Single Speed Conversion Advantages?

[Dwarf Shortage]

Sorry if there's a topic already about this, any information or links to said topic would be fine and I'll try to get a mod to close it, but I did a quick search for single speed conversion, and the only thing that came up was how to do it, I want to know why?

If I get a trial bike that has gears, and I don't convert it to a single speed, will there be any major changes to the way it rides?

What's the advantages of having a single speed, as opposed to gears?

The longest distance I'll ride it will probably be 2-3 miles, and then back, so is it worth keeping the gears, or should I convert it to SS?

Thanks in advance

Ryan

[Matt Vandart]

Mostly weight and clearance advantages.

But also less things to go wrong.

If you are riding street then diffinately worth it, if you ride alot of natural in the woods and weight doesn't bother you then gears can be cool.

[Ali C]

I would have said the other way round, but hey ho.

[pogo]

Personal preference.

[terry26rims]

if it has gears like mine did, then the freehub is probably poo! With few engagement points, it isn't designed for major Trials use. Run the single speed kit til you get Ok on the bike then order a FIXEDHUB & a FREEWHEEL (I have a Echo TR FW and they are fine for my grade of riding).

[cant_ride]

Personal preference.

Agreed. I went singlespeed years ago purely because I never used gears. I rode trials in 3rd and normally forgot to shift about when travelling around. Sometimes when I'm riding to a spot a good few miles away I wish I had gears but they add weight, add more clutter on your bars (we all know bikes look better the less they have hanging off the bars) and as was mentioned earlier, more to go wrong with derailleurs, cables and shifters getting battered during riding.

Oli

[Dwarf Shortage]

Thanks for the replies

I'll probably just keep them on a while, until I get a bit more serious with trials, and then I'll decide whether to get a conversion kit.

Or just keep them on...

But yeah, thanks haha

[isitafox]

Thanks for the replies

I'll probably just keep them on a while, until I get a bit more serious with trials, and then I'll decide whether to get a conversion kit.

Or just keep them on...

But yeah, thanks haha

Must admit, I always thought single speed was daft until I rebuilt my bike after christmas and thought I'd give it a try, mainly to save money and hassle of setting up, and I can honestly say I'd never go back to gears. Just feels really nice and gives you a bit of confidence that its 1 less thing to go wrong!