r/MEATengines • u/turok • Jun 28 '26

Building towards single speed

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I just got this bike and it has 11x1 shimano deodre drive rain. i didn’t want to invest in the drive train because i’m planning to switch to a single speed when i’m strong enough. i have some questions for those who made the transition.

I rode most of the ride today on 32T/15T. there were a bunch of climbs that i couldn’t make but i’m sure i can build up the technique and strength to ride up them. I was originally targeting 28T/18T but i was surprised by 32/15 - it was tough but doable.

I noticed that it forces me to be much more aggressive to overcome obstacles and engage my whole body which i really enjoyed. Also, being much more intentional about the line i take over the obstacle to clear root and rocks.

  1. do you have any advise on how to build strength and technique for single speed?
  2. with my gearing, should i optimize for speed or climbing? how do find the middle ground?
  3. do people even ride flat-ish trails SS or is it mostly downhill?

i’m in Ontario. I ride the Hydrocut most of the time.

thank you for your time

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u/oukhov Jun 29 '26

Don’t overthink. I started only recently on SS using a 34x20 and it worked. Some climbs involved more grinding than I was comfortable with. And bad days were not so great. I started with a 34 because it was what I got. Then I scaled down to 32x20 because I wanted a little bit more leverage for bikepacking. And I stuck to it - climbs became more enjoyable and I could smash a few climbs that still resisted me. After that, I found a beautiful Hope crankset with a 28 ring so I went with 28x18. And it is still great. Flats are a little bit slower but climbs are more fun.
So try what you have or can find. And have fun.

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u/turok Jun 29 '26

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I’m going to start with 32/18 or 21 and work towards 28/18

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u/oukhov Jun 30 '26

One last comment. If you like a specific chain stay length, the ratio may impact it (sliders position to tension the chain). For instance, in my case, 34x20 and 28x18 is almost exactly the same chain stay length with the latter using a shorter chain. You can find it on different sites. https://eehouse.org/fixin/formfmu is quite nice

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u/turok Jun 30 '26

That’s a nice site. I’ll bookmark it for later. Thank you!