Are SS riders stronger?

[2niner?]

I am wondering, are SS riders stronger than the XC riders using gears?
I have seen guys riding smaller gears and pass me or simple keep up the pace. They can ride at a faster cadence than me in some hills and seem to go by with not as much effort as me on my SS.
What are your thoughts?
I know that SS riders are mentally stronger and off course wiser...or dumber???
I don't know I have 4 Singe Speed bikes...

[fuz]

i'd say so.
as evidence i provide you with the lalonde brothers. they frequently win the wors elite races on singlespeed 29ers. wors, the wisconsin offroad series, is the largest state run mtbike series in the country, so there is some pretty tough competition.
i'd bet that most ss are stronger than their geary counterparts

[cMc]

Some are, some aren't. Keep in mind that many SS riders might also be more experienced, generally speaking. Most folks don't start their MTB "careers" as singlespeeders.

[rockyrider]

The major assumption behind a geared bike is that a rider has an optimum cadence that can deliver both optimum torque and power, so you shift to keep yourself in your aerobic power band no matter what the speed of the bike is.

SS'ers need to develop more anaerobic capacity since they often are having to climb in a gear that is taller than a gear optimized for their aerobic cadence, assuming your SS gearing is optimized for your normal maximum aerobic spin rate on your normal trails.

If SSer's gear their bike for climbs and can still spin 90+RPM to make up the speed they need on flats and downhills, then they end up with some fairly amazing aerobic capacity and fast twitch muscle instead.

Racers are always a special condition, even on a geared bike they're likely running 2-3 gears higher on climbs than the average reasonably fit rider.

[tryandgetme]

the guys I ride with find it amazing I can spin fast enough to mostly keep up on the road and still mash up the hills. I don't think it's that amazing, given enough time your body adjusts to what you ride.

depends on how you define stronger. can I mash a higher gear than my friends up a hill? definitely, I've got more low speed torque than them. I can also hold higher rpm for longer. I don't have anything related to endurance, but I never had, even on geared bikes. I can recover really fast. first two I would thank SSing for, last two, nature vs nurture thing singlespeeding hasn't helped that.

I think it's also gotten me used to riding around pulse thundering in your head, not enough air, muscles screaming, and just ignoring it. Maybe singlespeeders havn't developed anythign any stronger, they've just developed a higher anerobic and discomfort tolerance. Maybe both.

I don't think singlespeeding is good geared racing training, because your body has to adapt to each style of riding. I can't really sit and spin up hills very well anymore. Stand and mash? oh yeah.

[davkatreb]

SSers are the Viking bersekers of cycling. Fixed gear riders are the Jedi Knights.

[2niner?]

Thanks guys...

Since riding SS it has become difficult to ride gears...I don't know why?
I believe we are stronger at least spiritually in a bike sense.
Nothing beats a long steady climb aboard a SS.

[robcycle]

Alright, so here goes ... Are SS'er's stronger than gearies? Yes. An SS'er has to stand and grunt up a hill while a gearie is able to sit and spin. I suppose its analogous to weight lifting for a maximum weight (SS) or for repetition (gearies). Or like sprinting (SS) and long distance (gearie). Anyway, alls I know is that the gearies I've met have well defined, but scrawny legs. The SS'ers have monster quads and calves. Also, as has been said, you adapt to what you have. I can ride the same trail (so long as it isn't too climb intensive) on my MTB (32/20) or my fixed cross bike (48/18). I go allot faster on the cross bike, both on the flats and hitting the hills (with lots of momentum), but I clear more hills on the MTB. Also, on a related topic, every time I ride a gearie off-road I get an Archimedies derivative stuck in my head: Give me a low enough gear and I will climb the world. Anyway, yeah, I would say riding a SS makes your legs stronger.

-Rob.

[plume_mtb]

I am wondering, are SS riders stronger than the XC riders using gears?
I have seen guys riding smaller gears and pass me or simple keep up the pace. They can ride at a faster cadence than me in some hills and seem to go by with not as much effort as me on my SS.
What are your thoughts?
I know that SS riders are mentally stronger and off course wiser...or dumber???
I don't know I have 4 Singe Speed bikes...

