geared riding.

where does your chain break?

i was breaking chains on my SS(doing chain maint. constantly) until i went to a nickle chain.  no more problems.  i change them out every year or when they get 1/8" longer.  checking length is crucial.

[febikes]

where does your chain break?

Almost any chain will crack at the link joints after enough abuse.

i change them out every year or when they get 1/8" longer.  checking length is crucial.

I am pretty sure checking my moto chain length on a periodic basis is not crucial

Normal chains works fine but and regular checking is only a tiny bit annoying.  Don't get me wrong; I think the moto chain is stupid heavy and a bit silly but it was a fun solution in search of a problem.  In a real sense chains are cheap enough and checking plus replacing them when they wear works fine but sometimes I like to over do things.  The chain idea started as a what if but after riding it it never fails to put a smile on my face and my bike is still only like 26 pounds so I keep using it as my go to semi-joke solution.

For TDR, my proper chain advice would be to start with a new eight speed Shimano or KMC chain and then replace around the half way point plus carry a few links.  That said if you do ride a lot and have access to a good mill with a rotery table I highly recommend the moto solution if just for the the comedy of it.

[sthig]

For me: Yes. SRAM PC-1 chain, Surly Stainless Steel ring/cog. The Surly-brand chain tensioner: never again.

why not for the surly-brand chain tensioner?

[sthig]

Also, I took the 46x22 for a maiden voyage yesterday and did some pretty steep climbs as well as long flats.  It performed well and I found myself only spinning out a bit.  I really love SS and maybe I'll get a tour divide ass kicking for doing it, but I'm going to do it and "rung what I brung"

on the flats I could top out at 17-19mph depending, sometimes 20.

[THE LONG RANGER]

why not for the surly-brand chain tensioner?

I'm generally a big fan of Surly: their bikes are no-nonsense, practical, burly, etc. I've own 3 framesets, many wheels built with their hubs and random parts here and there. My Crosscheck has toured 9 countries, before finally cracking, at the seatstay - actually from doing a mini-tour, practicing for my last TD. Happily, the replacement frame is going strong.

Their chain tensioner really leaves things to be desired. One of the pluses of the design is that you can run it two ways, either with the spring tension applying pressure down, like a regular derailer, or applying pressure up - up seems to be a better idea, looks nicer, etc. The problem is that the spring that comes with the tensioner is garbage - you'll easily break it simply by fumbling around with installation. If you look at any photos of my bike from 2012, you'll see that I've wrapped the arm of the tensioner with a small, velcro strap to keep well, "tension". This works.... alright, but makes working on the back wheel a little awkward, as you have to remove the strap (which is covered in dirt/mud/dirty muddy lube) and re-apply it, every time you want to service the wheel. Since I still have the part, I may look into finding a better spring to replace it with, and see if it gives more tension and becomes a lot more usable. Another plus of the tensioner may be that you can run things like a PC-1 chain, rather than requiring an 8spd, or 9spd chain.

I may have described this higher in the thread. Best thing to do would be to get a bike with sliding dropouts, if you wanna run SS on an MTB. My next foray into tensioners may well be a Paul Melvin, as it seems pretty flexible in what you can do with it. I'm trying to figure out myself what my next offroad bike build is going to be: the next project is going to need the type of gear flexibility you'd need on something like the Colorado Trail, yet needs to work on something that lasts as long as the Tour Divide, with even less shops around, and a whole lot more opportunities for people to nik my bike. Non-flashy, simple and non-standard may be the way to go (for me). And I break things.

[sthig]

I'll give you three guesses what was just outfitted on my bike because of a broken chain tensioner...

rhymes with Burly. 

ugh...

[bmike-vt]

the melvin is some good kit. i've seen the surly at the local shop, and wouldn't want to use it.
if you need a tensioner, for various reasons including 2x 3x etc. and SS setups, if the melvin fits, i think it is the best option out there.

[sthig]

for a race without an entry fee, this is anything but cheap - ha

[THE LONG RANGER]

I'll give you three guesses what was just outfitted on my bike because of a broken chain tensioner...

rhymes with Burly. 

ugh...

I'd be curious if your experience is the same as mine. I'd pack a small velcro strap in your kit, just in case.