What is it with single-speed mountain bikes? What’s the temptation, and why would you bother in the first place?
I mean isn’t that why the God of Bikes invented gears, so we could all make it to the top of the hill without having a heart attack?
Why would you want to go slower, as you inevitably must have to do both uphill and downhill? Surely there’s no advantage to having one other than wanting to be ridiculed by everyone else on the mountain?
Oh, so many questions and seemingly without any answers. And yet, despite the seeming oblivion that must await the single speed resurgence, more and more people seem to be switching on to the idea of single speed. Why?
Of course, I am already a convert. I rode a single-speed mountain bike throughout the 80s and through most of the 90s, but back then, no one ever batted an eyelid at me.
Now when I mention to my cycling buddies I’m thinking about building myself one again, they all look at me like I’ve just gone face down in the mud full on nuts crazy.
When I say, ‘but I owned one for years….’ They reply, ‘Your BMX wasn’t a mountain bike. It doesn’t matter you used to ride it like it was…’
‘F*ck off,’ I always say.
But they have a point. If single-speed gearing on a mountain bike was as good as its proponents said it was, and gears were not all that most people think they are, then more people would have them, wouldn’t they?
And yet, almost all of us learned how to ride our first bike with just one gear.
But aside from that, you know Single speeds actually have quite a lot going for them.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m firmly in the ‘everyone should own one of every type of bike, or more,’ category, depending on their situation.
That’s why I have a 29” mountain bike so I can keep up with my friends, and also my trusty 26” Kona Shred for when I go out on my own.
The point I’m trying to make here is the same point I always seem to be making, no matter what it is I’m writing about when it comes to bikes…The only thing that matters, is what you think. Nothing else matters.
Don’t listen to what you read on the forums, or hear from clueless Lycra-clad morons out on the trail. Just go with what you feel yourself.
And here’s the thing that really gets me. Why are people so surprised when they ride a single speed and find they actually like it?
Well, so here’s a light-hearted list of 28 reasons why single-speed mountain bikes are the best thing to have hit the mountain bike community since they invented gears…
- They are in vogue right now – Let’s start at the start. I should begin by saying I’ve never really understood the concept of things being ‘in vogue.’ Nor does anyone else, especially when it comes to mountain bikes.Things in the cycling world don’t really move at the same pace as fads do in other walks of life. Just google “26” vs 29”” and see what comes up.So I don’t know if the whole single-speed bandwagon has even really got started yet. But that said, more and more people are trying it so maybe there’s something to it…Of course, it could also be a revolution that’s already died out.
- It’s simple – Pedal and ride, and there’s no need to be mucking around with gears, wires, derailleurs, etc. Pedal and ride.There’s no need to worry about gear selection as you go into a tricky downhill section, you can just hammer in thinking about what’s coming at you instead.Not that worrying about your gears is that much of an issue anyway, but it’s only when it’s no longer a concern you realize how much time you spend thinking about shifting up and down the gears.
- Why does anyone need 36 gears anyway? – In truth, most people couldn’t tell the difference between 10 speeds and 50 speeds when riding in the first place.Yeah, I know, you can. Of course, you can.It’s everyone else we’re talking about here, especially the Sunday gearheads who spend their working week googling mountain bikes and only get out for a few hours on Sunday.
- It’s cheaper – Oh Hell yes, it’s cheaper. That’s especially if you can do it yourself. I was about to say that downgrading any mountain bike to a single speed is quite an easy task, relatively speaking, but that would be the wrong choice of word.Customize! That’s the word. Let’s start again. Customizing any mountain bike to a single speed is quite an easy task, and also quite cheap to do.
- It’s just you and the bike – And it can all get really Zen really quick. No tech, no nothing; just you, and the bike.
- You’ll have no choice but to be aggressive – There is none of this spinning bullshit to get around obstacles.
- It makes for a nicer light bike – Really? I don’t know, but that’s what all the single-speed mountain bike fanatics I know are saying.The smart zealots who build their own custom build do have this niggling tendency to leave their bikes with the option of reattaching or leaving their rear derailleurs on, just in case though.Even if they don’t, how much weight can be saved by removing a cassette in the first place…Well, that is the reason some people spend thousands on carbon bits and bobs for their bikes to save grams, and here’s some uppity maniac saving the weight for free…
- It’s a great way to build a mountain bike on a budget – I hear that. Several years ago, after I busted my nice expensive (for me, at the time $400 would have been a fortune.) Kona doing stupid stuff on the downhill, I couldn’t afford to replace it.Had I known that single-speed mountain bikes were a thing and that I could have built a better bike on my own, for next to nothing just by having a semi-decent frame, I would have done. I curse the internet for not really being a thing when I was young.
