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This is what you've been waiting for so get reading single speed freaks.

125 miles on a Fixed Gear Bicycle by Joe Sommers

One gear. No coasting. Day dream for one second and you're over the bars. With all the technology available in cycling today why would someone punish themselves with a single gear throwback to the 1890's? Why 125 miles on such a dinosaur? It's fun of course! As I wheeled to the start of the 200km Brevet hosted by the Potomac Peddlers in Warrenton, Virginia, my primitive velocipede began to attract the attention of the gathered masses. Double takes and open mouthed astonished glances were the order of the morning as I parked my steed and walked to the registration area. "Wow, you're going to ride that!?" was one of the comments I heard.

The ride begins with several miles of easy rolling hills, but I soon realize that this will be a supreme test of brute strength as the first out of the saddle quad burning ascent has me mentally reevaluating my early season goal. Finally at the top, I breath an uneasy sigh of relief as I realize I now get to descend this monster. Quickly the revs build as my unforgiving ride reminds me that it was designed before freewheeling technology was available. Half way down the hill as I peer into my rearview mirror, I notice the sinister form of an onrushing bike. Two helmets! A tandem busts by me at double nickels! With Mack truck swiftness it passes in a blur of water bottles, touring bags, and gleaming alloy, it's possessed pilot complete with demonic grin. You can only climb so fast I say to myself as I pass them on the next uphill grinder. After several miles of endless climbs and equally endless descents, I begin to make critical errors in cue sheet navigation. BLO RT. 608 TRO Such and Such Road at State Highway Blah Blah Blah...

God how I love my own cue sheets! This process of following directions written by another cyclist is just not for me as I make another wrong turn. "Where am I?" I begin sobbing as I pull to the roadside and unfold the brevet map that is plastered with Rt.611, Rt.612, Rt.715, Rt.751...Confusion and dyslexia reign as I slowly put the pieces of this puzzle together. If I make the next right and then the next left I should be back on course I reassure myself. Hmm...Yes...Eventually I am able to navigate to the second checkpoint, a restaurant. After signing in, refilling water bottles and eating a small mountain of mashed potatoes, I feel refreshed and start out on the second half of this epic journey. And that is where the real ride begins.

Ten miles or so of flat river riding leads to the foothills of Old Rag Mountain, a switchback adorned climb that has me turning the pedals over in the low 40 rpm range. One steep section of road after another with no chance to sit down and conserve energy. Just stay out of the saddle and work the bike. Not pretty but obviously pretty effective as I drop three geared riders near the top of the climb. Of course I am left in the dust as they drop into fashionable aerodynamic tucks and freewheel down the mountain. On the other end of the scale there's me, trying to descend in a controlled manner as un-aero as possible in an attempt to slow the mad eggbeater careen that my legs have become. At one point the road turns into a series of cartoon-like climbs. So steep (can you say three miles an hour boys and girls?) and repetitive I'm reminded of a five-hump camel. That wasn't so bad I delude myself as a cold begins to fall. For twenty miles I wrestle with the thought of stopping and pulling on knee and arm warmers and a light rain jacket. "I'll be OK" I mumble through chattering teeth. Finally! The last checkpoint. A Mom and Pop store in Backwater, Someplace. Twenty miles to ride the elderly owner informs me as I stuff two mouthfuls of peanut butter crackers into my gob. Draining a bottle of Gatorade, I come to the wise decision to pull some warm dry clothes over my soggy limbs. Much better, I set off to conquer the last miles. I'm always amazed how I can personally control the weather. Within five miles I'm back off the bike pulling my nice warm clothes off as the sun breaks through and the temperature climbs. Actually a good omen as I tackle Piney Mountain, the last big climb of the ride. Two miles of leg searing effort later I crest the monolith and cruise to the last turn. Fifteen minutes later I ride to the finish and am totally blown away by the support and congratulatory words of the riders who have finished ahead of me. I managed a respectable 16th out of 41 cyclists. Derailleurs are for failures? Not really. There are times when a few gears come in handy.

5 Guys and One Gear by Kevin Axt

Kevin runs the very cool Dragon Tongue SS site, so be sure to check it out when you're done reading his tale of crushing gearies at the 24 Hour Round the Clock.

Last year, I did my very first 24hr race as part of a single speed team. We raced the 24hrs Round the Clock at Spokane and came in fourth with 25 laps. We were competing against the gearies because there was no SS category.

So ... this year rolls around and I once again found myself at the Spokane race site with my SS teammates to race against the gearies. We had 2 new members and three returning "veterans" to make up the Dragon Tongue Single Speeds (motto: "draggin' tongue from riding HARD!"). We'd be competing in the 150-199 Open Age 5-person category. Would we do any better this year? Would I remember to wake up at 4am? Would my stomach rebel again after 4 laps? Only time would tell.

My teammates this year were Derk Thomson from Moses Lake (veteran), Phil Champoux from Yakima (veteran), Russ Staples from Yakima (newbie), and Andy Vosberg from Yakima (newbie). We all assembled on Saturday morning and set our riding order out. Andy would lead our team out on the run ... basically cause he's much younger and the sight of me waddling around the 600 yards would be too gruesome to bear.

We settled into our race rotation and tried to be as calm and relaxed as possible. Our team decided to do the standard 1 lap per member. Andy set the tone with a rockin' 49 minute combined lap. We were in the hunt for a medal position matching up pretty well with the other three teams in our division. One team, Go Dog Go, was a return from last years race where they finished 2nd. I was taking the 5th lap spot again but was much more relaxed than last year. I knew what to expect and was also running a newer & lighter bike. We almost made up a Kona team since all but one of us was running that type of frame. I was the only person, however, to be riding an SS conversion and also the only person to do the race full rigid.

