I got bored today so I decided to build up my 2nd SS bike ever (the first bike I converted was my old 1990 Klein Attitude race bike but it is currently waiting in the rebuild queue while I try to find a Mission Control stem/bar combo) and ride it again. I converted the Dean about 10 years ago or so but I updated it with a Rennen and a carbon flat bar I had laying around.
I only own one ss and it's a '93 custom **** pig made by John Hammond (Salsa frame builder). Still has the original custom Phil hub set that I had made just for it (130mm rear spacing) too.
yep, it's a no name chinese frame I picked up on Ebay for $10 that I built up with spares. Since I built a couple newer nicer SS bikes it was ridden by a buddy as his first SS and now that he has moved on I slapped on an ultegra crank and run it with whatever the small ring was, I think a 40 and 18 in the rear as my towny/grocery getter/kid cart puller. It's one of my favorite bikes.
My original SS was my Evel Knievel bike when I was in grade school....OG Mountain Bike...I took off all the stupid plastic crap on it and you have left over a steel cruiser -like frame with knobby tires.
Well, I hadn't rode my ol' pal Stumpy since I got a Soma Juice.
Seeing my main velo for the last 12 years collecting dust got me all nostolgic; the epic rides, the upgrades, the return to basics, and even become more basic with the conversion to SS. The only bike I've won races on is Stumpy.
So I took my ol' pal out last Friday...and he beat the living $hit out of me! Between the slightly taller gear and the smaller wheels, I was sore from head to toe!
Sorry old friend, big wheels have made me soft (and faster).
Maybe your next role in my life is a commuter?
My original singlespeed. A 1996 Orange P7 with as much UK stuff as I could find to put on it at the time (Pace forks, hope hubs, L&M cranks, X-Lite bars, Middleburn skewers...)
nope. it kinda died. i got a warranty Eddie Bauer frame from giant when i killed a chainstay on a 1996 atx something something. broke the chainstay pulling a trailer in college(2002 i think) and they sent off an ill fitting Al frame. swapped parts and road it for a while. the stx shifters eventually stopped working and i got the bright idea to SS it. worked great for a while, just left it in the middle ring(left the other 2 on) and used a conversion kit to make the rear hub SS. worked fine until i hit a large pothole running a couple errands, dechained, went over the bars, and somehow broke a soulcraft tensioner. i was wary of SS for a bit after that but last winter i built up a Al monocog frame i got on blowout with other blowout/spare parts and ride the piss out of it.
Sweet EK bike. is that a little suspension fork on there? or just rubber boots? i loved EK, but the only thing i had was my EK lunchpail.
just rubber boots....that bike was super sturdy..I used bailing wire to secure the coaster brake and jumped that thing over everything...it was fast too..just look at the size of that stock chainring!
Yep, my first single speed is still going strong and has a slightly different lease on life. It is now a drop barred (Midge) fixed monster cross bike for the dirt roads near my house. It was my gateway bike (led to harder stuff!!). It was my first SS, first 29er, and the first bike I ever rode fixed. I have multiples of each now.
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Originally Posted by flipnidaho
