Single speed that is! I am absolutely loving my Monocog Flight 29er ss. I threw on a new gear last week so I am running 32 X 18 now. It is still an easy gear except for the toughest of hills, which I have not ridden yet. I am still spinning pretty good on the flats, but I can also sit through nearly all the hills around hear just fine (while fresh) and it is tough against some of the 20-25 mph winds we have been having. I took off for a gravel grinder ride on 160th west and then north on what must be V Ave to 150th and came back home. The ride ended up being around 19 miles and I averaged something like 14.3 or so. I really thought this was good for me as I am not in shape, I was spinning quite nicely (which I like) on the flats and all of the hills were very doable. With one more tooth on the back I think I would have been around the 15 mph range for the ride and would have been just fine. What I love about the single speed is that I can tell that I am not pushing a cassette. I feel like the power I am putting into the pedals are more directly connected to the wheel and that I have less drag than with my geared bike. Also, with the 29er wheels I feel that this one gear has more variety than a single speed 26er. It is hard to describe but it feels like the gear has more range than what that gear would have on a 26er. Make sense?
Well, my next long ride is going to be the Trans Iowa get together. Click the link for more info!
Do you think GT would want to come and ride 100 miles around the Des Moines River Valley for a Trans Iowa training ride in early December? Would you want to?
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Hmm, not sure about more variety. You gotta get it going, but the momentum kicks in quickly and you can spin easier at a harder gear inch - therefore going faster. (If you had the same gear inches b/n 26er and 29er, I think the 29er cruises better). That said, getting up hills is a different story.
Yeah, variety is the right word. What I mean is that it feels like you can stay in that one gear at different speeds easier than on a 26er. In other words, riding in the range of 10-15 mph in one gear on a 29er is easier than going 10-15 on a 26er. There is less of a range in cadence if that makes sense.
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