I pulled out for my first lap around 4pm and headed for the hills. Last year, I had some trouble with some of the climbs in the latter stages of the race and wanted to do better this time. I spun up to the 1/2 mile climb and was surprised to see about 3-4 riders in front of me. See, I'd been passed by these people and had expected them to be long gone on Freeway. Anyway, I was catching up with some of them and eventually had to ride somebody's wheel up the last bit cause I didn't have the fire to make the pass over in the looser gravel. I got up to the top and spun out/coasted the Freeway Flats while catching my breath. My stomach had been feeling kinda full on the way up but nothing that I was really concerned about. Normal stuff I thought. About a mile down Freeway, that Revenge sports drink that I taken a couple sips of before I went out got it's revenge on me. RALPH! Yuck ... what a way to start the race. Despite that, I managed to make it much further on the Wicked Witch climb than I had last year and rolled in with a respectable 54 min lap.

I handed off the baton and went to get cleaned up. This year, I made a point of strolling around the campsites and seeing how everybody was set up. There was the BBTC (Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club out of Seattle ... my cycling club) women's and men's teams up in the "Quiet" tent area, the Sagebrush Slugs set up across the field from our site, Bicycle Butler with the full wet bar and Margaritaville right at the end of the start area, the Freeriders with their NASCARish viewing setup and the BBTC corporate teams. I spent a lot of time wandering between these during the race and cheering on Len Solo and all the other BBTCers when they'd come through on their laps.

We were right up there contesting for first place. Andy was running strong and fast laps with times in the low 40's and the rest of us were running strong mid 50's. I was kind of surprised at the consistency of my lap times. So far so good. The day wore on and as night fell, the lights had to be installed. I went out at just before 8pm (partial lights), had a full-on dark lap at midnight and one more partial at 4am. Good Golly, Miss Molly but that 4am lap was a hard one! I had laid down for about two hours but really didn't get any sleep. I must have really looked like death warmed over cause our volunteer was really surprised that I came in with the same times. The rains came back for awhile while I was laying down and I was listening to the patter on my tent, praying that it would stop, and hoping that my teammates weren't getting too wet out there. At least this year, we had a fire to stand around while we were waiting for our rider to come in and pass the baton.

Dawn slid up over the horizon while I was out on my fourth lap. Our team was about 10 minutes out of first place but still had an excellent shot. We were on a pace to beat our lap total from last year and it was looking really good for a podium spot as well. Our team was still smokin' and hungry. Andy decided to go out for a double lap for his 5th and 6th of the race. He pulled out a blistering 41 minute lap and followed that up with a 46. Simply awesome.

By the time we were getting closer to the finish of the race and my 5th lap, we decided to do a little strategy to maximize our lap total. Andy went out in front of me so we'd be assured of getting in one more lap after me. We were hoping to catch the team in front of us napping and sneak into first place cause we were about 25 minutes down on them. I managed to pull yet another 55 and handed off the baton to Derk at 11:35am. By this time, Go Dog Go had smelled out our attempt at misdirection and sent out a rider as well. We made them earn their spot though.

Final tally for the team was 28 laps! We finished just 30 minutes out of first. Second place finish for Team Dragon Tongue Single speeds! YAHOOTY! Medals and a bottle of Merlot for each of us.

I want to thank all of my teammates for their wonderful hard work; our team volunteer (Randy Vosberg) for the encouragement and support which allowed us to concentrate on racing; Team Dirt Slug for providing the comic relief during the race (carried around a blow-up slug with them for the whole race ... the baton was taped to the slug, which was handed off to each rider); Len Solo, Brett Wolff, David Blaine (also riding a SS) and all the crazies riding in the solo category for the inspiration; and last but not least all of my friends from the BBTC! You made the race for me.

The wine is for later ... now where's that brew?

Single Speed with a Single Pedal by Nic Cornell

One gear isn't challenging enough so I had to try Single Speeding with one pedal

One evening while out riding single track just after sunset on my Surly 1x1 I took a small one foot hit and landed with a metallic clunk that wasn't a normal sound, as well as a sudden drop of my foot straight to the ground that certainly wasn't normal. Quickly I surveyed the damage to find the last three threads of my crank were mashed where the pedal had sheered off. The Diagnosis: either the pedal had loosened itself off in the week and a half since it was installed or earlier in the day someone was trying to steal my pedal and didn't get it all the way off before I came waltzing along to collect my bike. The threads on the pedal looked to be fine but needless to say I didn't have a thread tap in my handy bag of gadgets and gizmos to realign the crank threads. So the only option I could see was: ride home with one pedal: oh well just another variation on the single speed simplicity bandwagon, I was game to give it a try.

Fact as I rode off down the path I remembered hearing about some people training by riding with only one foot clipped in, except I thought to myself as I struggled up a small hill: Other always have the option of clipping back in their other foot if they get really tired or are faced with a steep climb

Off I went down the trail and even managed to travel at a pretty good pace, I rode up several small inclines and eventually made it back to the pavement, I carried the bike up a long set of steps and out of the river valley and then rode back home through the city�s downtown. I�ll tell you one thing: the best part of it all was quite possibly the variety of interesting looks I got from people as I peddled along with one foot clipped in and the other balance on my top tube or resting inside the frame.

Next day when I rode the bike to the shop to have the crank retapped it just happened to be into a drasted 50km/hr headwind. Nearly at the end of my journey I was nearing a small hill that I figured I might have to walk up, but as I got closer to the hill some guy on a regular speed bike breezed by me on the flat then started climbing the hill. Given the opportunity for a small challenge I decided I would just have to pass him on the uphill and beat him to the top and so I did. Powering up the hill with only one leg doing all the work on a single speed, I passed this guy struggling along in his grannie gear, ha, ha, ha! I felt damn good and hardly resisted screaming and yelling with triumph until I got to the bike shop.