- Maintenance isn’t a hassle – The more stuff you have on a bike, the more tech. you cram on it, the more likely it is to break and the more time you’re going to spend tightening stuff and maintaining it.Get this: Single-speed mountain bikes have next to nothing to look after apart from a chain, and two cogs. It’s also really easy to see what’s gone wrong when it goes wrong. For someone like me, who likes the nice and easy path through life, it’s a bit of a no-brainer.
- Keeps life interesting – You’ve decided to try something new. Why not? Sometimes constantly shifting up and down gears and rising the same trails again and again, going down the same hills, pulling the same jumps can get boring, no matter how fast you get up there doing it.Let’s be honest, that’s what most of us do in any case: We get out there and we ride the same stuff again, and again, and again.Well, except for this guy I used to write for. It turns out he spends most of his time traveling Europe these days because he made an absolute killing by selling his website and associated businesses.For the last year or so, he’s been traveling around in a camper van with his bike strapped to the back just moving from trail to trail. I hate him. Not just because he gets all the girls, but because that is literally his life.
He’s ten years younger than me as well, goddammit. But the point I’m really trying to make is that most of us don’t have chiseled abs, all our own hair (men), and have to work for a living.
Therefore we ride the same stuff week in, and week out. By getting our hands on a single speed, every trail suddenly becomes new again. How you approach every corner, every rock garden, and every berm is a brand new experience. Try it.
- You’ll look like you know what you’re doing – Even if you don’t. That’s true. People will either think you’re crazy or really know what you’re at.Either of these options works for me.But in truth, this works really well. And if anyone questions your ability, you can just tell them, ‘I was after a new challenge, I’ve done everything else.’At this point, you should look out across the trail with a thousand-yard stare like you are remembering all the comrades you used to ride with who didn’t make it.
-
- You’ll be a much better mountain biker at the end of it – You have to be. Even if you’re not, you won’t be able to admit it to anyone.If you ever talk to anyone who has devoted themselves to the crazy world of single speed, they will swear blind they are a better rider because of it.There’s some truth to those statements of course. Because you have no gears to fall back on you will have to force your way through the more challenging sections of the trail and just deal with the pain afterward.Without a doubt, you will question the insanity that had you choosing a single speed at the time as you power your way up a hill, but you will feel stronger, fitter, and more developed as a rider afterward.
That’s because going uphill you will be standing the whole way up the hill, and having to rely on your skill and technique more. You will have to anticipate what is coming up ahead in a way you don’t have to on a geared bike.
- Beats walking – Of course it does. Anything beats walking, except golf. Golf never beats anything. It’s a terrible sport and should be made illegal everywhere.Of course one of the downsides of single speeds is that you may find yourself walking uphill a lot, especially near the end of the climb when your legs just give out.
- Because it is possible to get up a mountain with one gear – Honestly it is.
- It’s the greatest excuse, for everything – If you struggle with anything, you can just say: ‘Ahh, one gear.’ It works in any situation, even in a nightclub or while fishing.
- It looks special – There is something rather nice looking and elegant about a nice well-made single-speed mountain bike.There are no bits hanging off it, and the lack of shifters up on the handlebars or errant gear wires will give your bike a nice aesthetic overall feel.It may also make you look more like a pro. It might not though.
- Pain – Feel the pain. Pain is good. Expect the first few weeks of adjustment to a single speed to be absolute Hell. Going up hills will see you up on your feet the whole time.On the plus side, you can expect to burn a lot more fat.You will love the feeling of tired, exhausted muscles at the end of the day though. Feel the grind. But it will be quiet…
- You’ll be a much better mountain biker at the end of it – You have to be. Even if you’re not, you won’t be able to admit it to anyone.If you ever talk to anyone who has devoted themselves to the crazy world of single speed, they will swear blind they are a better rider because of it.There’s some truth to those statements of course. Because you have no gears to fall back on you will have to force your way through the more challenging sections of the trail and just deal with the pain afterward.Without a doubt, you will question the insanity that had you choosing a single speed at the time as you power your way up a hill, but you will feel stronger, fitter, and more developed as a rider afterward.
