How silly am I being?

[cbgold]

This is my first post here. I'm 60 years old, 5"10" and 260#. I know that sounds like a lot but I really am in half decent shape.

Been a while since I've been biking. Used to mountain bike all the time with the kids when they were younger and I was smaller. Now they have their own families.

This is a round about way of saying I was in my local Trek store lookking for a bike when I saw the Trek Soho single speed. I won't say I fell in love but I really liked it. Took it for a spin and liked it even more. I want to be able to commute 8 miles to work each way (70% road and 30% bike path). Only one short steep climb and a couple of smaller ones. My wife things I'm crazy for looking at a single speed. She wants me to stick with 24 speeds. She thinks it will be easier for me. She's afraid I will die on the single speed, but I sure did like it. I also liked just how simple it was.

So how silly am I being for even thinking about the single speed?

Thanks

 

[garage sale GT]

How are your knees?


I commuted on a singlespeed for a while. Actually, it was a coaster brake cruiser, not some snazzy track bike. When the hills were too steep, I got off and pushed. If you're not too proud to do that (if you have to) then you're getting the right bike. Much simpler and lighter.

 

[ohiobiker]

I don't think you're being silly at all. I am 45 and I am in the process of building my second single speed. I have a 24 speed road bike for tours and club rides but I love the single speed for running errands and fittness riding.

 

[gclark8]

I build Single Speed Freewheel Bikes on re-furbished older steel frames and 27 x 1 1/4 steel rims.

Most of my clients are well over 45!!

 

[TheDarkLord]

I had a single speed for several years - to get up steep climbs, you either stand up and pedal, or got off and pushed the bike. But then my knees started giving me trouble, and so I have given up on single speeds...

 

[cbgold]

Thanks for your all your thoughts.

Confused about the knees. My knees are fine. No problems. Will a single speed cause me more problems in the future with my knees then a geared bike.

Again thanks for your help.

 

[ohiobiker]

Thanks for your all your thoughts.

Confused about the knees. My knees are fine. No problems. Will a single speed cause me more problems in the future with my knees then a geared bike.

Again thanks for your help.

I'm no doctor but I've never herd of a single speed causing knee trouble. Or a fixie either for that matter.

 

[Thinkly]

I'm no doctor but I've never herd of a single speed causing knee trouble. Or a fixie either for that matter.

8 miles is a pretty short distance so should be no trouble at all. On top of that it's a cool bike and you like it, so what could go wrong?

 

[cbgold]

The husband of a woman I work with just offered to let me borrow a single speed for a month to see if I like it. What a great deal and a great guy! Now I can see if it is for me or not.

Thanks for all your help and I will keep you posted on how I do with the single speed.

 

[TheDarkLord]

Thanks for your all your thoughts.

Confused about the knees. My knees are fine. No problems. Will a single speed cause me more problems in the future with my knees then a geared bike.

Again thanks for your help.

Mashing a bike with too high a gear can give rise to knee trouble; in other words, if you have a single speed, and you try to bike up an incline that is too steep to have a good cadence (without standing up the bike that is), and do it often, then you could get knee trouble. However, my own knee trouble didn't arise from my using a single speed. But after getting the knee trouble, I found that biking up hills remaining seated on the bike did make the knee more sore.

 

[alfeng]

So how silly am I being for even thinking about the single speed?

Nothing wrong with a single speed ...

BUT, first (?), find out what the gearing is on the particular Trek bike (44x18) you are considering buying as well as your friend's bike (the gearing can be changed on whatever you eventually buy) ...

Then, on a Sunday morning when the traffic is much lighter, take YOUR current bike -- OR, any bike with 700c tires -- on the roadway you are planning to traverse IN A COMPARABLE GEAR (e.g., 42x17, 39x16) on your current bike and see if you can ride it comfortably without shifting ... up-or-down ... just for starters.

If everything is fine except for "one short steep climb" and/or "a couple of smaller ones" where you may need to get off the bike & walk, then you'll know if it's a small inconvenience [walking the bike up the hill(s)] which you need to plan for OR one which you don't want to be bothered with.

Try the ride in a different, single gear combination until you find a combination that works for you ...

BTW. The most OBVIOUS (?) problem with the TREK Soho is that you can get as good-or-better a bike for less money -- e.g., REDLINE's Monocog ... or, RALEIGH's XXIX come to mind ... you'll probably want a pair of thinner tires/tubes for the XXIX than the 700x58 off-road tires it comes with ... and again, the gearing can be changed, of course.

 

[cbgold]

Just took the advice and looked at the Redline Monocog 29er.

Not in a shop near me. Is it worth a ride to a bike shop some distance from me?

How does the Redline Monocog 29er compare to the Trek Soho S? Anone ridden both?

Thanks for all your help.

