REVIEWS DEALS BIKESHOPS TRAILS

Single Speed or Road Bike....

1084 Views 17 Replies 12 Participants Last post by MrXC, Dec 15, 2005

smw

Discussion Starter · Dec 14, 2005

Trying to decide what to get. I want to get in better shape, strength and endurance. Im at a toss-up and cant seem to make up my mind, what would you do?

Sean

1 - 18 of 18 Posts

mtbkendall

· #2 · Dec 14, 2005

Both

Get Both in one!! I have a LeMond Filmore that is a SS Road bike with flip flop hub so you can run it fixed gear if you want. I run a 52-16 on this and have no problem holding 20 miles per hour and then in the hills you really get a good workout. Keep in my mind my hills arnt that big!! I love this bike/concept. I Dont run fixed gear that often, kind of scary when you forget and it wants to throw you.

Or, you could get a 29er SS and run slicks on it and get some big chainrings for road trainig. Good luck BK

smw

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 14, 2005

mtbkendall said:
Get Both in one!! I have a LeMond Filmore that is a SS Road bike with flip flop hub so you can run it fixed gear if you want. I run a 52-16 on this and have no problem holding 20 miles per hour and then in the hills you really get a good workout. Keep in my mind my hills arnt that big!! I love this bike/concept. I Dont run fixed gear that often, kind of scary when you forget and it wants to throw you.

Or, you could get a 29er SS and run slicks on it and get some big chainrings for road trainig. Good luck BK

Gary Fisher has the Rig, a 29'er singlespeed. Ive been looking into, its about $1000 so the price is right too

XC_Miles

· #4 · Dec 14, 2005

I'd go with the road bike.

hardtail05

· #5 · Dec 14, 2005

XC_Miles said:
I'd go with the road bike.

me too. I like road bikes about 79.68% as much as I like mt bikes
a singlespeed would probably cause my knees to explode

butryon

· #6 · Dec 15, 2005

a road bike will help you a lot with what you want to specifically train, but a ss will change your life, in my mind for the better. ss is the best thing thats happened to my biking in a lot of years. good luck, you can't really go wrong with either. from my perspective personalitiy of the road crowd is a little off

fdny4783

· #7 · Dec 15, 2005

IMHO, Lemond Poprad you can use it as a roadie and throw the knobbies back on it to do some Cx riding or racing. Good Luck.

jasondean

· #8 · Dec 15, 2005 (Edited)

Go for the road...

I'd go for the road bike. For training it the best. I find I can get more back to back ride days in since I'm not getting beat up as much, plus if trails are a mess due to mud etc. It's nice to still get a 2+ hour ride in. Single Speeds are fun I'm sure, and friends of mine swear it makes them better riders, but if I had to pick a bike in addition to my race bike, it would be a road. Good luck.

RonSonic

· #9 · Dec 15, 2005

mtbkendall said:
Get Both in one!! I have a LeMond Filmore that is a SS Road bike with flip flop hub so you can run it fixed gear if you want. I run a 52-16 on this and have no problem holding 20 miles per hour and then in the hills you really get a good workout. Keep in my mind my hills arnt that big!! I love this bike/concept. I Dont run fixed gear that often, kind of scary when you forget and it wants to throw you.

Or, you could get a 29er SS and run slicks on it and get some big chainrings for road trainig. Good luck BK

Maybe 42 x 16?

If your driving a 52 on a SS, we should've heard of you by now.

MrXC

· #10 · Dec 15, 2005

Another vote for a CX'er

Another vote for a cyclocross bike. With road tires they're every bit as good for logging miles and road training as a road bike and getting some time in on the road will increase your strength more than training with an SS on the trails. The advantage a cross bike has over a road bike is more versatility - you can race a cross bike in a road race but can't race a road bike in a cross race.

I also think an SS is a useful training tool, but not for strength building. I built my first SS 4 years or so ago and road it regularly and don't think it made any difference in my my strength compared to riding the geary. I bought a road bike then a cross bike, started getting in a couple of 25-60 mile road rides a week and commuting to work (only 20 minutes each way) and my strength increased enough to bring me from a mid pack sport rider to a contender in sport with a few podium finishes this year and to cut 2 hours from my best 100 miler time.

That said, SS'ing will teach you how to read the trail better because you have to hold your momentum better to clear things that you could just down shift on with a gearie and to push bigger gears for that extra surge.

