Welcome to the world of single speed biking. This blog is to keep me riding and maybe share some info.
Shedding all the gears but one takes some of the machinery out of the bike and makes the riding more pure. The bike is also easier to maintain and is less prone to damage.
I have nothing against gears and enjoy riding my road bike. When on a long outing on a road bike I try to maintain a consistent cadence and output by utilizing all the gears. My objective usually is to travel as far and as efficiently as possible. Mountain biking is all about having fun along the way. Destination and distance are secondary to the ride. It adds the element of technique so you do not notice the fatigue as much. Without the gears, navigating steep/long hills is the biggest change. The workout is more like interval training than marathon. You spend more time standing up out of the saddle since the granny gear is not an option. While the most common suggestion is to attack hills as fast as possible to avoid losing momentum that is not a long term solution. More on that another day.
That is my intro. Next ride is a couple days away.
Now I’m watching you too
I enjoyed reading your blog!