[Nurse Ben]

Preferences:
100-120mm travel
Carbon
Price 2-4k
Chainring capacity 38t
New only for warranty
Will run a tensioner
Swamping parts from HT, including RS1 fork.

I gave him a list of potential bikes, he’s leaning toward the Blur, SB 100, and a Felt. I did some searching but it’s fiffi to find max chainring capacity.

He’s riding hardtail now, so he’s not picky, he just wants a more comfortable ride.

He’s not interested in custom due to cost and time; needs to be off the shelf and built for racing in June.

No interest in YBB kinda of frames.

Blur, SB 100, Intense Sniper, Fezzari Signal Peak, Ibis Ripley, etc...

 

[erichwic]

Specialized Epic FS.

 

[Crash_FLMB]

I ran a GF Sugar SS for awhile and then I discovered steel. Had a Ti FS for a bit but always came back to the steel HT. I've been riding nothing but steel for over 10 years. I have no desire for FS and I'm 47. Find what feels good and be happy.

Sent from my LM-G710VM using Tapatalk

 

[Cotharyus]

I don’t even know if it’s available as frame only, but have you looked at the giant anthem 29?

 

[jestep]

Hard to go wrong with the Blur. Not sure if they will sell a frame only without the fork though.

 

[Frs1661]

Sounds like a fun build! I rode an older blur xc SS with a tensioner for a season; worked very well and was a fun change of pace.

Possibly a naive suggestion- could you run a double or triple crank and use the outer position to maximize chainring clearance? Would you have enough chainline adjustment on a SS rear wheel to get it aligned? 38 tooth is large in 1x world

 

[OldHouseMan]

I’d like to pick up a Lenz Milkmoney or Lunchmoney some day, more as a novelty than anything.

For me personally, a lockout on the rear shock would be an absolute requirement on a FS SS. The remotes on the Blur would be a nice added feature over a bike without them. Other than that, any bike would work just fine with a tensioner.

 

[Nurse Ben]

Why is a remote lockout mandatory? Is it that hard to reach down and flip a lever? It just seems excessive to have three remotes on your bars, plus two brakes and a shifter.

After he played on my Signal Peak he had both ends locked out, so I suspect he’d keep them locked when racing, open on long downhills, maybe use propedal or a lower sag %.

There is a 2018 Giant on Pinkbike with an SC32, front and rear remote lockouts.

He’s currently on a Chinese carbon hardtail with an RS1, all carbon extras, Onyx hub.

 

[agu]

Trek Top Fuel?

 

[Shinkers]

Nobody said a remote was necessary. Just that the blur with remotes would be a nice added feature.

This really isn't that hard, nor is it singlespeed specific. Finding a frame with clearance for a 38t chainring seems to be the only real criteria here, and I doubt many people will know what frames would fit that since I doubt many people would ever run that size of chainring.

FWIW, I've run my Tallboy SS and now my GT Sensor and the stiffer riding VPP doesn't necessarily mean it pedals better than the Horst link on my GT. More than anything, I think trying to stay on top of the suspension rather than in it will make the biggest difference. Lower sag and higher rebound will help this.

 

[Nurse Ben]

Hmm, not much feedback, kinda figured there’d be more folks running full suspension SS.

Any favorite tensioner?

FWIW: Shinkers, I have you blocked indefinitely.

 

[NordieBoy]

I'm going to use a Zee Shadow+ rear mech as the tensioner on the AnthemSS

 

[jestep]

Any favorite tensioner?

Shimano Alfine is cheap and works really well, it's not super light though. It has a super strong spring and is long enough it can take up a ton of slack, you could probably run 1x3 with it.

I use the Paul Melvin on my main SS. It's a lot lighter and cleaner looking than the alfino but it can't take up as much slack.

Edit, just looked them up and the Melvin can compensate for 20t of wrap the alfine only 16, so the paul is actually better all around.

 

[chuckha62]

I see you limited it and he is not interested in a "YBB", which I take to mean a URT (Unified Rear Triangle). I run an old Homegrown SweetSpot URT and love it, so I'm not sure what the aversion is. Granted, it's 20 years old and getting straight steer tube forks is getting harder to do, but I'm running mine as a 27.5 with disc brakes and a Soulcraft Convert tensioner (no springs!). The whole setup weighs in at 24 lbs, climbs like a mountain goat and takes enough of the edge off the bumps to make it my Go-to ride.

 

[Nurse Ben]

Shimano Alfine is cheap and works really well, it's not super light though. It has a super strong spring and is long enough it can take up a ton of slack, you could probably run 1x3 with it.

I use the Paul Melvin on my main SS. It's a lot lighter and cleaner looking than the alfino but it can't take up as much slack.

Edit, just looked them up and the Melvin can compensate for 20t of wrap the alfine only 16, so the paul is actually better all around.

Is the Paul worth the expense? Is anyone using the Rohloff?

 

[socal_jack]

Just built up a Canfield Riot SS a few weeks ago using a Rohloff XC tensioner that'll go to a 21t cog which is what I'm using. The Rohloff XC needs 55+mm chainline so using Raceface Aefect crankset with direct mount chainring flipped to give ~57-58mm chainline with appropriate washers/shims for Rohloff tensioner to match. Pedals really well though I pretty much leave it in the pedal setting on the DVO shock.

 

[SingleSpeedSteven]

Hmm, not much feedback, kinda figured there'd be more folks running full suspension SS.

Any favorite tensioner?

FWIW: Shinkers, I have you blocked indefinitely.

You're not going to find many opinions on this subject from people who actually run a FS SS. The SS crowd is pretty puritan when you get down to the brass tax. I have even heard people (on multiple occasions) at races saying that converted FS bikes shouldn't be allowed in the SS class... those are opinions obviously.

Personally, If I were going to do it on a 100mm bike I would try an EBB. 100mm of rear travel isn't a lot, and you may be able to get away with not running a tensioner. That setup would function better and look way cleaner.

I have seen people use a magic gear on 100mm travel bikes before, so I am pretty certain it would work. Obviously it's "try at your own risk" though.

 

[jestep]

Is the Paul worth the expense? Is anyone using the Rohloff?

If you don't care about the weight, I don't see any benefit with the Paul over the Shimano unless you care about 4t of chain wrap difference. I think the spring tension on the Shimano is quite a bit higher as well, I haven't measured this though, both certainly function well. I have not used the Rohloff so can't comment on it.

 

[chuckha62]

Unless you consider using a URT frame you cannot use an EBB for a full suspension. You will need an Alfine/Paul/Rohloff/converted derailler as a tensioner.

 

[Nurse Ben]

Oh, I hear you, but it's what he wants to do, I'm just "the mechanic ".

He's actually pretty fast, top ten showings and a few podiums, but he's 46yo and he wants something that won't beat him up, I get that.

If I had to guess, I think he'll end up resorting to a hardtail for racing after some training on the FS; which is why I suggested he get a frame set that would work for geared riding too.

You're not going to find many opinions on this subject from people who actually run a FS SS. The SS crowd is pretty puritan when you get down to the brass tax. I have even heard people (on multiple occasions) at races saying that converted FS bikes shouldn't be allowed in the SS class... those are opinions obviously.

Personally, If I were going to do it on a 100mm bike I would try an EBB. 100mm of rear travel isn't a lot, and you may be able to get away with not running a tensioner. That setup would function better and look way cleaner.

I have seen people use a magic gear on 100mm travel bikes before, so I am pretty certain it would work. Obviously it's "try at your own risk" though.