-
-
-
- Peace and quiet – Is there any worse sound than that of a slapping ticking annoying chain, or gears crunching when they shift? No there is not.That might be the single biggest thing you notice, after the pain in your legs.It can make a real change to notice the sound of your tires on the ground over and above everything else. It can almost make you feel kind of Zen-like…see above.
- Get on and go – This comes down again to the whole maintenance thing. Just get up and go. Pedal and ride. It can be really nice to just be able to get up and pedal away the moment you unhitch the bike from the back of the car. Pedal and go…See above.
- No choice but to push hard – Because if you don’t, you’ll be walking. To be honest, I sometimes prefer to push my bike up a mountain anyway rather than sit there and spin my way to the top case.
- Do as much workout in 1 hour… – …as you might in 3 on a geared bike. See above.
-
-
-
-
-
- No need to worry about the bike… – …or which part of your bike you’re going to rip to shreds. Because there’s very little to tear off the bike.If you wipe out, there’s more of a chance the bike will all still be there when you get back up.
- It makes you special – Isn’t that nice? Everyone should be special. Now you can be. It really feels like you’ve really accomplished something good when you manage to hard pedal your way to the crest of a bitch of a climb.People will respect you, albeit grudgingly if you manage to get to the top of a trail at a single speed.
- It’s like finally being able to ride a grown-up BMX – Could this be the real reason behind single-speed mountain bikes? Are the single speeders really just nostalgic for their childhood, for a simpler time when movies were good, and we all knew that Communism was the enemy?
- You have to ride it like it’s a BMX – There’s none of this going down the gears and spinning like a circus hamster all the way to the top.On a single speed, you get up on your pedals and you stand all the way to the top. You will use more energy, but you will be faster because of momentum, and you know that if you stop, you’re going to be pushing your bike all the way to the top.
-
-
-
-
- Your legs will get really, really strong – You will look like you work out constantly after just a few weeks. Of course, you won’t need to go to the gym ever when you ride a single speed, because you’ll be doing all your working out on the trail.All that side-to-side movement you generate up in your pedals will also give you a really good upper body workout too.
- It’s efficient – Well, obviously. Your chain doesn’t have to sneak its way around gear pulleys that are at an angle, so all the power you put in is transferred directly from your legs to the ground.The chain will also loop straight back around the rear cog so the force can also be applied directly to the wheel.
- Most people who own an FS MTB…. – …Will wear armor and probably have more money than knowledge in any case.Some of the best MTB riders I ever met, were the ones who rode SS. It’s a great leveler. Too many riders rely on their bikes to get them out of trouble, instead of relying on themselves.
-
44 thoughts on “28 Reasons Why A Single Speed Mountain Bike Is The Best Choice”
Hi Euan,
I’m wondering about the choice between single speed road bike and single speed mountain bike. Although I just use them on the road, however I’m liked the strong of mountain bike. I have read through your article and i know that i will choose which one. Thank you Euan. Very useful information.
Glad to hear you liked the article.
Hey. I’m so sorry I din’t see your comment before now…(Life etc)
I’m stoked you liked the article. Good luck with the ss mountain bike!
pls recommend a single speed bike. ive been thought about a single speed every time its cable changing and chain changing and gear changing season I need to go to a mechanic to install the new parts and then return to him to re-adjust the shifter plus its expensive replacing all that. I live in the Philippines and ive been to shops and they don’t have single speed mtb’s here. I’m planning to buy one on line.
Hi Ibrahim, Im Jester living also from the Philippines. I have logged over 1,500 kilometers on my single speed 27.5 which I built with parts from different shops here in our city. You would never have a problem building since bike shops can help you build one just choose the frame and you are on your way. Thanks also to Euan, this article helped me a lot in my decision to be a single speed biker and I’m sticking with it. I live in Lipa City an elevated area, everytime we go out to another town it is downhill and a struggle getting back especially in a single speed but I’m embracing it. In a single speed bike “the world will never be flat”.
Hello.
I also live in the Philippines. Taguig City. I’m about to build a commuter bike and I plan to have it setup as a single speed. Additional information, I will be fetching my son after class once I’m out of the office. And with that, I will be installing a heavy duty back rack to accommodate a bike seat for my son. Do you think a single speed setup is still a good choice? If yes, what do you think is the best gear ratio?
Brill article, I have a 29er ss as my one bike for everything.
