Paul Component Celebrates 3rd International Singlespeed Day on November 2nd

Oct 31, 2022 at 10:31
by Paul Component  
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Words: Paul Component Engineering

Every Monday at 11am, the entire PAUL Component shop staff have an “All-Hands” meeting to catch up on any changes, shop news, or projects. Two years ago, around this time, Paul announced to everyone that November 2nd was now International Singlespeed Day. We all looked at him like “Huh? Says who?” Then he said it was him and his friend Amanda’s birthday that day, and it was Amanda’s idea, and why the hell not?

Having never created an International Holiday before, I wasn’t quite sure what to do, so I got on the phone with a bunch of framebuilders and weirdo bike nerd friends and said “Hey. It’s Paul’s birthday on November 2nd, and he wants everybody to ride singlespeeds. You down?” And of course, everybody said yes, why the hell not?

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And so, for the last two years, when the magic day arrives, a bunch of folks go riding on singlespeeds with friends or alone, share their experience on Instagram with the #InternationalSingleSpeedDay hashtag, show off some cool bikes, wish Paul and Amanda a happy birthday, and everybody has a good ol’ time.

So yeah, let’s do it again! We'd love to see some #InternationalSingleSpeedDay IG posts!

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Don’t have a singlespeed bike? Zip-tie your shifters, take the battery off your derailleur, or ride your grandpas beachcruiser? Get creative, there are no rules. Careful though, you might realize in the process that you don’t need a bunch of fancy new-fangled shiftamabobbers to have fun on a bike…

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93 Comments
  • 80 2
 "Careful though, you might realize in the process that you don’t need a bunch of fancy new-fangled shiftamabobbers to have fun on a bike…" When my NX derailleur blew up 2 years I started single speeding and never looked back, all the fun none of the BS.
  • 14 42
flag babathehutt (Oct 31, 2022 at 13:41) (Below Threshold)
 It’s fun but bad for your cycling technique on geared bikes. I rode single for a year or so and when I started riding with other people on geared bikes, I couldn’t keep up with them because I always forgot to shift!
  • 5 2
 @babathehutt: I spent the summer riding 90% SS and now that I’m back on gears it’s honestly harder for me to spin up steep fire roads in 30x42 or 50. Feels like way too much motion with too little speed and I struggle to keep the bike pointed straight.
  • 19 0
 4 bikes (not counting the turbo) an 3 are SS. Going SS DH was the best improvement I've ever made to my suspension.
  • 1 0
 @naptime: What chain tensioner do you like? Some guys around my area run Alfines but they say they get skippage.
  • 24 0
 @babathehutt: I found it improved my technique on geared bikes. I learned to carry my momentum better. It had really paid off.
  • 8 0
 @mrkumro: but, but, you'll forget how to shift!
  • 18 1
 SS DECONTROL. Everyone should have at least 1 SS bike.
  • 2 0
 @nowthatsdoomage: I've had zero problems with my Surly tensioner.
  • 3 0
 @catoctinmountaincyclery: I have a Surly tensioner that has worked for 10+ years and I hardly think about it. Called a Tug-Nut?
  • 2 0
 @babathehutt: Shift happens!
  • 3 0
 @nowthatsdoomage: Rohloff XC/SS chain tensioner. It's one of the better twin-pulley tensioners. No slipping. Build quality is excellent but there is no b-screw type adjustment. A 19t cog is about the most you can wedge in the back. If you want to go lower, it'll need to be at the chainring.
  • 2 0
 @nowthatsdoomage: i use an alfine tensioner on my kona 111 - i had the same problem until i ran a Velcro strap thru it to the frame - zip tie would work - it just takes out the lil bit of bounce in ti
  • 2 0
 I have the non clutch SB One boner. An it is expensive but, it is a lovely bit o kit. Totally solid an very well made. An it has ALL the adjustments. no dropped chains even with non clutch an a non NW chain ring
  • 3 0
 @nowthatsdoomage: The Paul Melvin tensioner is great.
  • 1 0
 @naptime: What gear ratio are you running? Did you play around with different cogs at first on the Dh bike?
  • 2 0
 @spencer-funk: yes! At first I experimented with smallest gears possible to save weight but I found that taking the pull point of the chain ring below the pivot (on my supreme V3) gave the bike horrible pogo pedal effect. So when I bought the final parts I went back to 36th up front an the bike was fine. Think I've got 15th on the rear. Also, be sure to get a wide foot cog so it doesn't bite into the free hub body.
  • 1 0
 Soz! Just counted 16th on the rear
  • 29 0
 Single speed is the best because you can never be in the wrong gear if you're also never in the right gear!
  • 22 1
 How do you know when someone owns a single-speed bike? Oh, don't worry, they'll tell you....
  • 15 0
 I'll be single speed commuting on the 2nd, I'll be sure to raise a crank to Paul and #internationalsinglespeedday
  • 6 2
 Everyone should keep one singlespeed in the fleet if they can. There is something extra nice about a bike that is always ready to go and simplifies the riding experience even more than a 1x drivetrain. I learned better riding and braking habits from the occasional single speed ride.
  • 6 0
 It'll be a sleety mess where I am on the 2nd. Looks like I'll have to put together a booze filled SS cyclocross race!
  • 1 0
 Tracklocross bro
  • 3 0
 I rode a singlespeed for almost 10 years, and had a great time. My knees were fine, but my lower back wasn't getting any younger, so I gave it up for a full-sus in 2014. I loved the simplicity of the SS. I fed it brake pads and chains, and that was all the maintenance needed.
  • 6 2
 If you're single speed curious, I made a chain length calculator to help people convert "non single speed frames" to single speed.
forms.gle/BbNKH5ByejkgDPuk7
  • 2 0
 We rode single speed DH bikes for a few years due to rough ground causing ghost shifting pre-SRAM horizontal-link derailleurs.. Finally moved to three speed for convenience - two running gears and one for climbing. If I move to a place without lots of climbs I’ll do it again on an enduro or trail bike…
  • 4 0
 Whoa, I want to ride in that biome in the 1st pic. Paul is in Chico, CA.......is that pic from there?
  • 9 0
 Yup, Upper Bidwell Park!
  • 2 0
 Not in your neighborhood, but in your state, the Syncline/Coyote Wall zone has that vibe.
  • 2 0
 @pmhobson: I thought the same, but certainly not the scoot!
  • 2 0
 Yep. I started mountain biking in Chico in 1988 and that is definitely Bidwell park.
  • 2 0
 @pmhobson: Thanks for the tip!
  • 3 0
 I shared this with my employer that it was International single speed day and got great feedback. Should show up in outlook automatically going forward.
  • 2 0
 Love the Cook Bros twin bar cruiser (looks like a knock-off - what brand is it?). Wouldn't want to endo with those bars though LOL.
  • 3 0
 It's a Falconer: www.instagram.com/p/CHHf7tilYjO
  • 2 0
 Real retrogrouches would use a coaster brake, right? That's a genuine question, I know basically nothing about retrogrouches.
  • 4 0
 @kcy4130--real retro grouches aren't necessarily single speeders--they would historically resist 'moto' technology like suspension--front or rear--and tended to prefer the ride of steel frames versus 'new' aluminum or 'plastic' carbon fiber.