 

[fixedgear14]

although im only in high school... i ride my fixie whenever i can, and can easily do 6 miles, no sweat. my body is probably more busted up than a lot of other people's... ive got a pretty crummy back and a bum leg... i dont think crouching over for long periods of time does the back any good... but if i can do it, im certain you can, especially if youre in good shape whcich it sounds like... and i never have trouble with hills... just stand up on the pedals, no problem. i would say ride a fixie. best thing that ever happened to me.

 

[Mike O'Hanlon]

Go for it! I'm 60 and I've been riding fixed for 45years+. I usually ride a converted 'retired' track bike. The only knee problems I've had have been due to non-cycling injuries and riding fixed has helped to speed the recovery time. If you're buying a ready built bike, make sure that the chain line is spot-on and the cranks are straight. Also, be sure that the bottom bracket and pedal bearings are set up properly. Sadly, too many bike shop/factory mechanics think that if you need them to set your bike up then you won't know if it's right, so it doesn't matter if it isn't. Quite a lot of regular fixed riders (me included) like to ride with slightly shorter cranks on fixed, but I think that is just a matter of taste. Finally (I do go on a bit, don't I?), choice of gear is crucial, so learn to think of gears properly, in inches. The calculation is simple enugh, Wheel diameter in inches x numkber of chain ring teeth / number of sprocket teeth. Look for a gear in the range 64 - 69 inches.

Most of all - ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[fixedgear14]

riding has helped your knee? that could be good... my leg kills, especially if i go for a run... ive been hoping for that to get better for some time now... and about those pedals... mine are falling off im working on putting together soome money for a bottom bracket... no job

 

[Mike O'Hanlon]

I've had various knee injuries over the years. I played Rugby as a lad, later my young GSD managed to trip me up then I manageed to jam the heel and toe of my shoe into the angle of the front door step. Every time, the recovery accelerated as soon as I started riding the fixed wheel again. But do ensure that the cranks, pedals, bearings etc. are all OK. You can, of course, replace and reset the bearings yourself, with a bit of care and common sense (and very greasy hands!).
Good luck.

 

[fixedgear14]

well hopefully i will have the bottom bracket all set and figured out before too long.. i hope that helps... ive tryed taking it apart but can only get it so far apart due to a lack of proper tools... well i can always try again, thanks a lot

 

[alfeng]

riding has helped your knee? that could be good... my leg kills, especially if i go for a run... ive been hoping for that to get better for some time now... and about those pedals... mine are falling off im working on putting together soome money for a bottom bracket... no job

This is definitely drifting off topic, but what is wrong with your bottom bracket?

How does it feel when you turn it by hand? Crunchy?

 

[fixedgear14]

im not sure exactly whats wrong... its about as old as the hills, and after every 5 or 6 miles, it gets really loose, and cranks will go side to side a little bit, which also torques the front gear out of alignment... ive tightened it many times, and when its tight, it makes a wretched screeching noise, almost as if you were to drive your car alongside a peice of metal, its an awful metal on metal noise, and as soon as its loose enough to not make that noise, i feel like the pedals are falling off... lastly, the gear does not remain in a single place... if the pedals are in one position, the chain is extremely tight, whereas in another position, the chain has enough slack to almost fall off... and is isnt the wheel, the whole wheel is brabd new, built by former olympic mechanic. its also french... arent those really tough to find?

 

[alfeng]

im not sure exactly whats wrong... its about as old as the hills, and after every 5 or 6 miles, it gets really loose, and cranks will go side to side a little bit, which also torques the front gear out of alignment... ive tightened it many times, and when its tight, it makes a wretched screeching noise, almost as if you were to drive your car alongside a peice of metal, its an awful metal on metal noise, and as soon as its loose enough to not make that noise, i feel like the pedals are falling off... lastly, the gear does not remain in a single place... if the pedals are in one position, the chain is extremely tight, whereas in another position, the chain has enough slack to almost fall off... and is isnt the wheel, the whole wheel is brabd new, built by former olympic mechanic. its also french... arent those really tough to find?

Okay ... I understand ...

Have your mechanic (if you've got the tools, you can do it yourself, of course) move the fixed cup to the non-driveside & the adjustable cup to the driveside -- in a lucid moment, I realized THAT would be the easiest way to resolve the vexing problem of the "fixed" cup loosening with EITHER French OR Italian BBs ... both the driveside & non-driveside cups of both BB types have right hand threads.

Other people may have come up with the same solution, but I still read the suggestion that Loctite be used to keep the fixed cup on an Italian BB from slipping, so the cognoscenti still must adhere to the belief that the fixed cup should be on the driveside ... and, installing the fixed up on the non-driveside will make you a heretic like me!

BTW. Yes, French BBs have become rare.