It is the best bike I have ever had and love being out on the trial with it.
Nice. I also prefer single speed bikes myself. Makes things a lot less complicated and easy to maintain.
There is something just quite relaxing about the whole thing. For me the big thing is just the sheer simplicity of it. It’s just pedal and go. I have to be honest, I really struggle on the uphill, but that’s cool, because I also like walking. Gives me a chance to take in nature at a slower pace. (It’s nothing to do with the fact I’m overweight, and nowhere near as fit as I should be. Not even remotely.)
On the downhill though, I’ve never been faster through corners or technical sections in my life, you just barrel into them and barrel out. It’s like having a full sized BMX.
Great article. I’ve been riding SS mountain bike many years before i own a geared mtb. It’s simple and fun a life should be!
Great comment. It’s each to their own, and I hear you. Of course now its winter here in Ireland, days on the mountain are getting fewer and further in between, so I’ve taken to riding the dunes at the beach, and I need gears for that…but I hear you. Thanks for taking the time to say you liked the article. I really appreciate it.
Euan,
are there frames made specifically for single speed builds, or are the mostly conversions with a chain tensioner? if you know of any, can give me an example or a hint on what to search for
thanks
Thanks a lot for your comment. Must confess that I’m not 100% sure, but somebody told me that the head tube angle is different on specific single speed frame. Still lots of people are just converting geared bikes to make their own single speed mountain bikes, so I guess you can also use normal frames.
Bought me a Vitus Vee 29″ SS MTB last year because I couldn’t afford a good quality geared MTB. It’s a blast to ride and I’ve done some small trails on it too, great fun. I’ve ended up using it on my 5km commute as well and it’s the definition of an ‘Urban Attack Vehicle’. I’ve just upgrades the brakes to Shimano from the Vitus own brand ones that were on it and I’m determined to hit some of the local mountain trails on it and have some real fun.
Single speed is great. Truly awesome tool to learn how to carry momentum and get out of the saddle and just ride trails balls to the wall, and hell yes its cheaper and simpler.
I don’t understand all the overly aggressive and negative tone, though. For example, there at the end, bashing people who ride full suspension bikes… a lot of this stuff has to do with the type of trails you have access to. I live in Georgia and take my short travel hardtail to the Blue Ridge mountains and ride, and push it hard, because that’s what I’ve got and it is awesome. But if I lived in the Cascades or the Rockies or something… I’m pretty sure I’d be on harrowingly gnarly trails, and using a full suspension bike with… you guessed it… 9, 10, or even 11 gears, pushing it hard.
I guess if the elitist tough-guy tone gets you readers, keep it up, but hopefully you are kinder to the people sharing your trails.
hilarious article! I am also very exited about this idea of this functional simplicity. I have not currently any bike. My last one was stolen, it was 29″ mtb hard tail and i am looking for the replacement. I am thinking myself about one SS MTB from local bike shop. I want to have just one mtb. Do you think that it is good idea to go this direction even for the guy who is to be honest out of shape?
Hi,
Great article. I have been riding single speeds for decades. My bike is so worn and beat, that I need to replace it. The head tube has stretched to the point that the headset cannot be adjusted anymore.
Anyway, I cannot find a 26″, fully built single speed, anywhere. Can you provide some direction?
Thanks,
Brian Siebert
have a L/m on one u.k.steel mt bike at 19 lb for sale all like new ask $600.00 u.s with x stuff like smith bars, Venice fl. cheers joseph 9414934088
I use a ss road bike for years, i live in a hilly área, so i use 44×17. I just love it. I havê Also a touring bike with 27 gears. I havê already toured on my ss. It fees much better on ss. Why? I dont know, i just feel it.
I just got a road SS (soon to be a FG, just waiting on the 1/8″ chain) and it’s a blast to ride (more than my geared CX). I was thinking about building one for winter with a mountain bike frame (bigger tire clearance so more control in slippery conditions) but I can’t find any frames on the net. Would you be able to help me and point me to a company that makes frames suitable for SS with mountain bike geometry and tire clearance (29″ would be ideal as I intend to ride it on the road for my commute)
I had fracture in shaft of femur,left , one & a half year ago ,
Now I am recovered & have pretty good functioning legs with steel nail along but I can’t run vigorously
I want to know what is suitable for me , single speed mountain bike or geared bike to commute around the town ?