Keeping it real!

Worlds 2k+1 UK by Jon Wyatt (samuri)

Apologies to Jon and the Brits if any words were Americanized when spellcheck was run. What can we say, we're not that world wise.

Saturday

I arrived at Afan Argoed about 18:30 Saturday night. We'd slapped together some semblance of organization to actually give it a test run the night before the race. Rumors of emptying various pubs beer stocks and people riding enormous distances just to get to the venue still rang in my ears. I'd never hung out with single speeders in the real world before and was feeling slightly nervous about meeting these crazy people. I consider myself fairly normal as human beings go by the way, except for obviously, riding a stupid bike with one gear and occasionally drinking myself daft.

I drove to the car park, over the hay matting soaked in disinfectant (foot and mouth still rules our off road excursions) and approached the official looking parkie. I knew what he was going to ask so pre-empted his encrypted question.... 'One' I quipped, assuming he was going to ask me how many gears my bike had. He didn't really seem to care though and still wanted the �2.50 parking fee despite me proving I was a real single speeder. Still, all the money goes to funding the circuit at Afan Argoed in the South Welsh Brecon Beacons, money well spent in my opinion. The course being a mtb specific 10 mile (16 km) course built in extreme terrain.... ah well, you don't need me to tell you about it, look at Singletrack Mind for the info if you want.

I expected to be attacked by drunken Canadians and forced to drink an imperial gallon of Schlitz but as I parked up and readied my bike those who were moving around seemed quite friendly and fairly calm, some even said hello. One approached me, I knew who he was as we'd met over the internet, plus he's a famous MTB journalist or something. After a quick chat me and Mike met the others and after a some rigmarole we finally set off on the circuit.

This was sweet! Fire road climb through the trees, the wind had dropped, the sun was shining, amicable chat amongst the 6 or so riders, new people getting to know each other, old friends renewing acquaintances.

2 miles on.

This was HELL! Why are we still going uphill? Don't we go down yet? Why is that ridge blocking out the sunlight? With sweat pouring off my head and stinging my eyes, my lungs handling 90 litres of air every 3 seconds and my thighs trembling I lurched upwards after the others. They all looked fine and happy by the way, not one drop of sweat. After we'd passed the moon the trail began to level out and ,ah bless! It got flat! Then it went down. THIS was what I'd come for, beautifully sculptured downhill sections, roller coaster bumps, twisting singletrack. We chased each other over gravel until the end came way too soon. Luckily, after a short climb, it all began again. Hidden valley, superb! Well, you'd have to have ridden it to know what I was talking about but definitely the finest section of man made singletrack I have ever ridden, beautiful!

More climbs and more superb singletrack, the ,manufacturers done good. From this point on the ride was over far too quickly and before I knew it I was shaking hands with people and they'd all buggered off to drink some beer. So I did too.

We race tomorrow.

Sunday

It was very sunny. We arrived amidst much hustle. Lots of people riding bikes around. A scarily large number of fit serious looking blokes were to be seen. That's not right, no one told me there'd be people there who were fit....and had trained! How am I going to win now?

I took my son forward into the heart of the single speed village whilst I registered myself. A wise move? He seems fairly quiet ever since. Various sexes of various nationalities moved around in various states of undress. Some people just lay on the floor moaning quietly. I paid my money and received my bag of goodies. I chatted to some friends until it was time to get ready. The tension was ...errm... hardly there at all actually.

I donned my kit, grabbed the trusty steed kitted out as it was with brand new forks, front disk and my personal totem to the Welsh Mountains, a nice shiny 17 tooth cog, I was going to FLY up those mountains.

At the start line it became obvious no-one knew what to do, single speeders milled around like trapped sheep. Beer was drunk, pot was smoked......was this a race? Eventually Chipps managed to restore some order and 180 bikes were laid down at the line and the competition was almost underway.

Silence!!!

Ready! Chipps began chugging his beer... Steady! We could hear the last of the dregs swilling around in the can... Go!! Chipps necked the lot, raised the can and we were off!

The surge forward of 180 bodies at a slow walking pace...well, it had to be seen to be believed. Before we knew it we'd found our bikes, had mounted them and we were riding up that first climb. Setting off at somewhere in the middle of the bunch I first allowed my legs a few minutes to warm up and then started piling the pressure on. With a fair amount of good natured elbow barging the quicker riders, obviously including me, began moving through the field. As the climb lengthened and the gradient increased, my breathing began to falter. With each ragged breath I muttered a mantra quietly to spur me on:-

Inhale: 'Should have ridden...'
Exhale: 'thirty two eighteen'
Inhale: 'Should have ridden...'
Exhale: 'thirty two eighteen' ....

I was glad of the previous evening's practice session, I knew where the agony was going to end and the fun was going to begin. No stop at the top for a rest today, we began the first descent and my worst fears were founded. You see, when climbing the quick boys get to pass everyone since the trail is usually wide, on descending the trail is usually singletrack, no passing points! Great! Going downhill fast is one of my good things, not so the people in front of me. I got held up on the first section of singletrack and terrified that the same thing would happen on the next I sprinted like a nutter along the short fire road, tucked in behind a professional looking bloke. Left, right, jump, hop. We weaved in and out of the carefully placed boulders, I styled it up slightly on a few but had to watch the guy in front. He was getting seriously out of shape! Just as the decision to back off him a bit made it's slow path down my right arm, the dude lost his front wheel, straight over the bars, plowed into the ground HARD!

I winced and grabbed a handful, a big handful. I�d been too close.... I was going to hit him and WE WERE GOING TO DIE!!!!.

