Is a single speed 4x bike blasphemy?

Is a single speed 4x bike blasphemy?

  • Yes

    Votes: 20 47.6%

  • No

    Votes: 22 52.4%
  • Total voters
    42
  • Poll closed .
velolove

velolove

Likes Dirt
Ok... so I'm building up a new 4x bike and was thinking about going single speed for all the right reasons like weight, durability, cost and looks.
BUT the guy at the bike shop said that for 4x you want to have gears?
I will be racing it like every week on a bmx track and single speed is fine for my 20' so why would it be any different for the mtb.
What do the general concenseus of farkin think.?
 
velolove

velolove

Likes Dirt
Giant_4_Life said:
if you are thinking of racing you must follow these rules:

26" wheels
Gears
Suspension fork
Click to expand...
Not for our local series champ:

1. All bikes used in mountain cross competition must have two working brakes, one front and one rear
2. All bikes must be fitted with handlebar plugs.
3. All bikes must, additionally, have at least 2 of the following 3 characteristics:
26"" wheels front and rear
Functional front suspension
More than one working rear gear
 
G

g-fish

Likes Bikes and Dirt
If you find the right gearing... and its a significant weight advantage, go for it!

It should be intresting, but if the whole bikes light enough, you have good gearing set-up, and your reasnobly fit it should work well.

On the other hand:
You could be slow out of the gates
Be slow once your going fast
And be slow when everybody gets tangled up and you have to start moving again.

Only one way to find out!
 
chillywilly

chillywilly

Likes Dirt
if you want, you can do it. a lot of the bike on Pinkbike are single speed. i think its pretty stupid. if you are going to do it tho i would have it so you were almost spinning out by the 1st turn.

but really, gear are so much better
 
N

NH_

Likes Bikes and Dirt
in theory ss should be fine, but trust me its not i can gate quicker with my 224 running gears then i could on my hardtail running single speed its all about the holeshot, get it and youve got a good chance of winning, dont get it and it could be race over by the first corner

clips dont really help with ss though, the good thing about clips and gears is you can change gear when you start to spin, to get a good gate with ss youll need a pretty low gear, yet with clips youll just spin out of the gate (trust me spinning on the gate also sucks)
 
kholden_1992

kholden_1992

Likes Dirt
i dont think it would be

think of the positives

your bike is lighter and more simple

+ you can change still change ur ratio to suit the track befor you race
 
Burrito_Boy

Burrito_Boy

Likes Bikes and Dirt
The ability to shift out of the gate will offer an immediate speed increase. So unless your packing track cyclist leg cannons, then the gearing you'd have to push in order to not spin out in the various other sections of the track.

The whole spinners are winners thing while somewhat applies, it is a little obsolite with 4x, as the tracks aren't as tight as bmx track, where jumping and pumping is where u mainly make up speed.

So far you have a slight weight reduction, coupled with an initial speed reduction, and if you stop in the race (which happens more often than not in such racing) you will have to crank back up to speed.

Where as with gears, you can snap at a lower gear for speed, change a few times in the 1st straight and still be in a similar gearing ratio when your fully up to speed.
Personally i would always ride with gears, and change a fair few times during a race, but its all going to come down to experiance, practice and personal preferance.... as with most things in life, unfortunately a forum poll won't give you the answers
 
Tazed

Tazed

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Why not try what Lopes did a few years back?
Run gears - only 3, and lock out the derailleur movement.
You're only really going to upshift in most cases, anyway, so 1-2 clicks and you've gone from start gear to race gear.
Just a thought.
I can't see how running a snglespeed in 4x will be advantageous, given the variety of tracks, turns, sprints and corners.
And weight savings?
What's a cluster and shifters weigh? it's about 500g on my Tazer, and a singlespeed setup (assuming a steel cog, spacers & tensioner) is only gonna be about 150g lighter.
 
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