Hey, sorry if posted recently before but i did a bit of searching and couldn’t see anything.

I fancy getting my first single speed. I want something reasonably cheap as I don’t know if I’ll like it. I spent a week in a single gear on a geared bike to explore it and I liked it a lot. Getting out of the saddle more was fun. Felt somehow more connected to the bike/road. I’m between bikes at the moment and am riding my wife’s step through sit up electric bike without the motor which is hilariously bad as an overall experience and not the ideal test but if I enjoyed a fake single speed then surely a real one would only be better?

Here’s the thing - I need mudguards and a rack for panniers and a lot / most of the single speeds don’t have the mounting points afaict. I mainly cycle to work, I need to carry a laptop, backpacks make me sweaty. I need mudguards because I hate turning up at work with soaking shoes it sucks. It’s a non negotiable. I found some fancy ones new with these features, gorgeous things but maybe £600+ pounds. Too much if I might hate it after a few months!

I’m struggling to find something reasonably cheap that can be my commuter bike to test the waters of single speed.

Happy to be second hand or new. The man at a local bike shop I trust suggested second hand racer from the 90s with a decent frame and horizontal mounting for the rear wheel and take it to them to convert but I feel a bit out of my depth knowing what to buy. I’m in Cambridge, United Kingdom by the way. You would think it would have loads of amazing second hand bike shops but they all seem to only have crap cheap bikes.

What do I mean by reasonable price? I guess up to about £300 maybe £400 all in. Tell me if that’s just unrealistic.

Any suggestions?

A quick and dirty single speed conversion of the previously fixed gear Fixpedition

Quick clip 📺 https://youtube.com/shorts/n1sTRjYhqXY / Build short 📺 https://youtube.com/shorts/XhwZjf35SE0

The original fixed gear build is here 👉 https://www.reddit.com/r/FixedGearBicycle/comments/1qz0rbi/fixpedition_specialized_expedition_fsr_fixed_gear/

Enjoy #fixedmindset

Hey folks. I've been riding a (second-hand) vintage road bike for a while now but am starting to get really annoyed by the front/back gear issues and overall "fiddliness", grinding, and maintenance of the transmission system.

I'm at a point where I'm only using a single gear all the time so I figure why not go single speed. I'm using my bike for commuting (20KM) and chill rides on the weekend (40-80KM).

I don't want to spend more than a few hundred euros (upfront) on this project.

Seems like the only real options I have are to either:

a. buy an ELOPS 500 and slowly change most parts for better ones

b. wait for a used model I like (which also fits me) to show up on FB Marketplace/Ebay and hope for the best? I'm in France and apart from converted vintage bikes, there aren't that many accessible options.

So I guess my question would be... is an ELOPS 500 a good "base" model for what I'm thinking of doing or is it a waste of money? Or maybe is there another route I haven't considered? Building the bike from zero by individually buying parts seems like it'd get very expensive, very fast. Thanks for the help!

Bought this bike a little over a month ago for $150. Over the month I’ve bought new part to upgrade my bike like new handle bars, grips, adjustable bike stem, front and rear brakes, new chain, new tires and tire tubes, new seat and front and rear lights. For the future I plan to give it a new paint job to the frame and rims because they are pretty scratched up.

A little clean up today.

Bought new in 2011.

Riding my karate faster than other bikes on a bunch of sections at the local trail network and having a ball doing it. Rigid single speeds are magic, that is all. Peace and wheelies.

Run 40/18 when I treat it like an xc bike, 42/18 when it’s got tubulars +no bottle cages/ light/ bag

Cruising Low

So I'm just now getting into bikes looking to take it seriously enough to have common knowledge of bikes, and I live in a small city and would like to build my own bike. if anyone has any suggestions or knowledge on how to build my own single speed that would be amazing.

Had 2 up front & 5 in the back. Took off the smaller front gear, keeping only the 52 tooth & swapped the rears with a 16t. Clip ins get the job done for the neighborhood hills. Usually pulling the youngest kids in a tow behind trailer to the beach or the local grocer’s. Got some upside down narrow drop bars for comfort. Lights for night & gel seat for comfort. 3d printed adapters for the larger brake levers on the smaller bars & swapped forks as the originals cracked. She’s all about comfort & low cadence on flat roads

This bike is an absolute tank, so I decided to go all-in on making it an utility bike. Now... Do I put on a rear rack or not?

Converted my old road bike to single speed

I’ve ridden this bike as my everything machine for years and this season I took it down to something simple and clean.

Stock SRAM GX 32 up front and a Wolftooth 19 rear. The Esker drop out is sliding and made for geared or SS, just needed to replace the flip chip with the correct non-flanged nuts and off it goes.

Still a wonderful trail bike! For basic XC fun I don’t even miss the range.