You know how these things slow time down? Right up on the front wheel I went, at the balance point, hit his bike, over the bars and flew over his head. I landed awkwardly on my feet twisting my ankle as I landed. OWWWW! Riders streamed past us, my one chance at single speed fame had been scuppered! I'd be too old next year. Damn!

At the first gap I remounted and sent off in pursuit, my ankle hurt, it was getting bigger. A group of us seemed to find our pace together and slogged our way round the rest of the course. The field was splitting up nicely now but my little band were slowly working their way back up the field.

Suddenly I was all alone, a rapid burst through a tight section had seen my followers blown away and a strong tail wind must have blown the people in front onwards somewhat. This is nice! It's like being out on a ride....except my ankles killing me and I'm knackered. As I reached the end of the first lap I began catching people again. We passed the marshalls at the new lap point and my son asked me if I was last, that caused a few giggles, because we were quite patently on our way to winning (little did we know that if we'd have been 15 minutes slower, the leaders would have lapped us by now on their second lap).

HELL! PURE HELL! The grind back up the initial climb just blew me away. So many people pushing, a few just sat in the grass, a few lying down....maybe dead? Comic relief was provided nicely by being passed by a guy in a bright yellow boiler suit screaming 'God-damn Single speeders!', he was riding one cog too, weird!

Finally the top of the hill crawled into view. I leapt on my bike and pedaled!, yes pedaled the last 100 metres to the top as if I'd come all the way like that. People drinking beer and smoking various types of leaves at the top was a nice touch.

Suddenly, life looked good again. The belt known as hay fever released my chest, my throat opened up to the width of an 8 lane highway, my legs were filled with iron! For the first time I really felt like I was on top form. There would be no one to hold me up on this lap, and indeed there was no one. I FLEW! Whipping past riders left and right my eyes bulged, the cords in my neck stood out like.... taut neck cords. My wheels barely touched the ground in the bumpy sections, surely they had down graded the hills since last time, they just weren't as steep. Obviously all this adrenaline fueled nonsense had to end somewhere and indeed it did. I saw the last big hill, I intended to climb it I really did, my legs just didn't know. I began to push....fast like. Caught three riders on the climb, cool.

The last mile or so was a mere formality, technical climbing singletrack through the trees led to an unorthodox finish line where all competitors were cheered over the line by a group of drunken spectators, nice! I'd staggered in 82nd which was a bit disappointing but then I remembered I hadn't bothered training or nothing so I perked up a bit.

After recovering the prizes were handed out, a winners mandatory tattoo was scheduled and then the real prizes were handed out. Fattest rider, skinniest rider, pimpiest bike, best male legs, the usual stuff, you know. On the 200+ mile drive home I reflected on just how good a time I'd had. My ankle hurt and I was covered in midge bites but I was happy.

I'll run 32:18 next year though.

Single Speed Project by Ed Welty

Why?

When I first read about the Single Speed movement, I scoffed. Why would anyone want to ride a bike with just ONE gear when we have the technology to have 27 GEARS? I mean, just read the message boards. Everyone wants to be on the bleeding edge of drivetrain parts. Sure, you have the Magura Cult, which is all about converting people into using Magura brake products, but the drivetrain is what gets the most attention. So why would people strip their bikes of the most expensive and technological parts? Why would gearheads just lose all sense and carve hundreds of dollars off their bikes?

Because its fun.

Everything I read about these Single Speed bikes made them seem like the coolest thing in the world. I had never read any group so passionate about anything before in my life. So I thought I would give it a try. My wife had just allowed me to buy a new aluminum mountain bike, so I had an old, red, steel, Specialized Rockhopper sitting around. I collected knowledge and parts all Winter so I could transform this "gearie" come Spring.

The Journey Begins

The first thing I noticed was the emergence of Single Speed parts. This is a subculture in its infancy, yet there are already several companies fabricating components that are Single Speed specific. From hubs, frames, cogs, crank sets to the entire frame, there are companies that have "jumped on the bandwagon." The first company I read about was SofaKing. These bikes are made at a shop in Little Rock, Arkansas called Chainwheel. I read a review of the SofaKing Cool bike in an issue of Dirt Rag Magazine. I didn't really get the entire "Single Speed" way of thought, so I thought their website would be a good place to start.

It started off by explaining the frame and introduced me to "horizontal dropouts." This is what the single speeder thrives. If a frame has horizontal dropouts, there is no need for a chain tensioner. I originally thought the reason this was important lied in the quest for minimal weight. While valid, the weight argument is low on the priority list for a single speeder. If there is not enough chain tension on a bike, the chain could get thrown while under stress. As we all know, throwing a chain is never a good thing, with any bike.

The article went on to explain why SofaKing bikes are superior, but I just wanted to know more about the conversion of a gearie into a single speed. A quick jaunt over to the MTBR.com website led me to the message boards.

Faceless Friends are One Click Away

A wealth of information can be had by reading any board on the MTBR.com site. However, I found the Single Speed board to be the best place to go if you ever have questions about anything. Those who frequent this board are very knowledgeable about all aspects of cycling, whether it be mountain biking, trials, road cycling, BMX, and even unicycling. Not only do these riders have vast knowledge on the subject, they are also very personable. I guess as personable as a computer can let you display. They answer any question you might have, aren't condescending (mostly), and give you other resources to check. They are also very into the culture of biking.

While other cycling message boards are just chatter, this message board actually brings people together. Races are discussed, rides are planned, and anyone is welcome. Often times there are post-race discussions congratulating riders, offering advice for the next race, lending support to those who didn't do as well as planned, and the obligatory story of passing a gearie on a hill, much to the gearie's dismay. There truly is a culture here. And this culture doesn't discriminate. You can be a gearie, fixed gear rider, free rider, road rider, BMX punk, heck, you can even ride one of those scooters and you won't be insulted. The only time there are negative posts on this board they address one of three things: rants about inconsiderate trail riders, rants about poor components/customer service, or someone attempting to slam single speeding, the latter being the only material subjected to snarls from the regulars.

