Single speed tinkering with a quick gravel rip! Wabi Thunder Cross.

I was bored today so some single speed tinkering was the obvious choice. Stick around toward the end for a nice little gravel rip. Single speeds rule. Especially ones made from steel. I hope y'all are hanging in out there! Get a single speed, they make life more fun.
Oh yeah... I started an Instagram account that’s dedicated to surfin dirt on bicycles. Check it out here! / drtsrfn
Personal IG - / timallday

[@jaspervanestelfeen2173]

I agree, single speed riding has its own fascination. I enjoy it. Haven’t tried fixed riding yet, which appears to be more fun, but on the other hand also to be more exhausting.

[@acetylcholine3]

I built a single speed this fall out of an old road bike. It's got a BMX freewheel and flat bars, and its just fun! It's like hopping on your bike like a kid and just going to ride. It greatly simplifies the experience. You have 3 speed: Pedaling, standing up and pedaling, and walking. Also, I love mine because its almost dead silent. I know White makes good stuff, but I'm not sure i like the louder freewheel.

[@fendermon]

It's definitely a flash back for me. Thick tires on a single speed is how it all began. It's funny when I hear the word "gravel bike" like it's a new thing. What kid didn't ride the wheels off his bike in gravel? Some unlucky one's I suppose :)

[@tomhinklejr.5055]

I had a 26" mountain bike that I converted into a single speed with a Surly Sigulator. Later, I purchased a Raleigh 29er XXIX and converted that into a S.S. Cyclocross bike. I love the simplicity of it.

[@david78212]

I have a single speed, and I use it the most of my 3 bikes. I use it for last mile transport (I take the bus), I use it on the greenway trails I ride, I use it for store trips. I actually just got a new freewheel...it's silent. At first I thought "nah", but I like it. I hear the road, any noises the bike is making, other bikes sneaking up on me. It's awesome.

[@thegravelist]

Awesome! Gotta love the freedom of 1 gear!

[@kmancrx]

4 SSes in the stable. Those white industry freewheels are dope. I have 2.

[@stevenmcfarlane8831]

Agree sir. Fixed and or SS is the best way to ride. My fav bike is my Surly Steamroller. Superb way to enjoy your bike ride.

[@thegravelist]

Thanks! Love the steamy - a classic bike in the world of ss

[@GerhardDaghoul]

Great vid, as usual! Jelly bells rule!....mahalo brah 😎🤙

[@elliotcowell3139]

I bought a single speed thinking "this will be fun for short rides" Turns out I love doing long rides on it too. such awesome bikes to ride

[@phillipcowan1444]

When you come up behind a person on the trail you can never be quite sure what response you'll get. The white haired guy exhibited what I call the "Hong Kong Phooey" response (remember Hong Kong Phooey on Saturday mornings). That's when they whirl around and assume some kind of martial art stance and prepare to engage in mortal combat,lol.

[@thegravelist]

Ha. Yeah that guy was ready! I rang my bell a few times too, he must have been in the zone.

[@ramboandjoann]

Well hello from the Philippines 🇵🇭 my wife and I ditched our MTBs and started riding ss 😊 it sure is fun, and given that my wife gets confused with changing gears while pedaling, ss sure made the biking a lot more fun for her.. Cheers! -R

[@thegravelist]

Cheers!!! That’s awesome you found my video :) Single speeds are amazing. Much more fun to ride when you’re not worried about what gear to be in. Very zen like! Have fun out there!!

[@Sam-tk9tt]

The try not to rack your knuckle part on the taking the freewheel off. The shop I worked at taught me to put the tool in a vise and use the wheel as leverage to loosen it.

[@thegravelist]

Smahht

[@wlstump]

I love my single speed cross/gravel (Bianchi San Jose). Being in WY I put a white dos eno freewheel 17/19 on mine. “Shifting” is relatively quick.

[@thegravelist]

That's awesome! I've always wanted to check out that type of freewheel. Makes a lot of sense for commuting and around town riding... how do you switch gears?

[@wlstump]

@@thegravelist Loosen axle nuts, push forward in dropouts to remove chain tension then move the chain to the desired cog....move wheel back to tension. Much more elegant than flipflop hub since wheel removal not necessary. Chainline is only slightly effected.

