West 5 Cycles
Cycling, fixed-gear bike building and life on two wheels onlyArchive for Custom builds
Singlespeeding on a mountain bike
Not wanting to completely ignore those of us who have mountain bikes still littering the back of the garden shed from those days where that was (is) still the bike to have - why not put it to good use and turn it into a single-speed for a new lease of life?
Don’t know about you, but it does seem that the nineties in particular made people part with their previous cycling preferences and leap on the mountainbike bandwagon whether there were mountains nearby or not. A little like the 4×4 fever that gripped the nation, most of whom can today be found in London where the biggest off-roading is over speed-humps. So my guess is that there must be a ton of bikes lying around, the product of new years resolutions of bygone days, bought in a whim before the realising that all those gears, ideal for off-roading, actually makes riding on tarmac a drag. You pedal like mad and still stuggle to keep up with anyone on a road-bike. Well, why not try something different and turn that mountainbike into a cool single-speed - build strength, technique and look cool, while having the bike easiest to clean and keep running smooth for miles.
Another great article on Bikeradar gives an insight to how single-speeding can make that old mountain-bike feel fresh and fun, by turning it into a minimalist machine.
Recycle your old bike - turn it to a singlespeed!
Now a lot of time on this blog has been devoted to the fixie fever that has gripped me and many others out there on the road and I’ve also written at length about building your own fixie from parts begged, borrowed, bought but not stolen. However, as my still recovering partner can attest - fixie riding is not all without hitches - it certainly takes some getting used to, namely that age-old program in our brain which says - if legs are tired, coast a little to recover.. well, that doesn’t apply to fixies as he painfully discovered. (Actually there is a way to learn to recover on a fixie even as your legs are spinning around, but more about that some other time)..
Before you take the plunge and go all fixed, you could reap the benefits of a single-speed: better training, practice the idea of fixie riding without the potential painful side-effects and have a bomb-proof commuter where winter grime is as easy to wash of as grabbing a bucket of water and tossing it over the bike. What I’m talking about of course is turning any unloved bike you might have around (or can persuade a friend to part with) and giving it a single-speed make-over. It’s the easiest and cheapest way to feel the thrill of a new bike - revamp an old one!
Bikeradar has this excellent how-to article about converting a bike to a single-speed - also have a read through the comments, some of which offer some useful addendums to the article, including the benefits of fixie vs. single-speed and dangers of using chain tensioners on fixies.
The flatbar flyer
A while ago I got hold of a beautiful Merlin frame, made in Leeds, Yorkshire out of 631 Columbus steel and as recently as in 2005, proving that the trade in steel frames is still going strong. I built it up as a racy fixie, with track bars and all - a joy to ride yet, after my better half decided to get intimate with the tarmac while trying to learn to ride fixed, the bike has been a little neglected.
The Merlin with track bars
As the nights got longer and my winter coat heavier - suddenly the triumph of retro nostalgia, the Jeeves, felt a little too ponderous to pedal to the station every morning, so I began looking for a nippier solution. Constrained by space and funds, I decided to do fixie building on the cheap, i.e rather than get a new frame and all the components, why not mod a bike I already have to better suit my winter needs. The Merlin seemed an ideal candidate.
The trouble with low drops in the winter is that you seldom use the drops unless you are wearing bike specific clothing that stops that nasty windchill from working its way into your jacket from an exposed throat and neck. Sitting a little more upright means you avoid this nuisance, yet many of the sit up and beg bikes are slow if not outright onerous in their handling. The Merlin was quite the opposite and a pleasant surprise. The racing geometry made for a very fast-handling, adrenalin junkie of a flat-bar flyer with rapid acceleration - so my journeys to the station are far more fun at this pace.
The Merlin as a flatbar flyer
The steel frame still lends a significant amount of comfort to the ride, despite the race tyres and wheels so why not consider taking a neglected hard-core racer and turning it into one of these stealthy racers-in-disguise. You might just be surprised how much fun commuting can be!
