A Dedicated Single Speed

One is the loneliest number

One is the loneliest number

One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do.

One, Harry Nilsson (1969)

Single speed sweetness at the 2019 Black Hills Gravel Series Sugar Shack ride.

In 2014, I built up a Black Mountain Cycles MonsterCross frame into a bike for riding all kinds of roads in all kinds of conditions. An All Road Bike (2015) and A Road Bike By Black Mountain Cycles (2018). A key feature leading me to that particular frame was its old school semi-horizontal dropouts, which allow easy conversion from gears to single speed, even in the field. Make It Single Speed. 

Over the past 8 years, I have ridden my Black Mountain over 30,000 miles, mostly on gravel and dirt roads. I love to ride that bike, confident that it will take me through anything. See, e.g., Odin's Revenge 2012-2016 and Stretching The Notion Of Rideable. It is the most comfortable road bike I have ever ridden and really shines set up single speed, which I regularly do, just because. Single Speed, It Is.

My 2014 Black Mountain MonsterCross bike, fresh off its 12,000 mile overhaul in 2016.

It all worked well enough, but eventually I realized that did not very often take the time to switch between geared and single speed. Then, a few years ago, Salsa announced the arrival of the Storm Chaser, a single speed gravel bike designed from the ground up for long rides in bad conditions on rough roads. Uffda. I almost bought it to allow the Black Mountain to be a dedicated geared gravel bike. The N+1 Struggle Is Real. 

But I did not buy that Storm Chaser. Ultimately, I concluded that I really didn't want it, mainly because my Black Mountain is such a sweet single speed. So, I committed to continue to switch back and forth.

Now, I decided to simply dedicate my Black Mountain to full time single speed. That's where it really shines. And I can cruise into single speed bliss on a moment's whim.

A new geared bike is in the works, but it's not N+1. It's more like e to the nth.

One, Three Dog Night (1969)

Stop The Madness

For four wonderful years, I blissfully rode my geared Black Mountain Cycles MonsterCross for thousands of miles on many long, remote road rides and races. Then, for some inexplicable reason, I converted it to single speed for the 2018 Gold Rush Gravel Grinder. A Single Speed Gold Rush.

Good. I got that out of my system and switched back to gears.

Black Mountain Cycles MonsterCross after its 75 month/25,000 mile tune up in June 2020.

Hold your horses. Guitar Ted announces a single speed only race on the storied gravel roads of central Iowa in March 2019. Really? OK. I'm not about to miss that. Back to single speed for the C.O.G. 100. A Fine Mess. And, since I'm at it, let's go for the first attempt of the 210 mile Mother Lode single speed. Arrogance At The Mother Lode.

How did this happen? This is nuts. I thought I beat this single speed addiction back in 2014 with that sweet geared Black Mountain Cycles MonsterCross.

But it doesn't stop. I continue to ride single speed throughout the 2019-2020 winter to prepare for the 150 mile Buffalo Bill Rough Rider Gravel Grinder. And then it's single speed throughout the 2020 Black Hills Gravel Series to date and the 110 mile route of the Gold Rush Gravel Grinder. Not A Virtual Ride.

Black Mountain Cycles MonsterCross, set up single speed at Trailshead Lodge, O'Neil Pass, South Dakota,
the 70 mile checkpoint of the 110 mile route of the 2020 Gold Rush Gravel Grinder.

Enough already. Long, remote rides on rough roads are tough enough with gears.

Here's a novel concept for 2020. Stop the madness. Check the emotion. Control the ego. Engage the intellect.

Get your gears back on.

So, I rebuild the Shimano 105 hubs and buff the H Plus Son Archetype rims on my geared wheel set. I then install a new set of 40 mm Schwalbe G-One Bite tires. As I start on gears, a closer look at the rest of the bike stops me cold. This bike needs much more work.

One long afternoon last week, I take most everything apart, clean everything, inspect everything, switch out the Salsa Cow Chipper handle bars for Salsa Cow Bells, wrap new bar tape, install front and rear derailers, and replace the brake pads, brake cables, brake housing, shift cables, shift housing, chain, and cassette.