[@brosettastone7520]

when you stand over your top tube on your bike, how much clearance do you have? is it normal to be touching the top tube? how much clearance should there be? does it matter?

[@jag1870]

Get a pvc tube to slide over your wrench to make it longer and gain leverage. It'll make taking off that freewheel a breeze.

[@thegravelist]

Noted for sure!

[@banjomechanic]

Single speed. Love it!

[@DJTrapillac]

I live on a dirt road . Will a ss road bike handle a little bit of dirt ? Mabye some thicker tires ?

[@brianmaldonado3723]

Cool. Thank you. Have a 1971 Torpado Gran Turismo as single speed.

[@thegravelist]

That’s awesome! Enjoy the ride my friend 🙌🏼

[@SaisaezVlogs]

i always ride geared for the last 10 yrs.. except when i was on grade school i have a bmx.. and now i am building a roadbike but dont have a enough money to buy a groupset so i decided to run it on single speed until i can buy a groupset.. but now im loving it.. i dont know if i still want a to continue building it to a roadie haha.. and btw i used a 27.5x1.75 tires so kinda gravel type too :)

[@thegravelist]

Rad!!! Love to hear it. Good luck with your build!

[@silenceshh6169]

cool & simple video!

[@ed0078]

I am one who hates adjustable wrenches but if you insist use an extension pipe with it

[@dough.1355]

I'm about to order a White Industries freewheel so great to see the video. I'm thinking of switching from bullhorn to drop bars on my Wabi Classic. Have you tried bullhorn bars? If so, do you prefer drops? Thanks.

[@thegravelist]

Right on Doug! Thanks for stopping by. White freewheels are solid and sound amazing. Pretty sure I’d only buy them for any freewheel here on out. As for the bars... I don’t have experience with bullhorns, but have been eye balling them lately! Drops are cool, but not immediately what I’m used to having a mtb background. I’ll trade you my wabi drops for your bullhorns, ha.

[@francisjerimiahmanaog8217]

love this vid! what is that cute bell? ✨

[@michaelchase9309]

got a single speed steel road bike love it

[@thegravelist]

Nothing beats a single speed!

[@jjjtung]

ID on that mask you're wearing on the ride? Awesome Thunder setup btw. I've been riding fixed for a minute, this is making me kinda want a freewheel bike haha

[@thegravelist]

Heyyy. Thanks for the support 🙌🏼 Wish I knew what mask it is, but the person who gave it to me said they got it at an outdoor food spot early on. Fixed seems dope, but I rely too much on coasting and a brake, ha. Get that freewheel man! Love the sound of white industries too.

[@danieldijo]

Dope ride, I literally know nothing about single speeds

[@MybeautifulandamazingPrincess]

Lmao it's a bicycle with a single gear, what is there to know?

[@danieldijo]

@@MybeautifulandamazingPrincess does it have brakes?

[@jimboburgess42069]

What bianchi is that with horizontal dropouts and a rear disc brake? I'm looking fo rexactly that.

[@thegravelist]

I wish I knew! It’s an old steel single speed mountain bike. I bought it several years ago from someone local to me.

[@Casual_BackPacking]

Which single speed cog is that?

[@NinthwaveThe]

I'd like to know more about your thunder

[@GeekonaBike]

Classie old 70's era fast touring frames make great Ssp/Fixie Tracklocross frame sets. W/ a little luck you might find one for free/very cheap at your LBS

[@MybeautifulandamazingPrincess]

LBS you mean pound? As in wreck yard/dump?

[@nadsv93]

2 very important questions (for me): - where did you get those single speed disc brake wheels at? - where did you get that Bianchi frame with wide tire clearance and disc brake support? I've been wanting a single speed/no suspension MTB for a veeeeeery long time now. But they're expensive af.

[@thegravelist]

Hey Dan - thanks for the questions! Not sure on the wheels as they came with the bike. They are 26” “WTB speed disc single speed”, I just found a few sets on eBay if you wanna snag them there. The Bianchi frame was a random Craigslist snag here in the bay from a person who used to work there. Which is a wild story. But the model is S.I.S.S. I’m sure you can find an old frame somewhere online! The fork it came with had suspension, but I picked up a rigid fork from a local recyclery and slapped it on there. It’s been an awesome bike to tinker with and learn on! Hope this helps and I hope you’re able to find one for yourself 🤘🏼

[@nadsv93]

It's more than I expected tbh. Thanks!!!