After reading for several days and finally feeling comfortable, I posted a query about how to go about constructing a single speed. I was given several sites to consider, and wished well in my endeavor.

Seek and Ye Shall Find

Sheldon Brown, who runs sheldonbrown.com, has to be THE authority when it comes to human powered vehicles. This guy knows everything about everything when it comes to velos. Sheldon has an extensive page dedicated to the construction/conversion of single speed and fixed geared bikes. I found his site to be the definitive single speed conversion resource. He even carries all sorts of single speed components. sheldonbrown.com is your one-stop-shop for all things single speed.

A yahoo.com search pulled a few resources for single speeding. Any of the following can help you out. I found BBP's Single Speed Mountain Bike Page site to be particularly helpful. The newly-created Single Speed Outlaw has many articles and links.

And You Thought This New Bike would be Free?

Purchasing parts for a single speed is getting easier and easier as the days go by. I started with a chain tensioner. Because my Rockhopper has vertical dropouts I knew I would need a chain tensioner. There are several sites that go into length about constructing a chain tensioner out of an old rear derailleur. While I like to dream of myself as a MacGyver, I am also a realist. A DIY chain tensioner seemed a bit risky for me.

After reading reviews and seeing what most people used, I went with a Surly Singleator. It seemed to be the standard in a sect of the cycling world where there are no true standards.

I knew I needed a new bottom bracket and crankset. The setup I had was six years old and was crying for replacement. I wanted to try the new splined products out there. They seemed to be a very promising innovation in drivetrains. I did some research and decided on the Shimano splined Deore LX.

Then I did some more research.

Turned out there is a reason so many people hate Shimano. For those who don't know, Shimano has a tendency to invent/produce products that can only be used in conjunction with other Shimano parts. This goes against what I was starting to realize while doing this conversion: you should be free to do whatever you want while you bike, as long as you aren't hurting someone/thing else. This means if I want to run a Shimano LX Hollowtech Crank with a Truvativ Bottom Bracket, I should have that option. Shimano believes that they have the best products, and you should buy everything Shimano produces to keep all your components happy.

I asked the MTBR.com crowd if the Shimano spline system was compatible with the Truvativ bottom brackets and found out no, they aren't. Every other component manufacturer use the International Spline Interface Standard, ISIS for short, of splined drivetrain parts. I could get the LX Hollowtech cranks if I wanted, but then I needed to get Shimano's ES-70 bottom bracket. Not a problem if Shimano didn't have another nasty practice. Shimano likes to change what they consider "standard" every two or three years. If my bottom bracket or crankset failed in three years I might have problems finding a replacement. I would then need to purchase not only a "new style" replacement part, but whatever didn't fail would need to be replaced as well.

This is when I found Webcyclery.com. I posted a question on MTBR.com about crank length. 180mm is the crank length sought out by single speeders. It lends more torque and leverage than the shorter, more common 175mm crank arms. I posted asking where I could find 180mm crank arms. I was directed to webcyclery.com. I went to the website, but it didn't denote if they were 175 or 180. I asked Kevin what size they were and he told me. I half jokingly asked if he could get me a deal on the 180mm Truvativ Stylo Single Speed specific crankset and the Truvativ SL bottom bracket. He responded that they didn't have any 180's in, but the expected a shipment in two days. Two days went by and I got another email stating the shipment came in, but they were all 175's, not 180's. He said he would cut me a deal on 175's and the SL bottom bracket. I told him I would buy them if I got free shipping. He said, "Deal!" and I was set. He even tracked down the correct BB tool for me and threw it in with a discount. The only reason I feel used by Kevin is that webcyclery offers free shipping on everything, and I thought I was getting a deal plus free shipping. He cut me a great deal nonetheless.

I could have purchased a single speed specific rear wheel, but I am on somewhat of a budget. Plus, the wife would have my head on a platter. So tripped down to a local bike shop and bought some cassette spacers. Supposedly you can get these for free at some shops, but I am accustomed to web purchasing. I was charged for the spacers.

I also purchased an SRAM PC58 chain with Powerlink This would be the first time I would ever put a chain on a bike and I had read the SRAM chains were the best, most user-friendly chains out there. Might as well give them a try. I was planning one breaking my cassette and using the 16 tooth gear, but more on that later.

I had to get some tools for this conversion. Chain whip, chain breaker, cassette lockring tool, crank puller, and 2 different BB tools. Not too bad considering I plan on using these tools again in the future.

I also picked up a cheap green Rock Shock, FSA Orbit headset, TOPO stem, TOPO Riser bars, yellow Yeti grips, Bontrager seatpost, red seatpost binder to replace my quick-release one, yellow Nashbar ergonomic seat, and my very first pair of Time ATAC pedals. None of these were needed, but I figured might as well really change this bike.

Break It Down, Now

After absorbing everything I could find on the web, the weather started getting warmer and the itch to work on the conversion got too much to take. I started with the front of the bike. I ripped out the old stock fork and headset and installed my first headset, fork, stem, and handlebars. Next came the brakes, seatpost binder, seatpost, and saddle. None of this had to be done to make the conversion, but I figured I would get some mechanical practice before delving into what really counted.

Now for the nitty gritty dirty deed of tearing apart the drive train. I started by breaking the chain with a chain tool. Next, off came the front derailleur, followed by the cranks. Taking the cranks off was much easier than I anticipated. I had read about people having difficulty getting Avilio cranks off the bottom brackets, and these hadn't been taken off since I purchased the bike in 1995. Next came bottom bracket. I had the tools, read about BB removal at the Park Tools website, and read about removal and installation in Zen and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance. This was much easier than I imagined. Just insert the tool and unscrew.

