Single Speed Bikes

Londonirish72

Hoping to tap into the collective wisdom of posters here.

I want to build or buy a single speed bike for a 10km (each way) commute. I do a lot of cycling so I want a reasonably rugged bike with front and rear brakes (so no track bikes) which I will use for year-round commuting and some winter riding.

So I am now in the market for buying either a single speed frame or bike (new or 2nd hand) but today I saw someone on an old Planet X road bike frame that had been converted into a single speed by using a jockey wheel at the back to maintain chain tension. So does anyone have experience of this type of build? I'm thinking that I might be able to build a single speed with all the advangtages of a road bike (weight/quick release wheels) and this would open a world of possibilities for me.

Otherwise, are there any single speed frame makers out there? I had a look at the Dolan FXE (a bit dull); Condor (pricey) and a German crowd called Cube8 which have a few interesting looking frames.

Thank you in advance for your answers/suggestions!

CramCycle

What is your budget and what are your wants?

Also what size are you looking for?

Squidgy Black

For single speed, you can use basically any road frame even with vertical dropouts, by just using a chain tensioner. It’s only fixed gear that you need to worry about horizontal dropouts and chain tension etc.

Majority of single speeds you’ll see these days will just be track/fixed gear frames but with a single speed hub. Majority of them will be drilled for front and rear brakes as well, so don’t let that put you off.

Have a look on adverts, there tends to be plenty of bargains from time to time under the fixed/single speed section because they’re not as popular as they were years ago

magicbastarder

genesis have a well regarded single speed, but i'm not sure if the frame is available standalone.

El Vino

yeah, Genesis Day One with horizontal drop outs would be good, eldest son has one I found on ebay with hub gear and disc brakes and 35mm Marathon plus tyres, absolutely bomb proof

Londonirish72

I’m usually a 54cm frame (medium). I’m not too concerned about the budget because I tend to ride my bikes a lot so I’ll make back my commuting costs eventually!

Large bottle small glass

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122627578#Comment_122627578

I used a fixed speed bike for about 5 years for school run, shopping and pub. Used most days of the week.

Fitted an old dynamo and lights to me it a ready to go anytime bike.

I never did any maintenance other than chain lube out of guilt once a month. Never even replaced brake blocks; had two brakes but but barely used them.

Bought it on here for €200.

Back using it again after a 2 yr break. Pumped tyres and she's back in service.

Pick up something half decent for 2-300 on dondeal.

I'm thinking about putting my Dad's old Rudge from 1948 back on the road so I might retire it then,

Dowee

I picked up one of these for my son for his school trip. It's nothing fancy but a good solid bike, no issues so far.

https://www.decathlon.ie/p/306292-226548-single-speed-city-bike-500-carbon-grey.html

Have also used santafixie online.

rflynnr

I did exactly what the OP proposed with an old road bike about a decade back. The dropouts were pretty much vertical so a chain tension was required. I adapted the existing wheel with a Shimano hub using spacers to line the rear cog up with chain-ring (itself made from a triple Sora crank with the large and small chain-rings removed - this was cheaper than buying a purpose-built single-speed crank). And it's been great. The only thing that requires any extensive thought is the gear ratio. I arrived at mine by finding a gear on my hybrid I liked, then pretty much mirroring that.

tomasrojo

Bit of a tangent, as this is not what the OP is looking for, but the bike bikesnobnyc has been trying out recently, in between climate change denialism, I rather like. Single-speed out of the factory, but with option to easily add a chain tensioner and front derailleur. As he frames it, you set it up to have a road gear and a trail gear, and it's more like two singlespeeds in one than a geared bike.

Or as the manufacturer puts it: "Having just one or two more gears doesn't detract much from the fun spartan minimalism of a single speed, but makes it a bike you can ride basically everywhere without giving yourself a hernia. You'll be surprised at how much you can do with even just two gears."

https://www.rivbike.com/blogs/news/your-roaduno-questions-answered

Londonirish72

Thanks for all your comments. I need to climb some hills on the way home (approx 100m over 10km) so the idea of adapting a light road bike frame to single speed use appeals more. I was looking at the Planet X carbon frames which you can buy for £500.

Cetyl Palmitate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122633866#Comment_122633866

Nice bike. I think sturmey archer have a 2 speed rear hub as well which would have a similar result.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122634013#Comment_122634013

how much weight are you going to save though, half a kilo? you said you wanted a reasonably rugged bike - a steel frame would be a lot more rugged than a carbon one.

tomasrojo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122634075#Comment_122634075

Is it the one where you backpedal to toggle between the gears?

fiacha

I've have an alu Specialized Langster since 2009. It's been bombproof and very easy to maintain. No quick release skewers, but the nuts take seconds to remove with a stubby wrench. Never felt like I was missing out by not having quick release. 42x16 works for me around Dublin, but anything above 32km/h starts feeling a bit too high cadence for me to be comfortable.

If I was looking for a replacement, i'd probably go with the Genesis Flyer. At around €600 you get a great commuter / Winter bike and no messing around with chainlines and tensioners.

A simple 1x build on a road frame might be more flexible if you have a lot of hills. An extra gear for the flats saves you spinning out too soon.

Cetyl Palmitate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122634107#Comment_122634107

Yip. They have one with a coaster brake too which would be a very tidy setup

https://www.sturmey-archer.com/en/products/2-speed

tomasrojo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122635211#Comment_122635211

Very tidy indeed!

mh_cork

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122627088#Comment_122627088

Second that on the Genesis single speed bikes. I'm on my second one now, I replaced the rim-brake version with the disc brake version

Its my go-to bike. I have set it up with dual sided pedals, flat on one side and clip-on on the other. I can take it on long rides in full cycling gear, or up to the shop in 'normal' clothes/shoes. Ive done over 12,000km on it and several 200km rides. I have to pick my routes to avoid hills, but not as much as you would expect. It depends on the grade rather than the length of the hill. If there is a small steep hill (500m @ 8-10%), I might have to grind up it.

Finally because there are no gears, buying a second hand one is much simpler. If the wheels, bottom bracket, head tube are ok, then its probably going to give years of service without any problems. Other than tyres, the chain needs to be replaced every 5000-8000km.

Explosive_Cornflake

I really like my Kona Paddy Wagon, so that's another option for a 2nd hand one.

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122634194#Comment_122634194

I have the flyer, love it but it is not light. I took off the rear brake and put a bolt on fixed gear to the disc brake holder. This said the weight is only an impediment in lifting it places, hasn't done much to stop me on hills.

Squidgy Black

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122636979#Comment_122636979

I had one with the 3 speed hub a few years back, fantastic bikes