The result? Coasting down our driveway, before even shifting gears, I smile ear to ear. Yes. This is how this bike is meant to be. Smooth. Comfortable. Familiar. It's like slipping into sneakers and stepping up to the free throw line. The difference is not the addition of gears, but the change of tires. I finally replaced those awful Teravail Cannonballs, which have to be the harshest tires I've ridden since racing 21 mm slicks at 130 psi years ago. Thank you, Schwalbe for your G-Ones!

Refreshed Black Mountain Cycles MonsterCross, set up geared for all day riding on rough remote roads.
Now adorned with custom color top tube bag and frame bag from DirtBags Bikepacking.

Now with gears, maybe I can actually ride gravel more with others. And maybe I can ride a few overnight or longer light bikepacking trips this summer. And maybe I can keep gears on this bike for awhile. Maybe.


For an earlier post about the Black Mountain Cycles MonsterCross bike, go to A Road Bike By Black Mountain Cycles. For my 2016 series of posts about its 30 month, 12,000 mile overhaul, go to It's Time - Overhaul (part 1), Frame & Fork (part 2), Wheels & Tires (part 3), Drivetrain (part 4), Brakes & Shifters (part 5), Controls (part 6), On The Road Again (part 7).

Black Mountain Cycles MonsterCross after its 30 month, 12,000 mile overhaul in 2016.

Why, Annie Lennox (1992).

A Road Bike by Black Mountain Cycles

Mike Varley of Black Mountain Cycles designed a steel bicycle frame and fork that works wonders for long rides over rough roads. But that's not news. Not around here.

In early 2014, after a year of riding gravel on a zippy cyclocross bike, and more than a little research, I built up a Black Mountain Cycles "monster cross" frame and fork as a durable, dependable bike for long rides on remote gravel and dirt roads. It's the most comfortable road bike I've ever ridden.

My Black Mountain has faithfully carried me through memorable all-day-and-into-the-night races, such as Odin's Revenge, Almanzo Royal, Dirty Kanza and Gold Rush Mother Lode, as well as many shorter races, weekend explorations, Black Hills BackBone and DoubleBackBone reconnaissance rides and attempts, sub-24 hour and multi-day bike packing trips and daily commutes. I love it.

My Black Mountain after its 30 month/12,000 mile frame-off overhaul in late 2016.

I'm not alone. From his one-man shop, Mike Varley sends his bikes all over, even to the remote back roads of central Iowa. Mark Stevenson, aka Guitar Ted of Trans Iowa fame, has ridden an orange Black Mountain monster cross bike on Iowa gravel for years and regularly writes about it. As a result of Mark's reviews, many others apparently found their way to Black Mountain. To show his appreciation, Mike Varley is sponsoring Trans Iowa this year with a Black Mountain frame and fork to be awarded to the "grittiest rider." Black Mountain Blog - Trans Iowa. How sweet is that.

Now, it's all coming together for me. In April, I plan to journey to Trans Iowa as a volunteer. A Gravel Pilgrimage. Sometime after the event, I'll ride at least a few of those storied gravel and dirt miles around Grinnell on my Black Mountain. Something close to zero percent chance of not doing so.

So, it seems timely to post another unabashed endorsement of the Black Mountain Cycles "monster cross" bike as a rough road slayer. The steel frame with its relaxed geometry and clearance for up to 45 mm tires, paired with a compliant, sloping steel fork designed for rim brakes, create a comfortable, stable ride at speed for long rides on rough roads. Old school semi-horizontal drop outs allow a simple field conversion to single speed for those gravelly mud misadventures. Many other thoughtful features adorn this frame and fork. It's a well-conceived and well-executed bike suitable for all kinds of cycling. It's now the only road bike I own and it's just the right bike for how and where I ride.

For more detailed information about this bike, go directly to Mike Varley's words and pictures on his Black Mountain Cycles website. Black Mountain Cycles.


Addendum. For more details, here's a 2015 post on my rationale of choosing this frame and fork, as well as each component. An All Road Bike. Later I highlighted a nifty frame feature that allows an easy field conversion to single speed, a rarity these days. Make it Single Speed. Then after 30 months and about 12,000 miles of mostly rough roads, I overhauled everything and wrote a seven part series about it. It's Time, Frame and Fork, Wheels and Tires, Drivetrain, Brakes and Shifters, Controls, On the Road Again. I love my Black Mountain so much that I relinquished my beloved Torelli lugged steel cyclocross bike. Letting Go. Love this bike. I rode it on every ride that made it to this blog, so you'll find pictures all over.