One & Done

Seeing tons of singlespeed bikes around town this spring. Mostly of the road variety. Interesting to see such growth in what is - admittedly - a niche. This weekend while I was talking to friends about my s/s mountain bike, the familiar "WTF?" looks began to emerge on their faces.

"So, it only has one gear? Why?"

I love my single. It's simple, rugged, reliable,and requires minimal fuss. No derailleurs to tweak or tune. No suspension. And way less thinking and strategy -- want to go faster? Pedal faster. Simple as that.

But deep down inside, I know the real reason. As a kid, I spent HOURS exploring a wide variety of trails on my BMX bike(s). From sunup to sundown most every day was spent doing something on the bike. When I'd outgrown standard 20" wheel BMX bikes, I made the move up to "cruisers" with 26" wheels.

My SE single-speed mountain bike is the evolved, grown-up version of these bikes. I even owned a couple of SE race bikes back in the day. I think perhaps that connection to my childhood, coupled with the elemental nature of the bike, are what make me so love riding this unusual bike.

-Sean-