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need enlightment on SS
Probably not relevant since I commute in Canberra. but what's th
special deal about SS? My slow wit, I know. The gear combo I use ever day during commuting range between 42X17 and 52X12. Although th majority of the distance is ridden on 42X13, I still guess an SS woul be too wasteful. Can someone shed some light Cheers - |
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#2
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need enlightment on SS
amirm wrote:
Probably not relevant since I commute in Canberra. but what's the special deal about SS? My slow wit, I know. The gear combo I use every day during commuting range between 42X17 and 52X12. Although the majority of the distance is ridden on 42X13, I still guess an SS would be too wasteful. Can someone shed some light? Ahh, that most difficult question. http://mtbr.com/faq/ssfaq.shtml#ssWhyS http://www.trianglemtb.com/pages/passion/whySS.htm Personally, I built one because I saw people raving about them when the were an 'underground', uncommon thing. I mean, who takes a perfectl good geared bike and removes most of the parts It was silly enough of an idea for me to want to have a go A larg part of it was also to do with improving performance. With an SS yo HAVE to push a bigger gear than normal up the hills and you HAVE to spi like mad on the downhills and flats (well, you can coast, but I' talking about trying to push it - if you are a habitual coaster, try fixie :-) ) The bike is also simpler, and lighter with less parts to break an it's less attractive to thieves (not that this was an issue with m crusty GT!) They make great commuters and hack bikes because you are not worrie about expensive derailers getting smashed off whilst off-road o expensive cassettes being trashed in bad weather Then again, you can also spend an absolute fortune on a custom SS wit all kinds of trick parts (Paul, White Industries, etc make SS specifi driveline parts that cost a bomb!) With no gears to worry about, once you've got used to it, the bike i really nice to ride. Like every other ss'er says, you really do get t think more about what is happening around you and what you are seeing o the road/trail They are cool. I reckon anyone with an old bike and reasonable fitnes should try it for a while hipp - |
#3
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need enlightment on SS
hippy wrote:
Ahh, that most difficult question.. http://mtbr.com/faq/ssfaq.shtml#ssWhySS http://www.trianglemtb.com/pages/passion/whySS.html Personally, I built one because I saw people raving about them when they were an 'underground', uncommon thing. I mean, who takes a perfectly good geared bike and removes most of the parts! It was silly enough of an idea for me to want to have a go A large part of it was also to do with improving performance. With an SS you HAVE to push a bigger gear than normal up the hills and you HAVE to spin like mad on the downhills and flats (well, you can coast, but I'm talking about trying to push it - if you are a habitual coaster, try a fixie :-) ). The bike is also simpler, and lighter with less parts to break and it's less attractive to thieves (not that this was an issue with my crusty GT!). They make great commuters and hack bikes because you are not worried about expensive derailers getting smashed off whilst off-road or expensive cassettes being trashed in bad weather. Then again, you can also spend an absolute fortune on a custom SS with all kinds of trick parts (Paul, White Industries, etc make SS specific driveline parts that cost a bomb!). With no gears to worry about, once you've got used to it, the bike is really nice to ride. Like every other ss'er says, you really do get to think more about what is happening around you and what you are seeing on the road/trail. They are cool. I reckon anyone with an old bike and reasonable fitness should try it for a while. hippy Yeah ... all the above .. Plus the SS is SO MUCH MORE FUN to ride So many times on my commute I see guys drop chains, mis-shift, stuck i the wrong gear ... etc Me? I just cruise along ... It's amazing how much more you notice aroun you and enjoy your ride when your brain isn't worried about breaking derailer or figuring out the right gear to be in I don't even have a geared bike anymore ... been without one for th last 3.5 years. Oh ... I haven't ridden a freewheel bike in the last years either Cheers Koo - |
#4
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need enlightment on SS
Originally posted by Koon Yong Plus the SS is SO MUCH MORE FUN to ride
So true I don't even have a geared bike anymore ... been without one for th last 3.5 years. Oh ... I haven't ridden a freewheel bike in the last years either Nice! But I still need a geared bike or two for hammering Beach Rd. an climbing in the 'nongs so I'll never be exclusively SS Where in Melbourne do you usually ride? Road/Off-road hipp - who is looking out at the rain and thinking not riding tonight is 'good' thing : - |
#5
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need enlightment on SS
Thanks Hippy. Now I got some idea.