Coaster brakes aren't really part of the equation--retro grouches do like to go fast and stop--though they would likely reject fancy disc brakes over the p.i.t.a canti or u-brakes--coaster brakes would historically have to be 'repacked' with grease on a regular basis from the extreme over-heating and breaking down from going fast downhill.
  • 1 0
 Not anymore - freewheels are needed to ratchet the cranks on tech SS trail climbs
  • 4 0
 My Dream Bike is a rigid Chromag set-up single speed
  • 3 0
 Does Chromag use sliding or rocker dropouts?
  • 1 0
 @MDW83: As far as I know its just a thru axle, I'd have to play with chain length to get it right
  • 1 0
 @MDW83: the surface voyager has sliding dropouts but suspension correcting for a chromag sounds like a hassle with their suggested fork lengths
  • 1 0
 I rode a nimble9 with a trek 1120 fork and it was super fun.
  • 2 0
 I always used to switch between gears and SS every couple of years, but been on SS for close to 5 yrs straight now. Happy SS day everyone!
  • 1 0
 Love the single speed, it will teach you how to spin proper like and not chop wood with your pedal stroke, many good times on my old ARC ss. I love that Paul is still making cool shit after all these years.
  • 1 0
 I'd love to try an SS, but can't be convinced to buy one. My daily commute involves a, uh, rather large hill. Still, might convert my Salsa to SS when its time comes and eke some more life out of it on the trails.
  • 1 0
 My middle aged knees and post-work-injury body can barely handle ss bikes, but you've gotta hand it to a company that never really follows the latest trends and just makes quality, no-nonsense parts.
  • 1 0
 @PaulComponentEngineering

Hope you guys come out to Durango for SSCX Worlds in a week or so!

sscxwc20dgo.com

That first pic makes me miss that beautiful rocky hell of Upper Bidwell.
  • 4 0
 Bring back PAULOWEEN!!!
  • 2 0
 Americans, creating international days and world championships that the rest of the world know nothing about.
  • 1 0
 Just in time for you singlespeed-curious folk in SoCal to go peep my listing in the classifieds. Wink

It's a "classic" even, they don't even make Gary Fisher bikes any more!
  • 1 0
 One of the best excuses to go ride Rockstacker/Jackson on a rigid SS!!! Today is going to be a lot of fun, chicken wings and Sierra Nevada Pales out at Pothole Arch! Smile
  • 3 1
 Really want an SS for my commute. Just don't have space for ANOTHER bike.
  • 5 1
 depending how flat your commute is, a dirt jumper can be a really fun commute bike.
  • 3 2
 @adrennan: Only if your commute is really short... I can't imagine trying to ride more than a mile or so on my DJ
  • 1 0
 @PAmtbiker: dropper post DJ. Pedal to work and hit the trails on the way back
  • 1 0
 @adrennan: convert a bike you already have.
  • 3 0
 @PAmtbiker: I did a 9 mile commute on a brakeless bmx for a bit lol
  • 1 0
 @dirtyburger: Hmmmmm.....that's not quite cricket. Stand or ride low
  • 1 0
 @adrennan: Relatively flat, 700' in 15 miles. But...not really DJ territory.

@catoctinmountaincyclery: Nothing I have right now interests me as an SS. I prefer to keep them all geared for their intended uses.
  • 1 0
 I've been on SS since... 2012? Only my left knee hurts.
  • 1 0
 Every bike is a single speed if you don't shift
  • 9 0
 I get what your saying, but it actually isn't true. One cog feels so much different (better).
  • 1 0
 @MDW83: oh, I and my fixie legs definitely agree
  • 2 1
 To hip for me ..I'll stick with 11speed
  • 1 0
 11 speed is too hip for me. I'll stick with me 12 speed
  • 2 0
 I’m in!
  • 1 0
 Im on a single speed downhill bike and i love it
  • 1 0
 awesome components
  • 2 2
 I've got this BMX in the background.
  • 1 2
 The problem with single speed is a chain tensioner or new frame cost more than gears. How is less more expensive?
  • 1 0
 I love my W.O.R.D Hub!
  • 1 0
 KLUNKER for life
  • 1 0
 jump bike all the way
  • 1 3
 they are celebrating single speed day but they don't sell any single speed cog. pathetic...
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