The latest trend that’s helping reduce e-bike prices - Single-speed electric bikes
- Thread starter FlatSix911
- Start date
FlatSix911
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Silicon Valley
I have always enjoyed riding Single Speed analog bikes for the ease and simplicity of the design.
Try riding a Fixie (fixed gear) if you want a challenge of maintaining the cadence with no backpedaling!
Try riding a Fixie (fixed gear) if you want a challenge of maintaining the cadence with no backpedaling!
WattsUpDude
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- San Francisco, Bay Area
In our early 20s, a friend and I really got into road riding. He really got into a SS Bianchi and I stuck to my 3*10 Raleigh. I was really, really jealous of how light his bike was...until we needed to get up a hill. 
john peck
Well-Known Member
The one thing that appeals to me is ease of maintenance, no derailleurs, cassettes, shifters, & cables to complicate & confound one.
Changing a rear tire has to be 100% easier. I´m still too damn big to ride one. That´s one reason why I abandoned my elegant, but fragile
road bike. skinny tires just bottom out or pop, & rims just end up tacoed. That blue Rad bike looks pretty substantial, tempting, but how
well does it climb? There´s some rather salient topography ´round here.
Changing a rear tire has to be 100% easier. I´m still too damn big to ride one. That´s one reason why I abandoned my elegant, but fragile
road bike. skinny tires just bottom out or pop, & rims just end up tacoed. That blue Rad bike looks pretty substantial, tempting, but how
well does it climb? There´s some rather salient topography ´round here.
kmccune
Well-Known Member
Man thats sharp!I agree that a SS has a limited use case and can be a polarizing subject.
For me, the simplicity and ease of use makes the SS an attractive option for a quick town run.
I have a SE Lager analog bike that I have enjoyed riding both SS and fixie over the last decade... just flip the rear cog.
View attachment 70602
FlatSix911
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Silicon Valley
mogulskier
Active Member
True. A single speed ebike would be just the ticket if you lived urban/flat/commute areas. But even then, I still shift through the gears if I am a little tired, or vice-versa have energy and want to ride faster. But I would suspect most of us live or ride in mountainous or hilly areas where shifting through the gears is mandatory.
Single speed really limits where you can ride, but that is OK for some people and obviously a market for them.
john peck
Well-Known Member
If it would take 700/47s & I was a flatlander. I´d love that bike. Unfortunately, I´m a mite ´over the hill´ at 72
for a fixie.
kmccune
Well-Known Member
We are not"spring chickens" anymore. My ''grind days" are long gone.
"removing just $30-$50 in shifters, cables, derailleurs, derailleur hangers, guards, cassettes, and other related parts can mean shaving off several times that much on the bike’s MSRP."
OK so how does that work? Usually these guys figure out a way to reduce their cost but only pass a little of that on to the consumer.
OK so how does that work? Usually these guys figure out a way to reduce their cost but only pass a little of that on to the consumer.
john peck
Well-Known Member
I´m really tempted. Maintenance would be so much simpler. I think I could get by on 700/38s with
a 32 pd. bike. My current bike weighs twice what the ride1up roadster does, & once I get my bike
rolling, the power bar frequently shows that I am using no power when pedaling. I have maintained
a lot more muscle mass than most men my age. I think I owe that to a cpl. herbal suppliments &
a fierce discipline of workout & diet. Still pretty creaky some mornings, & I have begun to give my body
a ´few´ more recovery days.
creativepart
Active Member
- Region
- USA
I built my eBike with a rear hub motor. The donor bike was a 9x2 Specialized Crosstrail. I've removed the front derailleur and thought about removing the rear. But I do shift some for steep hills. Not really often enough to make it all that necessary but you never know when you might head out to new terrain and find the gears helpful. And, of course, the always present expended battery problem could suddenly crop up too.
If I could switch to a belt drive with a 5 speed internally geared hub that would be enough. Maybe my next bike.
If I could switch to a belt drive with a 5 speed internally geared hub that would be enough. Maybe my next bike.
I tend to think that with higher assist power most riders can be by with a SS ebike. I understand that some hills may put more load on the motor and if your battery dies it's going to be a rough ride home but these are probably somewhat rare events. I'd say go with a belt set up such that you have your preferred cadence at your most preferred cruising speed and you will find out that it's a nice solution.
legsofbeer
Active Member
I use everything from 2-6 out of 7 gears on every ride (mostly a five mile each way commute with one hill). I downshift to 3 at every stop and gear up from there as speed increases. If I'm feeling my oats and have a bunch of green lights lined up might use gear 7 and sustain low 20s (mph) with comfortable cadence. Yes, it's a rear hub fatty that I'm supposed to throttle around, call me a rebel. My BPM after I bring the bike inside measures at around 110, so I think I'm doing some work, my preferred effort level is breathing hard but not sweating.
That's pretty much what I do although I rarely downshift for a stop. At a stop I prefer a quick 2 second burst of throttle to get rolling which is pretty much the only time I use the throttle.
Dewey
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Arlington, Virginia
Two other single speed ebikes that illustrate different approaches are the Detroit eSparrow which is a lightweight Class 1 with a 250w Bafang geared hub motor, and the Riide which uses a 500w direct drive motor and is Class 3
No suspension or fenders for $900 or $2800.Two other single speed ebikes that illustrate different approaches are the Detroit eSparrow which is a lightweight Class 1 with a 250w Bafang geared hub motor, and the Riide which uses a 500w direct drive motor and is Class 3
Dewey
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Arlington, Virginia
That's a weight saving benefit for the Detroit eSparrow that weighs under 35lb compared with 48lb for the RadMission that comes with fenders, other differences are the eSparrow uses a smaller 36v battery vs the larger 48v battery on the RadMission.
I get that. The mission is a little more bike for a little more money but still lacks a suspension which would cross it off my list.
Similar threads