Well I love riding ss but to say that simply riding a ss will make you stronger? eh, I dunno. I mean there's certainly enough automatic fitness gains, that's for sure. I think we all probably can climb a lot better than geared riders, is that what you mean by strong? To me strong is a nice way of saying slow tbh, so by that I don't think ssing makes you faster per se. Faster going uphill yes, but overall, I don't know. I've seen some dudes kill it on singles and beat a lot of dudes with gears. I've seen some pretty slow people ride singles too so it's all relative.

at the end of the day it ain't the bike, it's the rider I think. I dunno... I like all off road riding styles, I ss mainly for financial reasons. If I could afford a 5K f/s bike I'd be on one like that. I'll be damned if it'd make me slower...

[S. cerevisiae]

Single speed racers are very much like Steve Prefontaine. They are more likely to be willing to suffer more than their competitor to win.

Fixie riders on real trails are just weird.

[AM Radio]

Single Speeders walk a little bit more and talk a bit more and relate to thier surroundings a bit more and drink a bit more and go to GNC a little bit more lesseses's
Tacos de camaron suave

[myron]

I am a stronger rider than when I rode geared. I learned to pick better lines and conserve motion energy. That doesn't mean I am stronger than the next guy, geared or not. I beat a geared MTB in a street race on a large downhill and uphill road course. I smacked him on the ass(in a viking sort of way) as I passed him, then turned around and shook my fist at him for good measure. I still would have won had he been riding a single speed. If the rider was stronger than me on a geared bike I would have lost. The end.

[mimbresman]

Strength...I've always been a physically strong rider...stronger than most. As I've reached middle age, I've noticed I am not as strong as I was, but still pretty good.

Now...I've only ridden SS since November. I do feel that my cadence has improved since taking up SSing.

Fun factor...I'd like to ride some of my hometown trails to really decide if its more fun than not. The Gila is technical with lots of climbing. We use all the gears on our geared bikes. Not sure what SSing would be like there.

Skill...I've almost have always ridden rigid forks, so my trail skills are pretty sharp. And to be honest, I enjoy both bikes but I like the SS more each time I ride it. (I might be bias because its my old trusty Merlin...I love that bike!) The geared Litespeed blows me away though. Its extremely smooth and fast!

Stress...My knee strain might be due to over doing it on the SS. It is nearly recovered now. Did a good ride on the geared bike on Saturday. Might be ready for the SS this weekend.

[Cressers]

I suspect so as there is no hiding place on an SS, you can't gear down, you go in the one gear you have or you flop embarrasingly off.

But it may be the case that they'll die sooner...

[rockyrider]

Strength...I've always been a physically strong rider...stronger than most. As I've reached middle age, I've noticed I am not as strong as I was, but still pretty good. What's that old saying? "I'm not as a good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was." :D

[myron]

What's that old saying? "I'm not as a good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was." :D

the older I get, the better I was....

[real_ss_budgie]

lets ask these guys....

[teamdicky]

A The SS'ers have monster quads and calves.

-Rob.


Yes, we SS'ers have monster legs. All of us. ;)
I can crush coconuts with these tree trunks.

[OTBSkinloss]

SSers are the Viking bersekers of cycling. Fixed gear riders are the Jedi Knights.

So you're saying that fixed gear riders are imaginary sword fighting hippies, made up by George Lucas during a drug induced haze, in the 1970's?
:confused:

[rockyrider]

For one moment I thought the title of the thread was

Are SS riders stranger?

[tryandgetme]

which, is also true.

[S. cerevisiae]

So you're saying that fixed gear riders are imaginary sword fighting hippies, made up by George Lucas during a drug induced haze, in the 1970's?
:confused:

Nice.

I think the cadence thing came to me from bad knees. As elaboration I cite a former roadie coach from my teens that always advocated high cadence early in the training cycle to build the wind, and ease the pressure on ones knees until real interval/high gear training.

Fast forward to my 40th birthday and my newly discovered osteoarthritic knees. Spinning high cadence/low gears keeps them pain free..reasonably anyway. I credit that coach from back in my teens for keeping me saddled today. I stopped running because of the OA, but I'm still able to ride thanks to SS, low ratios, and high cadence.

[davkatreb]

So you're saying that fixed gear riders are imaginary sword fighting hippies, made up by George Lucas during a drug induced haze, in the 1970's?
:confused:
It's a metaphor, numbnut.

[PutAwayWet]

It ain't the bike, it's the rider. The guy who trains more will be the stronger rider, all things besides bikes equal. Riding SS enhances certain aspects of your biking ability, riding geared enhances others. 3 rides a week on each, with a fixie ride on Sunday - now that's a strong, well balanced rider. :)