I had to clean and dry the threads and the cavity of the frame where the BB is housed It was a little greasy, but not nearly as bad as I thought it would. I followed the Truvativ instructions, put LocTite on the all threads and installed the cups and BB using the proper tool. This was slick. They went in with no problem. I checked the torque with a torque wrench I borrowed from my father-in-law. Next step was the crankset.

This proved to be harder than I thought. The non-drive side went on with no problem. Torqued up just fine. But the drive side was trouble. I lightly greased everything, as per instructions, but they crank arm just didn't want to mate with the splines of the BB. I resorted to taking a rubber mallet to get the crank started. As soon as the crank bolt would thread, I started to tighten it up. It was very stubborn, so I started over, thinking I might be cross-threaded. Nope, everything was on right. So I torqued away until I could get the crank on no more. About 4 mm of spline was visible between the BB and the chainring.

I posted on MTBR.com and they all said that there should be no spline visible. So I tried cranking away even more. I got it down to where there is almost no hint of a spline showing. The things wouldn't crank down any further, so I just called it good enough.

Line It Up!

The next step in the conversion was the trickiest. I need to bust up my old cassette and choose a gear. The "standard" in single speed is 32 teeth up front, 16 in the back. I had 32 up font, so I decided on the 16 tooth cog in the back. Took the back wheel off, wrapped the chainwhip around a cog, inserted the lockring tool, and went at it with a wrench. The lockring came unscrewed, the cassette slid off, and I got grease all over my hands.

I took the cassette to the back porch, along with a hammer and Phillips head screw driver. I placed the cassette smallest cog down, lined the screwdriver up on one of the pins holding everything together, and went at it like John Henry. Busting a cassettes takes time, endurance, and a beer. The pins were fine and dandy keeping everything together. They refused to budge. After about 10 minutes of playing whack-a-mole with this thing, I finally had it all broken down. The problem was that this cassette had a 15 tooth gear and an 18 tooth gear. I couldn't use the 15 tooth gear because it was fused with another, smaller gear. 18 It is, I said to myself.

I took all the spacer I had purchased, and the ones previously imprisoned by my cassettes, and slid them on to the hub. This was all guess work. I knew that the chain line had to be near perfectly straight, so I stacked nearly all the spacers on the inside of the hub. Slid on the cog, one more spacer, and locked it all down. Replaced the wheel in the dropout, and viola! Lined up!

These Chains That Bind Time for bed. It was late and I needed to rest. Big day at work tomorrow. So I turned in and dreamt of the completed bike. I was so close. Tomorrow felt like Christmas!

After work I got home and tackled the chain. Never set a chain to proper length, but It wasn't hard. Draped the chain over the chainring, around the rear cog, found which two links should join, broke the chain accordingly, and mated them with the Powerlink The Powerlink was harder to mate than I had imagined. So I decided I would see if it was difficult to separate. Five minutes later, with raw thumb and fingers, the damn this was finally separated. I quickly mated it again and went to work on the Singleator.

Time for the Singleator

The Surly Singleator mounts where the rear derailleur used to go. It comes with instruction for two different set ups: tension down and tension up. Tension up is the way to go, as it engages more teeth on the rear cog. However, with my setup, I needed to go with tension down. Plus, the Singleator ships with the internal spring set for tension down. Less hassle for me!

I screwed the Singleator in and then realized my mistake. The chain needs to go through the cage of the Singleator. So, with already raw hands, I broke undid the Powerlink, snaked the chain through the cage, and tried to mate the two ends of the chain. This was impossible with the wheel still on. I took the wheel off, giving me lots of slack in the chain to work with. Once the chain was mated, I installed the wheel. Threw my ATACs on the crank arms, installed the ATAC cleats on my shoes, and that was it! I was ready to go!

An Orthodontist's Dream

I took my converted bike outside, clipped in and out a few times to get the feel, then went for it. Everything was fine for a few seconds, then the chain skipped. Whenever I would put pressure on the cranks I could feel and hear the chain skip a tooth in the back. I couldn't pedal uphill the skipping was so bad. I dismounted, looked at the chain line. Chin line was right as rain. Then I looked at the teeth on the cog. Man, the teeth looked worse than Austin Powers'! They were cut into so bad they looked like shark fins. I was surprised I didn't have chain suck or skippage when it was geared. The fact the cog was ramped didn't help either. I decided I needed a brand new cog. I wouldn't be able ride tonight, but tomorrow after work I'll get the cog I need.

I went to two bike shops before I stumbled into FS Cycles in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Neither of the first two shops could help me. One shop even said it was foolish to go single speed and tried to get me to buy a new rear XTR derailleur. Never goin' there again.

So I walk into FS Cycles and I know I'm in the right place. Right up by the door is a Salsa framed bike, and Ellsworth framed bike, and a unicycle. I start talking to this guy, who turns out to be the owner. I told what I was doing and he said he had a Surly frame on the way and couldn't wait to get his paws on it. He invited into the shop area and we rummaged for 16 tooth cogs, but no dice. He didn't have any. He said we could order one, but he would have to find the right catalog. I told him that would be great, and added, "I guess it doesn't have to be 16 teeth. I'm really just trying to figure out if its the cog that makes me teeth. He gave me a 14 tooth Ultegra cog he had. It was brand new. It was ramped, but had never touched a chain. I asked how much, to which he replied, "Take it."

The Sound of the Man Workin' on the Chain

I drove home as fast as I could, replaced Austin Powers with the Ultegra, and mounted the wheel. ARGGGGGGGGGGG! With 4 teeth gone the chain was too slack, even with the Singleator. Out came the chain tool, my fingers got raw again at the thought of working on the chain. This time all the practice paid off and the Powerlink was easier to get apart. I took out a few links, snaked it through the Singleator, connected it, and installed the wheel. This was it. I knew it had to work.