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FoShizzle

· #11 · Dec 15, 2005

my biased vote goes to the single speed. I have never been in better shape nor have my technical riding skills been better; in large due to one of my single speeds being a fully rigid setup forcing me to learn taking the best lines.

no doubt a road bike will get you into shape but SSing is incredible for getting you into MTBing shape to include honing your MTBing riding skills.

perhaps the best part of SSing is that it has given me a whole new renewed appreciation of MTBing. I know it sounds corny and I did not believe what my friends said till I tried it too......since single speeding started for me about 9 months ago i RARELY take out the geared bike because of the extreme satisfaction I get every single time I ride the SS. Not to mention, on those rare occassions I take out the geared bike, i have to laugh at my granny gear which never gets used now but used to all the time.

note that i have had major reconstructive foot surgery and have had knee problems in the past accordingly. I have had ZERO problems with either the feet or knees since starting single speeding so I certainly have no data for my body to support the hypothesis that "knees get blown out" or whatever but with a sample size of one, take it with a grain of salt I suppose.

cheers

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smw

Discussion Starter · #12 · Dec 15, 2005

Seams there is strong arguements for both, ar all three really. So Im still pretty confused. I used to ride road, and really enjoyed it, till I got hit by a car. Then again I believe in confronting ones fears.

So maybe a roadie and a single speed are in order. Everybody I know that rides a SS swears by them, and they all rise SS more then there gearie FS bikes. So Ill buy a roadie and build a SS. Ive been looking at the Trek for around $600, dont want to spend alot on a road bike since my heart lies in the dirt.

Any other road bike suggestions around the above mentioned price range. The Felt also looked good, but Id have to drive a little to get one of those.

Thanks again,
Sean

mtbkendall

· #13 · Dec 15, 2005

SS road

RonSonic said:
Maybe 42 x 16?

If your driving a 52 on a SS, we should've heard of you by now.

52 x16 on a road SS not mtb...mtb SS (29er) = 34x19

Yea, I wish I could push a 52-16 on a mtb!!!!

Later BK

FoShizzle

· #14 · Dec 15, 2005

smw said:
Seams there is strong arguements for both, ar all three really. So Im still pretty confused. I used to ride road, and really enjoyed it, till I got hit by a car. Then again I believe in confronting ones fears. So maybe a roadie and a single speed are in order. Everybody I know that rides a SS swears by them, and they all rise SS more then there gearie FS bikes. So Ill buy a roadie and build a SS. Ive been looking at the Trek for around $600, dont want to spend alot on a road bike since my heart lies in the dirt. Any other road bike suggestions around the above mentioned price range. The Felt also looked good, but Id have to drive a little to get one of those.

Thanks again,
Sean

cant help you on road bike purchases....after having 2 friends killed on the road, no thanks, but to each their own.

in terms of single speeds, let us know your criteria (eg, price) and that I can help you with.

pacman

· #15 · Dec 15, 2005

smw said:
Seams there is strong arguements for both, ar all three really. So Im still pretty confused. I used to ride road, and really enjoyed it, till I got hit by a car. Then again I believe in confronting ones fears. So maybe a roadie and a single speed are in order. Everybody I know that rides a SS swears by them, and they all rise SS more then there gearie FS bikes. So Ill buy a roadie and build a SS. Ive been looking at the Trek for around $600, dont want to spend alot on a road bike since my heart lies in the dirt. Any other road bike suggestions around the above mentioned price range. The Felt also looked good, but Id have to drive a little to get one of those.

Thanks again,
Sean

Singlespeed. One bike does it all. If I want to ride a road pace (sitting and spinning) I choose flatter terrain. In my area there is more uninterrupted riding in the dirt than on the road. And safer too.

merlin

· #16 · Dec 15, 2005

I have both and ride both each week. If you are really serious about getting faster fet the road bike!!!!!!!!!!! The SS is fun and helps build power but in terms of getting faster and building endurance the road bike will work much better. There are a lot of top notch coaches that do not like the single speed. I do not want to hijack your post and get in to a debate if SS is good or bad, if you want details send me a PM. BTW, I ride my SS 1-2 times per week, so I like it.

FoShizzle

· #17 · Dec 15, 2005

pacman said:
Singlespeed. One bike does it all. If I want to ride a road pace (sitting and spinning) I choose flatter terrain. In my area there is more uninterrupted riding in the dirt than on the road. And safer too.

not sure how "safe" single speeding is with you though; riding with you, the likelihood of bursting a lung trying to keep up with you is higher than getting hit by a car on the road

MrXC

· #18 · Dec 15, 2005

smw said:
Ive been looking at the Trek for around $600, dont want to spend alot on a road bike since my heart lies in the dirt. Any other road bike suggestions around the above mentioned price range. The Felt also looked good, but Id have to drive a little to get one of those.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'd look around for the base Fuji or Redline Cross bike - I've seen them for around $800-$900 (and prices may be coming down soon as the season is ending) to get your road fix, keeping in mind that they can also get dirty on milder trails.

Then pick up either a used hardtail and a singulator or a very basic SS like the Redline Monocog and see if you like it. If you do, it won't be hard to sell it to somebody else who wants to try singlespeeding when you upgrade to a blinglespeed!

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