A single speed is designed to extract maximum pain, why would you want to dull that experience?

 

Devils advocate here…if it’s not really practical to run that drivetrain where you like to ride…why not just convert to a traditional 1X drivetrain?

I get doing single speed if it’s fun/challenging where you like to ride. If it’s going to be miserable or cause you to have to alter your preferred riding route and habits though, I don’t get it.

 

I was playing with this idea for when I rebuild my old '80s Schwinn.

However, the goal will be to have a road and light gravel bike, taking it easy on the old girl. The granny gear would be solely for the occasional steep-ish hill. We're mostly flat around here except for the ancient Wabash River's banks.

 

Dinglespeed

I'm a newbie, but what is a dinglespeed.

www.mtbr.com

 

That's just part of it. Once 32x17 feels easy you graduate to 32x16. If you go out to the steeper trails then you'll need 32x19 or 20. This is why several of us have a pile of cogs and chains.

 

32x17
30x19

With the right double crankset, say 104bcd. Two halo cogs on HG carrier. 30 narrow wide has a built in spacer to work on 104. Similar chain length may be within tension limit. Re-rail at trailhead or for extended steep. Not tested yet.

 

There's no answer to your question, ride what ever pleases you.

 

As soon as you add a shifter and a gear mechanism you've ruined a SS bike. At that point you might as well get a few gears to choose from and give up on the SS idea totally.

 

Maybe you need to ask why you're riding single-speed to begin with...

 

Instead of a bail out gear just make it an E-SS. That's the future.

 

Do whatever you want. There are no rules for having fun on a bicycle.

If you want a simple bike with more than one gear, your options for IGH might be very limited. They are heavy and might not handle the torque you're putting into them.

A 2x chainring with a single cog in the back could work with a front derailer and a simple friction shifter. You'll need a springy chain tensioner.

A carefully chosen 2x2 setup could work with the same chain length. You would need to shift it manually by getting off the bike and lifting the chain over, but that could work in situations where you pedal extended distances of flat and extended climbs. I'd probably ride something like this if I lived near mountains.

 

I don’t think the purists would have a problem if you had two singlespeed bikes with different ratios and you picked the one that was best suited for the trail of the day.

Not everyone will agree but I think a true Dinglespeed is a good way of getting the same options in a single bike.

If you select the ratio at the beginning of a ride and don’t change it then the riding experience is the same unless you argue that just having the possibility of changing gear (by manually moving the chain with your hands) is compromising.

If that’s the case the buy a second rear wheel.

My ”track” bike for road use was built up as a fixie. I have two brakes on it and a flip flop hub (so it’s good for what I use it for but can’t really be called a track bike anymore). The cog options are an 18t fixed cog or a 20t freewheel. Default is to ride fixed. Freewheel was installed as a bailout option for long (100 mile) rides in hilly country.I have set it up running the freewheel a few times and done rides 100% freewheel. I have never changed gear mid ride in all the years I have had that bike.

The point being that a thoughtfully configured Dinglespeed would be my solution to your dilemma. A flipflop hub would be equally good but I don’t think they exist in MTB spacing??..

 

I have been thinking about putting together a 2-speed setup. I wonder if the Classified 2-speed hub would work? I don’t know enough about the hub and need to look into it more.

 

The driver and cassette are proprietary, probably doable but you’d need to get a custom cog.

 

I ran a dingle set-up on my first fat bike years ago (17/19 and 32/34) and it was great. The dropouts on the Pugs made it easy to change gearing.

 

I guess it's technically not a single speed as a purist might define it (and then try to make you feel bad about) but that Classified hub is interesting. I would just do a dingle though as some of the joy of an SS in not having shifter crap on your bars. Recently, I was thinking about a dingle setup for a gravel bike too. It was going the other direction (having a harder gear), as I was planning on riding trail and then having a harder gear for the road sections of the main route I was thinking of. One of my favorite trials riders ran that setup on his trials bike. He had a trials gear, and a bike park gear. Seems like a good solution to me.

