Titanium, Carbon or Alloy Single Speed hmmmmm

[sammie_wood]

Hey guys i'm planning on building up a bike for next years SSWC (Single Speed World Champs). Requirements are that its short travel and SS, would also be handy if it can run multi-speed as well but not necessary. Currently im pretty keen on a Ti frame, specifically a Lynskey MT650, is there reasons i shouldn't go Ti, is it worth the $$? Is it better then the other stuff? why? im willing to pay the $$ but nothing more then 2k for a frame (hence the lynskey) 2nd hand is also alright

Thanks in Advance

Edit: forgot to add that this will also be my first single speed build as well so help with ratios would be awesome as well

 

[ctguru]

Gates carbon drive and Ti frame would be nice!

 

[notime]

For SSWC magic gear on a huffy would be all you would need.

Carbon and Titanium would be more impervious to beer spilage

Alloy may be better at heat dissipation than Carbon and Titanium if you are scantily clad in the hot sun

Getting your beard caught in a belt drive sound's less painful that a chain drive.

 

[disappearin]

Steel is real...

 

[sammie_wood]

Never thought about belt drive, was just gonna go straight old school chain drive but thats another thing for me to think about! Steel is real, but also heavy and i'd like something relatively light

 

[Ackland]

Having owned singlespeeds in all 3 materials I'd go Carbon if you want a pure race machine, followed by Alloy and then Ti.

Ti is nice for comfort but the inherent flex robs you of forwards momentum. A good alloy frame is STIFFFFFFF

Again.. this is for pure race machine!

If you wanted it for EVERYTHING....

Ti - Carbon - Steel - Alloy

 

[rearviewmirror]

Custom steel SS > the rest

 

[sammie_wood]

Im planning t make it a commuter later on and want to keep it a couple years at least. Whats so good about steel?

Thanks for all the help as well

 

[disappearin]

Im planning t make it a commuter later on and want to keep it a couple years at least. Whats so good about steel?

Thanks for all the help as well

Steel is cheap and has a reasonable amount of flex giving a nice ride plus it's easy to fix if any problems/cracks occur (bonus if your commuting/touring/bikepacking).
it's "horses for courses" as the saying goes, for a pure race machine I'd go carbon or alloy, for an all rounder I'd be going titanium (if I could afford it) followed by steel. Even a half decent steel SS will come in under 10kg so unless your a real weight weenie it's "relatively light"

 

[mtb101]

ss aren't for show you know.

buy yourself a frame/bike that can take gears probably as standard as you're going to find SSing is hard, its for the seasoned rider who can nail the lines and crank it up the climbs. yes no problem on the flats but in rolling terrain you've got to maintain momentum that means keeping the power on and that's not easy for the average rider.

there's an art to it and I think takes some time on a geared bike to develop, flow, super leg strengh or we'll call it v8 torque - not to mention walking some steep climbs that a geared bike will get up. Now the serious SS don't mind as he's done it all before, where you might want to know you can conquer climbs so something to consider.

of course its all about fun, guess what I"m saying is don't sink all your dollars into only one aspect of mtbing.

what does the Brett 'Jeebus' Bellchambers ride?. There's a starting point.

 

[Ackland]

what does the Brett 'Jeebus' Bellchambers ride?. There's a starting point.

So behind the times! He's seen the light and converted to a rigid One9 RDO these days!

Jeebus raced for YEARS on a SIR9 before he got his AIR9

 

[notime]

So behind the times! He's seen the light and converted to a rigid One9 RDO these days!

Jeebus raced for YEARS on a SIR9 before he got his AIR9

Competition for the noisiest competitors at the Sydney 24hr would be between the dude with the music playing and Brett. Are Niner serious? I've done quite a few races with Brett now and each of his bikes EBB's creak like crazy, the new one takes the cake though.

12hr and 24hr is a bit extreme on a bike but my $450 carbon SS frame has never made a noise but does weigh a few 100 grams more and is not close as pretty as the Niner.

Did yours stay quiet at the 24 Matt?

 

[creaky]

Competition for the noisiest competitors at the Sydney 24hr would be between the dude with the music playing and Brett. Are Niner serious? I've done quite a few races with Brett now and each of his bikes EBB's creak like crazy, the new one takes the cake though.

That's the niner theme song

 

[Ackland]

There is a reason for the noises in the latest One9....

Mine was quiet UNTIL the JetBlack....

 

[sammie_wood]

Thanks for the help guys, i think ill go the lynskey, is there anything i should be worried about regarding Ti? is there tricks to it? also what ratios would be good, im planning on hills but say 70% flat and 30% of the fun stuff

Thanks again

 

[ctguru]

Dumb question, are there any carbon frames that are Gates compatible? I assume not, but may be wrong

 

[creaky]

Dumb question, are there any carbon frames that are Gates compatible? I assume not, but may be wrong

Tranny for one, probably some others too

 

[ctguru]

Forgot about the ibis

 

[Ackland]

Op.

If you're getting a Lynskey, can you get the belt drive option?
Spending that dough, I'd also call Baum and see what they can do for you.

As for ratios, 32:20 is a common starters SS singletrack ratio.
I use 34:18 for XC racing and 32:18 for technical marathons over 4hrs.
Where are you located? It really depends on the trails you ride.

I recommend either Endless Bike Co or Absolute Black rear cogs and the Endless Fibonacci spacer kit is the best in the business.

People will tell you otherwise but I've always used regular geared rear hubs rather than singlespeed ones.
Just make sure it has a sturdy pawl system and more engagement points are better.

 

[sammie_wood]

Thanks for all that info Ackland! greatly appreciated! im not too keen on the belt drive due to having to order parts in and waiting etc... Im thinking standard drive is the go.

I heard Baum are about 6k for a frame?? have i been fed shit or is that right?

As for hubs im planing on using a multi-speed hub and just spacing it out