Thank you
epic article …. makes me want to go out and buy 5 SS kits for all my bikes
been riding mountain bikes for 29 years now……raced in the early days when nobody had suspension…….had my bikes set up to look fast, ie handlebars down low, seat up high…….crashed a lot ! a few years ago, I wore out the drive train on my trusty 07 specialized hard rock…….the bike shops advice of binning it and buying new as being too expensive to “repair” did not sit well, so I converted it to one gear. 36/15……..I HAVE NEVER ENJOYED CYCLING SO MUCH as on this bike ! for all the reasons in your article.
I have just now ditched the shagged out cheap sus forks for solid and wow, another step up in enjoyment ! The specialized hardrock is a great tool and base for converting. so cheap people are giving them away………..My wife got brainwashed by my constant praise for SS rides and wanted one herself……… A £33 specailized Rockhopper was bought on ebay (its 25 yers old) grubby but beautiful after a good clean up and conversion……….what a sweet looking ride that is now ! Our first ride out today and the wife is hooked too, “the best bike ride I’ve ever had” she said. It was her who found your great article. cheers for putting it out there, we both enjoyed the read :))
SS rock…………..nuff said
Thank you for talking about how having a mountain bike that only has one gear can make maintaining it a lot easier. It makes sense that making sure you understand how to keep your equipment going can help you avoid accidents when riding. I can see how making sure you find a good place to have fun can help you get the most out of your toys.
I tried single speed and can’t get into my geared bike anymore. The truth is SS is so much more efficient you end up faster. I ride mine rigid and once you get used to bending your elbows you won’t miss the suspension.
great article, thanks for sharing. my terrain of not rough. I am considering bike for commuting and burning belly fat. Which one will be better, especially for burning fat, city bike or mountain bike.
Howdy very nice site!! Guy .. Beaսtiful .. Wonderful ..
I’ll bookmak your ite and take the feeɗs also…I’m һappy to find a lott of helpfսⅼ information right hеre in the post, we’ɗ ⅼike develoр extra
strategies inn this regard, thanks for sharing.
Well, I used to stand on the bike… Until I killed my knees… And now I’m riding an ebike…
Hi great blog man, i really want to get my own ss mtb… I got a question? What size should i get a 27″ or 29″? Thanks for the reply….
I’d go 29. The bigger hoops roll over obstacles better and keep the momentum going better than smaller wheels IMO. You could go 27.5+ but you’re now going with heavier tires, whereas with 29, you can go with smaller treads and still have a larger contact patch for grip. Of, course plus size tires on 27.5 or 29 will allow you to ride a rigid fork with a little more comfort and will offset the weight penalty some. Either way, you’re going to love riding SS. I’m 52 and I’ve been riding SS for the past six years, and I can honestly say I will keep riding SS until I can no longer physically ride a bike.
A fixed gear will certainly change your riding style and also the routes you choose. The advantages of riding with gears is you are able to spin the pedals at a constant rate without having to rise up from your saddle too much. I ride a lot in my local pinewoods and I think that would be an ideal place to ride a fixed gear bike, the trail surface is hard and fast to ride with plenty of opportunities to to jump, I could imagine having a lot of fun with one, you got me thinking now. I was a little sceptical when I first arrived on this page, but now I’m thinking about converting my old Marin Pine Mountain into one.
I’m getting on in years now and over a lifetime have pushed a lot of different bikes, some great others…not so much!
Some years ago I inherited a Cannondale 1 fg (small)from my son (reverse inheritance) which he’d worn out by his reckoning.
Having kitted it out and tuned it to my preference I struggled with the eccentric bottom bracket and was finally reduced to handing it over to my local bike shop. Two days later it was good to go, the mechanic advising me he’d given it a test drive. ” that’s the most fun I’ve ever had on a bike” I was told and he was right.
No more mammoth off road expeditions these days but can throw camera on my back and head for the shore or surrounding woods and countryside and come home grinning ear to ear regardless of whether I took any shots or not.
Been mtb’n since 1984. MANY bikes owned (over 100 and I can say the best was a db carbon/steel wcf wonderbike)…then I did a SS on a 2nd gen soma b-side. HEY…3 years later my fs turner has sold, my lynskey Ti waits for the 4-8 times I go to pisgah a year, and the soma gets love every other day on the local singletrack.
nothing like a SS and it’s funny that I’m over 50 and pass the hepcats with FS on the climbs…because you have to keep that rhythm!
And they ask me how?
Because you have to man!
loved it mate …I luuuurve single speeds….