 

I set my SS aside when I got the new geared whip. Took it out for a spin (cracked stem and all) around the streets the other night. 27.5 with 32x17. Insane how different it felt. I'm not smart enough to figure out what the nearest gear equivalent is on the 12spd 29er...but I'm pretty my cruising gear is much more forgiving.

 

Here, do this:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retro-direct

Would be so cool!

 

I've spent way too much time thinking about a minimally gear bike, rather than a singlespeed or 7-12 spd. To the point that I tried a kick-back 2 speed hub (Sturmey Archer S2C) on my GroundUp cyclocross frame. It was lame. I've done other IGH builds, too. Anywhere from 7-14 speeds. I think the lowest commonly available IGH is 3 speed and it'll likely come in some weird ass OLN dimension with bolt on axle.

You know what are my favorite configs after all of this dicking around and spending money? A regular 12 speed config (GX AXS if you wanna be specific) or a straight up singlespeed w/ sliding dropouts.

 

I've always thought a 2 or 3 speed "singlespeed" with no derailleur, tensioner, or other funky gadgetry would be awesome. Looks and pedals like a true singlespeed, but with some bailout (or haul ass) options.

Truvativ Hammerschmidt cranks were an interesting concept along the same lines. Don't know of anyone using a set on a "singlespeed" but might work?

 

Truvativ Hammerschmidt cranks were an interesting concept along the same lines. Don't know of anyone using a set on a "singlespeed" but might work?

I've been running a HS as my dinglespeed for the last 2 years. There is extra drag in the "overdrive" ratio, but since I only use that on flats/descents, it's much less noticeable. I love this setup and I'll run it till I can't find replacement parts for the HS.

 

Pro roadies were on two speed 'single speeds' for decades using a flip flop hub. We have a disc brake in the way now, but the idea of a bail out for brutal climbs and then a 'higher' gear for the rest of the day has been around a very long time.

For those riders living near big climbs, stepping off for a few moments to re position at the top and bottom to compress a spring thing and flip the chain to the other cog or ring would be quick.

I guess I just love the super clean look of a single speed.. so in the pursuit of 'clean' I will put up with the limitations of a true single. For now, down the trail? who knows.. haha

DT

 

White Industries used to sell a setup called the Double Double, don't know if you can still find it or not. Two cogs on the crank, two on the back.

Singlespeed, but two gear ratios

 

Singlespeed, but two gear ratios

My brain just broke

 

It's not sacrilege, do whatever makes you happy. It's definitely not ideal. A big advantage of a single speed is that it is more efficient due to less weight (shifter, cabling, derailleur, cassette) and less friction (pulley wheels, angled chainline).

Any 2 or 3 speed IGH is going to be very heavy, have poor efficiency outside of the direct gear, have great weight, and very low engagement. I don't know of any quality one that is suitable for mountain biking.

Adding a 2nd or 3rd gear on the hub without a derailleur could work but you would still have to add a chain tensioner to pick up the chain slack and get your hands dirty moving the chain.

Both of those solutions, add some combination of weight, complexity, and friction; all of which reduce the main advantages and appeal of single speeding.

White Industries' Double Double looks like the best compromise, as it minimizes weight, complexity, and friction but it comes at the cost of a lot of money and limited gearing choices. If I was serious about having a granny bailout single speed and I had the spare cash, I would consider it an interesting option. No clue how it works in practice however.

 

I went down this route as I live a decent distance from the trails, so spinning out on a 32x18 only to struggle up the climbs wasn't ideal. Throw in young kids in the mix and a wife that is texting me when I'm 2h30m into a 2hour ride, and I needed a change - I ended up getting a 10spd saint setup. I run a 36t chainring, 11-28 cassette. Still lots of work on the steep climbs, but bails me out a bit when I need it. Exxtra fast on the flat road stretches between trails. Yes, I'd rather be SS, but I tend to stick it in a gear and go most of the time. Takes me about 10 min to swap back to spacers and a single cog, a little longer due to internal routing to go back to the geared setup. This also has the added bonus for race course recon -with that tight range, it's usually pretty simple to convert back to a 32 or 34t front ring equivalent.

