Paul Petch

Single speed riding – trail rises

This is my second post in a series about my experiences on the single speed. If you are interested in my story about how I got into single speeding you can check it out here.

Basics

Lots of us can be lazy when riding a geared bike… and on occasion lazy works well for me :D I’m not saying that riding with gears is a bad thing, because big hills and long days on dirt in my mind require gears (which some of you may not care for!), it’s just that I get more from a few hours on a single speed than any other bike….as it keeps you working like a dog which equates to fitness and technique :) The golden rule of single speeding for me is to to conserve momentum, anticipate inclines and to hit stuff with as much speed as possible. Riding one gear will keep you honest and by this I mean that you cannot ease off on small ups and fall back onto those gears and comfy seat….it is all or nothing on a single speed! The fact is that by attacking small rises and working the “flow” of the trail it actually becomes easier and you eventually work less on a single speed than its geared brother….which sounds odd doesn’t it!? Why exactly is it easier??… well… you can just let go of worrying/ thinking of what gear you are in and just ride.

Lumps and bumps – what to do

Basically, Mr.Momentum is our friend and anticipating an incline is crucial to keeping the speed up. As you see the rise, but in a burst and then as you hit the base hit it hard and use speed whilst you have it and then “bite in” over the rise and hit the crest hard again to then power out or down. Depending on the rise and ratio of your bike you could be powering in or out of the seat at this point….but either way… timing and commitment is the key here. At this point of the trail you will often notice a big difference between your trail friends riding gears….. as you will simply leave them for dust as they focus more on gear choice and during this preparation they tend to slow right down. It will be at these point that you start to leave them for dust.. which of course requires a loud *muuuhahahahahaha* as you power away! Be careful though as at this point twisting your mustache can be fatal :) and  following a geared rider can end in disaster too as you power up they will literally come to a stand still which will end in a rear end contact or having to stop and walk. Bah!

But it hurts right?

The fact is that coming from a geared bike that may well have front or rear suspension can cause even small pitches to be quite hard work on a single speed, especially if the terrain has a fair amount of repetitive rises without much respite. A lap of your local trail on a single speed can also feel like you have ridden it several times just after one lap…..because you are working much much harder. You may also feel like you are missing gears at first (duuuh!) as you feel the bite on the mid part of the rise, and this is quite normal…just stand up and apply some power! REMEMBER that you have chosen the red pill….and a transition while you attempt to shift gears with no luck is a normal reaction! (and yes the wildlife is sniggering :))

There is one thing that I keep in my mind as I feel the burn in my legs, that on every occasion where a sit down is possible, I’ll bloody take it! You will be amazed at how good the legs feel after just sitting and resting them for a matter of seconds… trust me on this one :) Let’s also think positively too… I mean we are all pushed for time right? so a single lap that works you like you have done several is a good thing in my books… and the chicks love single speeders… and our tales of woe.

Things will Improve

After just a few weeks you will find that you have infact got two gears on your bike… both standing and sitting :D Reading the terrain becomes instinctive and you will be able to judge if the trail rise will require a speed up to the base and power up and over or a pipe smoking seated burst. You will also come to appreciate it when the trail allows a brief sit down and at this point you will hopefully start to feel a change as the gear you ride somehow starts to always feel like it is in the right gear and the trail becomes far less exhausting  and will seem to work with you.. not against you. As cheesy as it sounds…..on a single speed you start to feel “at one” with the ground and also at one with everything else as you absolutely disintegrate your ride times (as well as your riding buddies) as the trail starts to open up like never before.

Wax on. Wax off grasshopper :D Now go grow a beard.

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Related posts:

1. Single speed riding – an introduction
2. The GT Peace single speed is for sale
3. It’s cold and I want my single speed
4. Kona Unit 29er – my first single speed
5. GT Peace 26″ – rigid steel single speed

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 at 1:51 pm and is filed under Bike Stuff and tagged with bottlelake, gt, gt peace, single speed. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.