Single-speeds evoke a certain ambivalence in me. On the聽one hand, there鈥檚 admiration, especially for those in the endurance world who can use these bikes on 100-plus-mile races with 15,000 feet of climbing鈥攁nd win. But my feelings also veer toward derision: in this age of ultrawide cassettes and blink-of-an-eye electronic shifting, choosing one gear feels like shopping for a Tesla but opting for a Flintstones听蹿辞辞迟尘辞产颈濒别.
Of course,聽there are training upsides. 鈥淵ou can gain muscular power and core strength,鈥 says Lynda Wallenfels,聽owner of聽LW Coaching, who works with some of the best endurance mountain bikers in the country. Wallenfels has specifically for single-speeders聽who want to cultivate those strengths. 鈥淵ou improve efficiency by staying off the brakes in technical sections and downhills, and you develop the ability to produce power in a full cadence range, from 30 rotations per minute聽grinding to 130 rotations per minute rap 鈥檔鈥 coast.鈥
More important, single-speeds can be really damn fun. 鈥淚t brings a new dynamic and variety into your riding,鈥 says聽Wallenfels. 鈥淭he same old trails look brand new from the seat of a single-speed.鈥
I鈥檝e long toyed with adding聽a single-speed to聽my quiver.聽But many off-the-shelf models are low-end and heavy, and when you鈥檙e used to riding fast, light聽racing聽bikes, nothing kills the joy of one gear faster than a聽ponderous ride. So late last year,聽I聽set out to build what would be the ultimate single-speed聽machine.
Enter the .
Created by the Oskar Blues Brewery,聽Reeb聽(yep, that鈥檚 鈥渂eer鈥 backwards)聽sells a small range of boutique, made-in-America聽bikes with snappy names like聽Dirt Diggler and reeBMX, all of which can be built as single-speeds using Gates Carbon Drive belts. Over years of testing,聽we鈥檝e found models like the Reeb Donkadonk聽to be as fun as they are iconoclastic, which seems like just the right balance聽for the ultimate single-speed.
My first choice was steel or titanium, and though the bike would have been three-quarters of a pound lighter in titanium, I opted for True Temper OX Platinum steel for its buttery feel and stunning patina finish. Since this was to be the paragon of the genre, I went with all of my favorite parts. There鈥檚 pretty much no lighter and stiffer option out there聽than the 聽crank, so that was a no-brainer. I wanted the bike to be light yet incredibly capable, hence the and the . These two parts are, without question, the best in their respective classes. Cockpit duties went to the burly new for its mix of stiffness, extra width (800 millimeters聽on the bars), and light weight. For the saddle, I chose聽the carbon-railed Specialized Romin EVO, because it鈥檚 comfortable and matched the aesthetic. And since light, rigid wheels are probably a bike鈥檚 most聽most important feature, I chose the single finest hoops on the market: .
It鈥檚 not a cheap bike, and I lost count along the way of exactly how much it cost as I subbed in parts I already owned, traded with friends for spares, and basically pieced it together as best I could. It would probably cost around $8,000 as built. It鈥檚 worth pointing out, however,聽that the frame sells for a pretty reasonable $1,600, and Reeb offers complete bikes for just聽double that.
I鈥檒l be the first to admit that $8,000聽for a bike with one gear聽seems鈥bnoxious. But you know what?聽I have more bikes in my garage than most people have shirts in their closet, and there鈥檚 not a single one that I like riding more than the Dikyelous. The super slacked-out front end (67.25 degrees) combined with the bomber fork and 125 millimeters聽of seat drop make聽for a bike that gobbles big rocks like Tic聽Tacs. It鈥檚 only a hardtail, sure, but no trail is too rough or scary for this bike. And just as important, at 23.1 pounds, it鈥檚 plenty light for climbing, even in our jaggy聽high-altitude Rocky Mountains, and it鈥檚 a real treat just to spin out on the buff singletrack in the valley.
Will I become a dedicated single-speeder? Probably not, but that鈥檚聽because my wife all but appropriated the Dikyelous after she borrowed it shortly after its completion.聽But if there were a bike that might ever win me over full-time to the simplicity and quiet of single-speeding, without a doubt, this is the one. Every time I take it out, I giggle like a five-year-old who just got his first bike聽on Christmas Day. And there鈥檚 no derision in that laughter.