new bicycle! \o/

[Sable]

New bike!


My east bike was a specialized Lancaster 06 . I rode it solidly for 4 - 5 years commuting, did about 50-60k mile on her total.
had her stolen

https://cdn.bikechatforums.com/files/img_20120801_075108.jpg

never bonded with any bikes after. I did all weathers on her, I was never going to bond with a new bike like I had with the langster right?

so is topped riding bikes and used motorbikes for a few years. I recently realised how unfit I was compared to what I used to be, so with a budget of £300 went bike hunting.

found wiggle had a foffa sale on so got this :

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3707/13246657735_c9db1f75e2_o.jpg

£315

weighs about 10kg, steel frame, feels fine to ride, basic solid feeling build. only complaint is the saddle which feel like its made of stone, but my arse hasn't been on a saddle in 2 years, and most bikes seem to have bad saddles off the peg

its never gonna replace my langster, but happy to be on 2 wheeels again

[Robster]

How do you get on with just one gear? They seem to be in fashion now, I would imagine it being slightly difficult going up hills and the like... ?

Saying that, my other thread regarding the woes of cassette/free-wheels made out of cheese make it a tempting proposition

[Rigga]

As above, what made you go for single speed? Never tried one personally.
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Current bike: Honda CBR 1100xx

[Sable]

Originally got the langster because the man in the shop was a good salesman really.

The reasons I stuck with singles for a new bike :

1. London's constant stop start meant when I've burrowed geared bikes I've always ended up using 2-4 gears and that's it.

2. weight is nice, means I can carry it up stairs or even home if I get caught out without batting an eyelid.

3. simplicity. on the langster nothing went wrong. I didn't change anything on it until 40k mile except tyres and a chain. at 40k I changed wheels, hub, sprockets, and had no issues till it was stolen. there is just nothing to go wrong with a single speed.

[TheBikerStig]

No offense but that new bike is UGLY! The specialised one looks kick ass! I would definitely have got something similar.
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I am usually naked when posting to this forum.

[stinkwheel]

How you finding the flipped and cropped bars as compared to the drops? I'd imagine they help with climbing?
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Monkeypony]

Nice!

Is that fixed or free hub? I keep meaning to treat myself to a fixie. Superb for training with
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Current bike - 2018 H2-SX, 2004 SV1000s, 2016 Aprilia RSV4 RF, 2017 Sherco SERF 300, 2003 Suzuki DRZ400 (stolen - AY53 JUU)

[drbaig]

I'd get a single speed only for a the fact that they are very very light. 10kg fixie I cant get behind.
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yzf 600r

[ice.shark]

I have some experience with single speeds. I've riden various kinds of bikes - shaft, carbon belt, with derailleur, with internal hub and with no gears. I got a fixie just before this craze started. I immediately put fenders on it and you should too - don't be a fool.

Single speed bikes are amazing but they are not for every route/situation.

What I like about single speed (which might/might not be fixed - mine is fixed):
* Simplicity. I service my bike in my yard and a complete service can take 30 minutes. Simplicity in operation too.
* Efficiency. The mechanism is more efficient than derailleur and I would say you can feel the difference.
* Less weight. Gearing on a bike is quite heavy if you measure the weight. It's all steel and there are qutie a few components if you think about it.
* No gears to mess about with. Just ride. You don't have to constantly think which gear you're in and weather you need to shift up/down. You're not screwed if you don't manage to shift down before you stop at a traffic light.
* Less chance to go wrong. Geared bikes need to be maintained and adjusted once a month. Otherwise you start getting problems which make your journey dangerous, annoying and eventually impossible. Who hasn't had a chain pop out on them of the gears? Who hasn't had their gears not shifting properly?

I'd really like to stress how enjoyable it is to not have to mess about with gears. A single speed bike is capable of reaching very high speeds with just that single gear. If you ride fixed there's also a bit of a better feel for the road surface.

Hills are not a problem as long as they are only a few on your path. But I find that with over hilly terrain other things come into play too (e.g. brakes, frame geometry, riding position).

Therefore, single speed bikes are the perfect bike if you're cycling in a town/city where you have loads of stop/go traffic. They are amazing there. No really, if you had one you'd think why would you want gears - they just get in the way. You can't use them in a city anyway.

OK so the disadvantage: they are not suitable for long, straight sections where you're likely to be going at a constant speed. Well, this is not immediately apparent but if you are commutting, after some time, while riding on one of those long straight sections you will most likely think "Gee if only I could shift up". So if you're commuting 30 miles and 25 miles are on a long stretch I wouldn't get a single speed as it will be harder to maintain a higher constant speed.

EDIT1: I wouldn't go touring on a single speed unless you've got serious leg muscles but even then...As soon as you hit a hilly section you will wish you had gears and it is likely after a while you will start getting muscle cramps. Once that happens you'll have to take frequent breaks. Also going downhill with a fixed single speed bike is dangerous and nerving due to the fact that you have to move your legs along with the pedals and as soon as speeds get a bit higher (like on a downhill) you will become very unstable (need to move legs faster and faster and you're going faster and faster). So on a downhill you'll have to stay hard on the brakes to maintain a low and comfortable speed. But of course after you've gone down, you'll eventually have to go up and all the kinetic energy you just killed with the brakes will have to come out of your legs. This is solved by using a freewheel at the back so not too great of an issue but worth mentioning.

There is a mixture of geared/single...well it really is geared. It lookes like a single speed bike but the rear hub has 3 gears. Now, some of you might think that 3 gears is too little. I bought a rear hub with 8 gears (shimano alpine or whatever it was called) which if I remember correctly at the time cost me £300 or so and I immediately wished that I had less gears. You simply don't need 8! At most you need 5 but 3 is better. What matters is the ratios.

BTW, pardon my terrible grammar and typos above - my brain is focused on another matter atm.

[Sable]

[stinkwheel]

[mudcow007]

have you got a flip flop on your new bike?

i have being toying with idea of setting up a fixie/ ss on my old royal enfield frame ive got

but i reckon i would miss gears to much

nice ride though

[Fladdem]

Cool, I built up a fixie, just before everyone got one.

I don't ride it anymore, my legs can't take it. I have worn the cartilage away behind my knee caps. I'M ONLY 19!!!! The back-pedalling did them in, I reckon. The sudden stopping of the momentum.

I like single speeds, like someone else said, they're simple. Like someone else also said, I like Sturmey Archer 3 speed hubs too. Once you get your noggin around how they work, just like an automatic gearbox, they're fairly easy to service too.

I used ride a single-speed MTB to commute on. It's not really a single speed, I bust the derailleurs so just stuck it in the middle chainring and middle sprocket. I ditched the front derailleur and used to use a second derailleur off a little kids bike as a tensioner. It's gone back to gears now.

I like the drops on my old Phillips Phasor, but I never actually use them. I tend to use the section parallel to the floor but at the top. So some bull-horns would suit me fairly well. I saw a bloke on an old bike the other day, he had got some sit up and beg handlebars, flipped them round and turned them upside down, sort of like funny looking drop bars.
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Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

[handbasket]

[Sable]

The frame on this bike is OK. After a few months I can say with absolute certainty everything else is rubbish. The tyres haven't held air in them for a week since I got it. Changed inner tubes which ate themselves on the rims? The pedals and crank haven't broken but they feel utterly rubbish after long commutes. Nothing spectacular has gone wrong but the only thing worth keeping on it is the frame. I should have sent it back within the first month but life's been awfully busy this last few months and I just kept forgetting to deal with it and return it.

Don't buy a foffa. At least not first hand or without a big discount.