I remember back in my childhood days Chinese-built SS bikes wer prevalent in my home town. They were pretty heavy with all thos mudguards, racks and steel dark green frames. Riding them on those hug 28" wheels asked for a good work out. They phased out quickly a Japanese tourers dominated the market in late '70s. Wow that many year have passed, and I wasn't on newsgroups all that time! ; Probably SS is not my cuppa tea for now. Traumatic memories of heavy S in childhood, eh? Maybe. Thanks goodness that didn't make me an SS Nazi - |
#6
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need enlightment on SS
hippy wrote:
Originally posted by Koon Yong Nice! But I still need a geared bike or two for hammering Beach Rd. and climbing in the 'nongs so I'll never be exclusively SS. Where in Melbourne do you usually ride? Road/Off-road? I mostly commute nowadays from my home in Brunswick West to Melbourn Uni where I work On the weekends, I'll go to my girlfriend's place which is in sout yarra and that's about it. Sometimes, when she plays tennis, I'll jus wander around the streets/yarra river trail in the area I haven't really ridden offroad in over a year. I have gon occansionally with my fixie MTB around some easy single track/fireroa that's alittle off the capital city trail ... but nothing major. I don' drive so getting to some nice trails is an issue Now that I have my Fuji Track bike, I hope to do more regular longe distance rides to build up some endurance. Just working on getting front caliper at the moment Cheers Koo - |
#7
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need enlightment on SS
amirm wrote:
I remember back in my childhood days Chinese-built SS bikes were prevalent in my home town. They were pretty heavy with all those mudguards, racks and steel dark green frames. Riding them on those huge 28" wheels asked for a good work out. They phased out quickly as Japanese tourers dominated the market in late '70s. Wow that many years have passed, and I wasn't on newsgroups all that time! Probably SS is not my cuppa tea for now. Traumatic memories of heavy SS in childhood, eh? Maybe. Thanks goodness that didn't make me an SS Nazi! I remember those china bikes. You can still buy them in most SE asia countries. I remember seeing a docu where these guys in china would rac these bikes carrying a crate load of veggies at the back ... goin pretty fast too Well times have changed and you can get an SS built at under 21 pound and not silly "break-in-half-after-one-crash" light either cheers Koo - |
#8
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need enlightment on SS
In article ,
hippy wrote: who is looking out at the rain and thinking not riding tonight is a 'good' thing I just got in and it's beautiful out there. Rain to keep you cool, wind to dry you off, bike gets a clean... and trucks with a bigger wake than the Queen Mary. -- Shane Stanley |
#9
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need enlightment on SS
"amirm" wrote in message
.. . Probably not relevant since I commute in Canberra. but what's the special deal about SS? My slow wit, I know. The gear combo I use every day during commuting range between 42X17 and 52X12. Although the majority of the distance is ridden on 42X13, I still guess an SS would be too wasteful. Can someone shed some light? Cheers, Where in Canberra do you ride??? I was commuting from Ngunnawal to Campbell for 18mths or so and it was great as pretty well the whole trip was on bike paths or back streets and there was not much in the way of hills (Going up behind the war memorial was probably the hardest part of the trip). I commuted every day and can still remember one -8degrees morning when my water bottle froze and I couldn't have a drink without sticking it inside my jacket for a while to defrost. I never wore any sort of ear or head warmers and it was always the first 5 min or so that I didn't like in the mornings (used to get killer ice cream headaches) but then I would warm up and it would be OK. This week I have just finished building up my singlespeed mtn bike and it has definately worked my legs harder than I normally do on the 27 speed. I am still playing around with gear ratios and went from a 36/15 to 36/13 but I still need a slightly higher gear. I am now planning to put a larger cog on both front and rear to get a slightly higher gear. If you have a spare bike, give it a crack......I did it on the cheap and knocked the pins out of a couple of old rear clusters to separate all the cogs and the little plastic spacers. I now have a selection of cogs of various sizes and enough spacers to put either side of the one that I am using so that the chain is straight between the front and rear cogs. We have had a bit of rain down here in Melb this week and so the SS has been great as I can just hose it down and then oil it up again in about 2 minutes flat. Ride on. Gags |
#10
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need enlightment on SS
Originally posted by Shane Stanle
In article , hippy usenet wrote who is looking out at the rain and thinking not riding tonight is 'good' thin I just got in and it's beautiful out there. Rain to keep you cool, win to dry you off, bike gets a clean... and trucks with a bigger wake tha the Queen Mary Rain to give me pneumonia, wind to help the rain give me pneumonia, bik gets covered in road grit.. ; I currently don't have a shower at home (hot water unit blew up) so I' not riding these few nights home so that I don't have to go to be dirty. Bucket washing ain't gonna happen! : It gives me time to read and build by immune system up by sitting o the train : hipp - |
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