 

Fortunate to have trailhead within ten miles. With this setup more of the mountains will be available with less time spent getting there and back. Halo Fat Foot 19 cog, will add a 15 with appropriate spacers to keep a straight chain in both rings. 15mm open end and a minute needed to switch gears, that's the plan anyway. Like any double or triple without a guard, keep away from the open ring in a crash.

Deore XT FC-M785 double crank. Better to use a triple crank.

Deckas 34T and 30T narrow wide chainrings . 1mm spacer to provide separation for 1/8" chain. Takes a 15mm chainring bolt. Steel for more support since rings are on one instead of each side of a triple spider.

 

Fortunate to have trailhead within ten miles. With this setup more of the mountains will be available with less time spent getting there and back. Halo Fat Foot 19 cog, will add a 15 with appropriate spacers to keep a straight chain in both rings. 15mm open end and a minute needed to switch gears, that's the plan anyway. Like any double or triple without a guard, keep away from the open ring in a crash.

Deore XT FC-M785 double crank. Better to use a triple crank.

Deckas 34T and 30T narrow wide chainrings . 1mm spacer to provide separation for 1/8" chain. Takes a 15mm chainring bolt. Steel for more support since rings are on one instead of each side of a triple spider.


View attachment 2077563

Dinglespeed progress. The 30T doesn't work with an eighth inch chain. 30T is too small really for a 104bcd. The ring has the built in spacers and nut which are carved a bit to allow a chain to rest fully into the teeth. The 30T built in nut is the same OD as a chainring nut so there was only a bit supporting the larger ring. On a triple crank you'll want to take a single speed nut and thread it onto the 13mm bolt to provide support to the chain ring. But the problem was the 1/8" chain is too wide and was hitting the crank spider. This setup would work on a triple with a 3/32 chain.

So I've had to go to 32 and 36 for the rings. There's the hypotenuse, so tensioned length is slightly different despite the total tooth count being equal for high and low but well within the dropout. This kit was perfect for them. The nine speed crank spider tabs were too thin again for 1/8", but the 1mm spacer moved the small ring over just enough. This Triple kit "A" was a perfect fit with the included long nuts providing support for both narrow wide rings and sitting just below flush to allow the bolt to tighten.

If you have the money Wolf Tooth Components makes a 64bcd "drop stop" narrow wide. Then I could still have the bash. But $65 vs $10 for a Snail ring . . . it's a hard sell for made in the USA. And even fewer aluminum teeth on a high torque wear part.

WOW!!! What I was missing without the high gearing! The plus tire bike jams on the flat now, 36x15. So much so that lower overall would be better, say 17 and 21. But the largest 1/8" Halo cog is 20 and I already had a 19. Once the wrench is out of your pack it takes only a minute to switch gears. I used the open end to manipulate the chain, keeping hands clean.

Need a single chainring nut on a triple bolt for two rings with a 30T 104bcd.

$3 chain from Planet Cyclery some time ago. Magnificent Halo cogs!!! Super tough!

Before finding out 1/8" chain hits the spider tabs. D'oh!

 

As soon as you add a shifter and a gear mechanism you've ruined a SS bike.

Its not an SS anymore, obviously. Is it ruined though?
Been thinking about something like an automatix or a duomatic.
Its mainly about the simplicity of the drivetrain to me and that I don't have to think about shifting and what gear I am in and what not.
If the hub does that for me? Why not!
Problem is the steps are not steep enough to be relevent, in my opinion. So I never bothered.

Truvativ Hammerschmidt

German manufacturer Schlumpf does a "shift" crank. You shift it by pushing a pin from left to right with your heels. Way more expensive though.

 

IGH and Hammerschmidt have great efficiency losses. So while you may still have the straight chainline and no rear der, it still feels like pedaling underwater.