POWER with simplicity
cheers Corky
Because they’re simpler and have fewer parts, brand-new, complete single speeds can be bought relatively cheaply. Also, single speed bikes are very low maintenance because there aren’t as many moving parts compared to multispeed bicycles.
I’m probably insane for this, but I’m going off to college this year, and it will be surrounded by mountains with beautiful trails. I love nature and bike riding, and I want to be as in shape as I can be while I’m there, so I desperately want to ride the trails, but I have a real problem: my bike is a falling apart BMX. I’m spending this summer overhauling everything on it, but that won’t change the fact that it is a 20″ and built very cheaply. Should I go for it? I’m also thinking about maybe changing the gearing on it to something with higher mechanical advantage, is that a good idea? What kind of sprocket would be suitable?
Great to read your article I converted 5years ago and have not moved a shifter since,it’s the only way you can never blame your bike again it’s all down to you if your climbing it makes it easier rather then looking for another gear going up the block never satisfied with your choice ,so if your thinking of coming out just do it I promise you it will make you a better rider….
Also passing geared guys on a climb and the smug feeling iv dropped you with 1 gear ha ha
A frame with horizontal dropouts is ideal for singlespeeding, this takes care of chain tensioning, but they are rare. Also, get the gearing right, a tooth more, or less, at the wheel makes a big difference, and go fully rigid, but up the tyre sizes to compensate and ENJOY getting fitter and stronger..
Frankly, having just put together a singlespeed plus bike, I cannot remember the last time I had so freakin much fun on two wheels! With a collection of three plus bikes including a plus-squish, a hardtail geared and now a simple singlespeed with damn fun geometry, what a blast. Four seasons of riding takes place with these amazingly fun bikes.
So, running through back issues of articles and stumbling into this singlespeed mountainbike article was a joy! Thankya, Euan!!
try to modify a mtb single speed with a SRAM automatix 2 speed (diskbrake) and see what happens. I have done it with Surly Pugsley (26″ and 29″) and with Kona Unit (27,5″).
… and i never regreded it. but unfortunately SRAM stopped production, so you need unusual luck to find this great hubs somewhere…
For me, riding SS is just really fun. I also, ride an FS 12-speed bike, and a geared titanium 29er: both bikes are great. However, I tend to ride the SS more than the other two. Miles and terrain really don’t matter when it comes to choosing which bike to ride. There is just a pure connected feeling I get when I ride the SS. When I ride the SS, I usually find that I can ride further because it forces me to be more efficient, and I attack everything, I’m constantly passing everyone on the trail too. I’ll never stop riding SS.
I also have a bike and love to customized it everytime. Thanks for giving an idea on how to improved it. Kudos!
I agree with most of this output above.
Just did one of my bigger rides on a single speed mountain bike. It was 60 miles and 8,000′ of climbing. I started mtb riding in the 80’s and started dabbling in SS mtb around 2005.
I’ve always commuted to work by bike, with gears.
But a few months ago I took one of my 29’er SS bikes and put a 45/15 cog/chainring combination and tried riding it on my 8 mile commute. At first, I was meh, because it is slower. And I went back to the geared bike, and then something happened, I was annoyed with all the shifting. This was different than the mtb thing. Anyway, now I’m an SS commuter.
The geared commuter bike is going to get refresh, but it will definitely be going into back-up bike status.
In my situation, I don’t know many SS riders. I’ve converted my wife to part time SS riding, and it has made her stronger and more fun to be around.
As I see it, the real weight saving is in creating a good Body Mass Index for yourself. My single speed bikes, I have four of them, are not built to be light, just functional. Well one is light, but I don’t choose that one almost ever.
I don’t know, I may be just as consumed by the whole thing as anyone can be, yet I see a lot of riders who attach more to the activity in terms of fashion, tech trends, and image, which is superficial and a kind of nonsense that has more to do with wanting to signal prosperity more than actually riding.
rant over
I ride a fixed-gear road bike with a 46/16 drivetrain, have had it for years and won’t switch back to a geared bike. I’ve considered taking my Gary Fisher hardtail and rebuilding the rear wheel with an eccentric single-speed freewheel hub for a conversion.
The question I have: pulling through hills off-saddle on a fixie affords way more traction than off-road. Getting off the saddle on rough terrain (even with a Maxxis tire) gets me nowhere. Any advice on technique and gear ratio for a more successful climb?