Singlespeed or Singlespeedable?

[dialled_bikes]

Hi. We're a new company to the US. Please help us with a bit of market research.

Do you prefer dedicated singlespeed frames or, if one was available, would you prefer a singlespeedable frame (i.e. one that can be run singlespeed or geared)?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

[tryandgetme]

I prefer available as singlespeed, but with the choice of gears. I've ridden my singlespeed setup with gears what...twice in the 3 years I've had it? something like that. still, I like the choice. My bike's got horizontal dropouts so I just threw a chain tug on it that had a derailleur hanger and ziptied the cables to the frame. Works good.

[robcycle]

My bike's got horizontal dropouts so I just threw a chain tug on it that had a derailleur hanger and ziptied the cables to the frame. Works good.
I'm with Chris. I would prefer track ends, and if I wanted gears I would use the apropriate chain tug. I'm not a huge fan of verticle drops on a single speed, be it sliding or EBB. I would like to have the adjustment offered by trackends without using an allen wrench to adjust sliding drop outs or an ebb. Also, track ends tend to let you fudge a bit more when it comes to differences in teeth.

my $.02

-Rob.

[adam12]

Versatility is one of the things I always look for when buying a bike. I likes me some options.

[rockhound]

I'm with Chris. I would prefer track ends, and if I wanted gears I would use the apropriate chain tug. I'm not a huge fan of verticle drops on a single speed, be it sliding or EBB. I would like to have the adjustment offered by trackends without using an allen wrench to adjust sliding drop outs or an ebb. Also, track ends tend to let you fudge a bit more when it comes to differences in teeth.

my $.02

-Rob.

I am just the opposite. I love an EBB or sliding dropouts. It allows you to swap out the wheelsets you might already have, you don't need a tool to change a flat, and your brakes are alway "dialled" in.

[davkatreb]

I like a little of the rough stuff. But not too much, and I like the "safe word" to be written down beside the mirror on the ceiling. And in the dungeon, too.

And I like SPAM for breakfast. But always with eggs, and only once in awhile.

Tomorrow is Saturday. Wanna bet I sleep late?

[davkatreb]

Oh, almost forgot-I don't like those wonky bottom brackets at all. Too much motion in the ol' mojo, no? And sliding dropouts? Good Lord, man, why? How many times must I say it? TRACKENDS!

And the issue of optimizing the rear disc/caliper interface? Moot (not Moots) in my yet to be humble opinion. See, a rear brake is totally redundant on a fix. And if it's not fixed, it's broken. Capish?

[davkatreb]

you don't need a tool to change a flat
Really? You don't need a pump? Or t(i/y)re levers? Or a patch kit, even? Damn, funker! For the first time since I've been on these boards, I'm impressed!

[LeeMcGough]

Davkatreb, you are needed on the "Lost Soldier" thread. It looks like it has been a while since you typo-d an insult there. Long overdue.
BTW, I like EBBs, you can safely run quick release.

[real_ss_budgie]

i like it both ways.....

the KM setup is so crunchy friendly but then again i dig the slick aesthetics of a pure ss setup ala the diSSney...i am yet to test a EBB.

[rockhound]

Really? You don't need a pump? Or t(i/y)re levers? Or a patch kit, even? Damn, funker! For the first time since I've been on these boards, I'm impressed!

Yep, watch and learn. ;)

[davkatreb]

Yep, watch and learn. ;)
Fair dinkum, chopper! Youtube that sumbitch and post it on these boards, so that we mere mortals may see it.

[jerman]

Oh, almost forgot-I don't like those wonky bottom brackets at all. Too much motion in the ol' mojo, no? And sliding dropouts? Good Lord, man, why? How many times must I say it? TRACKENDS!


OK Dave. I thought a Trackend was the same as a horizontal dropout, like on my Karate Monkey. And I thought sliding dropouts were reg drop outs that slid on a horizontal slot in the frame. Please clear this up for me, Oh Great One.

[davkatreb]

OK Dave. I thought a Trackend was the same as a horizontal dropout, like on my Karate Monkey. And I thought sliding dropouts were reg drop outs that slid on a horizontal slot in the frame. Please clear this up for me, Oh Great One.
Glad to. Horizontal dropouts are forward-facing. Typically found on older road bikes; everything from Colnagos to Huffys. Also found on cruisers.

Trackends (or BMX dropouts) are rear-facing and are found on track bikes (DUH!), many purpose-built fixed gear frames and BMX bikes.

Class dismissed.

[myron]

Welp, I prefer the clean look of track ends. I have no desire for shifty bits, but one of my bikes has cable guides, a hanger, as well as track ends w/disc mounts.

I really prefer track ends with disc mounts, I know people complain about how hard it is to adjust disc brakes, but I don't find that.

I might even pass up a bike if it were equipped with an EBB, or sliding drops. Not a big fan, not a fan.

[hophead]

Do you prefer dedicated singlespeed frames or, if one was available, would you prefer a singlespeedable frame (i.e. one that can be run singlespeed or geared)?

SS only, steel, & 26" wheels for me. I'll PM you with my address so you can send me a prototype.:D

[rockhound]

I might even pass up a bike if it were equipped with an EBB, or sliding drops. Not a big fan, not a fan.

You're missing out...

EBB = Set it and forget it!

[dialled_bikes]

Thanks for the input guys.

It'll be a while before we release a singlespeed/able frame in the US, but it's good to get some info before sitting down and designing something we think/hope will appeal to the US market.

[tryandgetme]

Yep, watch and learn. ;)

I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere. Along the lines of suck-starting a lawnmower, etc..

;)

[myron]

I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere. Along the lines of suck-starting a lawnmower, etc..

;)

I tried to google that, but if you want results, you gotta sub "lawnmower" for harley. Sill it was pretty much a dead end, unless I was willing to turn the filter off:rolleyes:



"How did you set yer hat on fire? Suck starting a Harley?"

"Well, I didn’t do it on purpose." His eyebrows were scorched and gnarly.

His moustache was singed off uneven and unsymmetrically skewed

While the glass was gone from his glasses, which rendered him spectacly nude.

"Dark," he said, "You know methane will burn? Me and Jake were out checkin’ the stock.

We were comin’ in late and found one that looked like she needed the doc.

But we were both cow paramedics trained to do more than just ride

And savvied her dire situation all bloated and laid on her side.

Not having a trocar or bloat hose, first choices for saving her life,

I blindly palpated the left flank for the place where I’d plunge in my knife.

I inserted the point of my sticker, it fit like a key in a latch

When Jake said, "Here, let me help you!" With a flourish the fool struck a match.

A blue flame roared out of the orfice like St. Helens come back from the dead!

The whoosh, like an airbag exploding pinned my ears back on my head!

What kept us from burning too badly, or at least to me it makes sense,

Was the fireball of flammable gasses was mixed with the rumen contents.

Poor Jake took the blast a full frontal, though his moustache protected his lips,

When he took his hat off of his bald head, he looked like a partial eclipse.

The fireball waned down to a flicker. The cow was now lookin’ plum flat.

My chest was all greenish and sticky ... I could see by the light of my hat.

But the ultimate insult I suffered was not the burnt hat or the blood,

But my mouth had been opened in protest, and I found I was chewing her cud!"