Converted My Mountain Bike To A Single Speed

I just converted my hardtail mountain bike to single speed. For those who don’t live in the Pacific Northwest, a single speed mountain bike might sound a bit crazy. I thought  so when my fellow river guide & friend Eric showed up with his Marin single speed… I surely questioned the thinking behind it all… until now.

I was stoked to start riding again once we got to Eugene, OR. I was even more stoked because  Carrie gave me her full suspension GT I-Drive 4.0 in exchange for a buying her a new hardtail. The first group ride I did, I couldn’t believe how many people were riding single speeds.It wasn’t till a few rides later that I realized why. The mud.

I was on a 3 hour tour with a couple of friends and half way through I was starting to have chain suck complications.  I was cursing my way up a climb when my friend Davey said to me, ” I’ve got 2 words for ya… single – speed”. I went home,  and a week later decided to go for it.  I asked for some advice on cog and change wheel sizes from the Disciples of Dirt Yahoo Group and sought the expertise of Sheldon Brown.

For my single speed conversion I went with a 34 tooth Surly stainless steel chain ring, a 20 tooth Surly rear cog, a surly single speed conversion spacer kit, and a Surly Singulator chain tensioner.

I’m looking forward to riding this weekend and taking my newly converted single speed for her maiden voyage. I let you now how it turns out. After testing her out in front of the house I’m a little scared… the gear ratio is higher than I though it would be… but I guess there’s no better way to get my climbing legs back after be on the bench for 5 years.