I saddled up and took off. I was listening for the chain slip, but there was nothing. I took to a hill, no chain slip. This was the real deal! I did a few bunny hops and the chain stayed cemented in place. I rode around for about 15 minutes, just along the path behind our apartment, up the grassy hills, around the track at the neighboring junior high. It was like my very first bike, which also happened to be red, except I didn't need training wheels and already knew how ride.

When my wife got home she asked if it was finally finished and I said yes. "So, how is it?" "It's awesome! It's like the BMX bike I never had! It's so much fun!" "Are you ever gonna ride that new bike we just bought last Fall?" "Of course I will. I just don't know how much now."

That night I had dreams of riding. I dreamt my wife saw how much I liked the single speed that she bought us matching Surly frames, saying she wanted in on the fun. I woke a few times, hoping it was Saturday.

Rediscovering the Fun

Saturday we packed up some lunch and headed to a local, easy, crushed limestone trail. The bike felt so great! It was like visiting an old friend who had slimmed down and wanted to have more fun than ever. I worked on nearly every nook and cranny on this steel baby. Everything was dialed in the way I wanted.

Out on the trail my wife commented that I wasn't riding as fast. I told her it was because of the new setup. I wouldn't be able to ride as fast as before for a while. I needed to get used to the one gear concept. I lied. I could ride faster, I just didn't want to. I was weaving in the trail, feeling the bike again. I was like a kid again, taking a ride on the trail for the first time. It was so much fun. When a hill came into my path, I sped up, stood up, and cranked away. On the crest I would rest back in the saddle and leisurely pedal away.

At the half way point my legs were starting to feel it. We had just climbed a long, gradual slope and my legs felt it a little. We had our lunch and ducked into a small loop of single track. I opened up and took off. It was so much fun, throwing myself around the trail corners and accelerating on the flats. This was why I liked biking so much. Could I have done this on my geared bike? Of course. But this bike was my baby. I had researched, shopped, and shed blood, sweat, and swears while building it up. I was as much part of this bike as it was of me. Everything on it was there because I willed it there.

On the ride home I realized it wasn't just the bike that went through a conversion, but I had as well. I had gone from someone who knew very little about bike mechanics, drooled at high-end drivetrains, and coveted wheelsets to someone who was actually content with what I had. Sure, I could get that way with single speed bikes, but why? The bike runs great, requires little maintenance, and is what I want it to be. Yes, a set of Paul hubs would be plush, a frame with horizontal dropouts would be nice, a Matt Chester Ute would be the end-all-be-all, but I like what I have.

When I started this, I thought single speeders were an elite sub-group of riders who wanted to have the lightest, most obscure parts on their bikes. There are a few of those out there, but for the most part single speeders are bikers who just wanna have fun riding. Who cares I don't have a titanium frame? Who cares I don't have a rigid or Marzocchi fork? Who cares if I can't burn everyone on the trail? I must admit, it sure feels good when you pass someone with top of the line components with just you and one gear.

One gear, many speeds.

Finger Lakes Trail Report, New York State by Joe Whitehair

Destination is Penn Yann, a small town on Keuka Lake in western New York state. Pure wilderness for the most part. Vacation, but not a "mountain bike" vacation. In other words, the location wasn't picked because it was a mountain bike trip, but rather because it was a cool place in the woods.

I start doing research though, because I am taking my bike, and this looks like prime territory. I soon start coming up dry. I look at maps. Lost of undeveloped open spaces, but I'm not finding any trails in the area. I emailed a mailing list for western New York mountain bikers, querying for some trails in the area. I get a few replies. What I'm finding is MTBing in western New York in not ideal. In fact, the rule of thumb seems to be, unless stated otherwise, MTBs are off limits on trails! This sucks. The emails I got suggested a few places, but ever one was over an hour from where I was stating. This is bullshit, what's going on here? Seems like the "other" trail users wield a lot of power and have locked out the MTBers. So, I've got one place over an hour away and one possibility 15 minutes away. Well, you can guess what happened with the trail that was 15 minutes away! Hikers only.

So, I drive an hour fifteen minutes to the Finger Lakes Trail (FLT) in Mount Morris, NY. It's in Letchworth State Park, the Grand Canyon of the east. And let me tell you, it does look like the Grand Canyon (North side) on a much smaller scale. Beautiful layers, a green, vegetative gorge with a ribbon of water snaking through it. Stan on the edge, it take your breath away.

The FLT is a long trail, 552 miles, but only a 22 mile section is open to bikes. To show you how much of a hold the hikers have in this area, they have stated that if bikers venture onto the closed parts, they will shut off access to the complete trail. Luckily, groups like the Western New York Mountain Bike Association have done a lot of hard work doing trail maintenance and kissing ass to keep this piece of the trail open. A big thanks goes to these guys and girls for the effort.

So, I get to the parking area. It's been completely fogged in the whole way here. I couldn't get a weather report to find if it rained here, but it looks like it may have gotten a little precip.

I get out, check the map in the parking lot, get the gear together. I'm solo and don't see another car, biker or trail user for that matter. I head in, the trail is damp, just enough to make it tacky and give you some decent traction. Fun, tight single track, a little rooty, a little rocky. The trail basically follows the gorge (the Genesee River). But you have feeder streams that enter the Genesee perpendicular. So, you parallel the river, then do a 90 degree turn and continue following the Genesee. Imagine Multiple S's linked together. This is the trail. It's an out and back. With a couple of spurs leading into it at various points. When I left, I decided I was going to ride 4 hours. If there was any chance of doing the whole out and back in 5 hours (44 miles total), then I would do it. This is what I wanted to do, but as I got further into the trail, it got muddier. Progress slowed somewhat. A cleat problem made me stop. I got to the 14 mile point in a little under 2 hours. There was a 3 sided wooden shelter where I stopped and ate a peanut butter and banana sandwich and tried to cool down. I was humid and hot (and I'm from Baltimore, so we should be used to this), apparently unusual conditions for up here. Figures it's like this when I come to visit. I did some quick calculations. To do the whole trail would be around 6 hours. Longer than I set out for. The trail was pretty boring overall. Why go on, put a couple more miles (notches) in my belt? Yeah, this is usually my mentality - do it just to be able to say I did it. Sure, I could do it, but I wasn't motivated. I was still going to knock off 28 miles.

I hadn't seen a soul on the trail yet. Some of the scenery was nice, but I wasn't that impressed. I felt sorry for the bikers around here, all this wilderness without much trail access. From what I had read this was their jewel. I sure wasn't popping any boner over it. I was glad to be riding, but I've got better trail back home. After mile 2 you don't even see the gorge, you are quite a bit inland from it. So, I turned around and headed back into the humidity.

The trail is a good (or should I say an easy) SS trail, elevation changes are minimal. Any given change is 300 feet max, usually much less. The only real challenges are the stream crossings. The approach is steep, abrupt, rooty, rocky, and muddy (when I was there). Most crossing you can't keep momentum because of this. Other than this, the challenges are minimal. The scenery varies from pines to deciduous trees with a few open power line crossings. Not a bad trail. With the trail conditions and the heat and humidity, it gave me a decent workout, but overall I was a little disappointed. I'd rate it a 6 out of 10.

Sound Off - Last Issue's Topic

Last issue we wanted to know what you had to say about the following statement:

The May 2001 issue of Outside magazine has a review on 14 full-suspension mountain bikes. The author, Marc Peruzzi, makes the following bold statement:
"Aside from letting you ride further with less fatigue, the latest dual-suspension bikes simply outperform hardtails: They climb and brake better because the rear wheel stays on the dirt, giving you better traction; they corner better because the bike flexes into turns, balancing the weight on both wheels; and on sketchy downhills you can point and shoot with the front wheel because you can trust that the back won't buck like a rodeo bull."

Here's a few responses:

• Okay, I have to admit - I don't know Mr. Peruzzi's credentials as I haven't been keeping up with his career. The statement above is basically the party line of the bike industry and really doesn't tell us anything about Mr. Peruzzi�s intelligence other than that he has paid attention at the clinics. Whether or not this party line that "full suspension bikes perform better than hardtails" is true should not threaten the egos of single speeders. If anything, it should affirm our reasons for riding a bike with only one gear.

  The point of single speed bikes is not primarily to perform better than anything else on the market, rather it is to perform "well-enough". The industry would have us believe that unless we buy into the latest technology, we will be at a sore disadvantage to our riding buddies who have; having fun is equated to having spendy gear. But let's face it, in a few months, the next greatest things since sliced bread will show up and that new $5000 rig will be ob-so-lete. Also, $5000 machines have a tendency to turn us into poseurs as we don't want to ruin the paint job or break our spendy and vulnerable gear. No fun can be had on a bike that we won't or can't ride. In the single speed, we have a machine that is not complicated by the maintenance or the potential breakage of rear-suspension pivots, suspension forks (only an optional headache), derailleurs, shifters, and weaker wheels.

  Lay it down a few times, it's all good. Run it through the bogs and everything still comes up sunshine. In the single speed, we also have a machine that is not held under the dictates of the iron fists of the bicycle industry. Our bikes are already 60+ years obsolete - nothing new in the marketplace can disturb us. Furthermore - and this is the part that should make us single speeders feel like supermen or wonderwomen - single speeds have us paying attention to picking and holding lines, maintaining momentum, and perfecting our pedaling efficiency. While full suspension designs may be making us better bicycles, single speed designs are making us better riders.

  How�s about them apples BRAAAAHH?!

  - Linh Cunnion

• I have been riding my dedicated SS for around two years now. It has de-evolved from a geared campus bike to a bastardized, lovingly painted, and festooned with doodads dedicated SS frame. Currently it is anti-fully suspension with ti risers for comfort. I can't bring myself to take the lovely rigid fork off and slap some squishy thing on there.

  My wonderful wife got me my first FS rig - a stock GT I-Drive. I love it - it gets used a LOT since Christmas. It out-performs my hardtails, climbs better, corners better, and allows a much longer ride because it keeps the harshness away from my back. I am learning to jump and do drops for the first time in my life, and am getting very intimate with BMX flat pedals. It rocks my world.

  I find that when I ride my FS to work or to screw around, I can jump on my anti-fully SS and fall right back in love with it. Each bike does its job, but is very different. If I had to pick just one it would have to be the FS due to the comfort over the long haul. If I have to pick a bike to race or go ride with the club it's the SS no question.

  I find it hard to compare suspension bikes and rigid SS bikes due to the huge differences betwixt the two. For sheer fun the SS wins hands down. I cannot imagine not having been able to experience the SS gatherings I have in the last year. I would wholeheartedly proclaim myself a single speeder to the core, and would not give mine up without a big fight involving blood. It is light, cool, fast, fun, and mine.

  - Randy a.k.a Dijridoo

Sound Off - This Issue's Topic

Here we go again. Time for you to offer up your opinion. Sound off about this subject and we'll print the best responses from both sides in next issue. riderx@singlespeedoutlaw.com

Single speeds and racing. If they offer an SS class, should you enter it or just race in your normal class against the gearies? Should there even be SS classes? And, if there aren't SS classes, should you be lobbying the promoters to create an SS class? Well, what's your view?