[@lloydnynes]

Were you ridimg on 28's? Or 32's? Just curious. Not sure 😅

[@thegravelist]

Yooo. Their 32 Kenda Small Blocks. In the video I said Big Block, but my bee.

[@nicoskie]

What type of rear hub and cog is that?

[@thegravelist]

I'm assuming it's a Wabi hub as it came stock with the bike. Wabi's wheel sets are absolute butter and have sealed bearings which rules. The cog/freewheel is a white industries red. Love the click of the white freewheels, nothin' beats it!

[@alutious]

Hi, you keep mentioning single speeds are the best, and you have lots of fun riding them. But you don't really say why. I have a setup i am going to put on, i need one more part. I have a 12 speed setup and am working on getting more fit before i put the single speed on. Thx.

[@shuvoahmed3814]

What gear combination did you use ? (46 : 16 or something else ?) I am planning to built a single speed bike, but confused about the gear ratio.

[@thegravelist]

I think this video it was a 42/16. Now I use this bike as my single speed gravel bike and it has big ol 50c tires on them and is geared really low. With a 2:1 ratio. You should check out bikecalc.com -- such a sweet gear ratio/inches calculator that I live by!

[@ronaldhoward7908]

42x16 = 70inch

[@coryedd3783]

Next time put freewheel tool in a bench vice and put wheel on top and turn wheel. Much easier than using a crescent wrench

[@thegravelist]

Oh man... good lookin out! That’s genius. I’ll definitely do that next time.

[@psalm2forliberty577]

@@thegravelist Yeah grab the wheel, pretend you're driving a big yellow schoolbus & making a rapid left hand turn. It'll come loose immediately....

[@godismeme272]

You had me at white industry 👍

[@skyjuiceification]

Best free wheel period.

[@miniac60]

Freewheeling? Antithesis of fun! Fixie is best!

[@thegravelist]

Haaa. I feel ya. My soul likes to cruise tho

[@skyjuiceification]

Ur just a child with waay too much free time. a freewheel is literally all the pros and none of the cons of a fixed gear.

[@miniac60]

@@skyjuiceification YUP! 59 and still like to be silly sometimes. Pro on fixie? ever broken a brake cable?

[@rahuldasmajumder5121]

The more I see, the more I want to buy a single speed bike

[@thegravelist]

Nice! They’re a lot of fun. Simplistic riding at its best. If you have an older geared bike lying around, you should convert it!

[@ChrisUong.English]

What size is your wabi?

[@thegravelist]

52cm. I’m 5’9 with a 30” cycling inseam and it fits snug as a bug.

[@rashb3994]

You don't really explain why you love single speed though in this though, even though I can hear your passion for it. :) Can you give your view on why? I got back into riding as an adult the last year and had a aluminum single speed but body was aching if I went hard, then bought a cheap geared steel CX bike on CL and love it, and now there's a single speed steel CX bike on craigslist for a good price so I'm doing research again. Hearing your excitement does make think I should jump on that deal even though I love my geared but something's calling me back to single. I really think aluminum was the issue the first time. If you're open to just throw down a few reasons why you love SS. Thanks for the vid.

[@thegravelist]

For sure -- thanks for your comment! Steel is what started this cycling journey for me. I started out on a old Bianchi steel single speed MTB, which rips til this day. When I purchased my first 'serious' bike, I went with an All City steel cross bike and it's true what people say about steel. It's got a real cool ride quality. Plus there's a bit of charm in terms of nostalgia with a steel bike. It's tough to explain, but it's like a tried and true material that, when done right, is springy, stiff and responsive in all the right ways. I'd say go for the purchase on that single speed you found. Nothing beats the care-free nature a single speed offers up. No fiddling with gears, just keep your chain clean and you'll be riding a single speed for a long time! There's also a zen like quality, if you wanna go that deep into it. Just one gear and one rider. Any terrain or hill you come up against is all on you. But to sum it all up, single speeds are just simple. Just get out there and ride!

[@rashb3994]

@@thegravelist Awesome! I greatly appreciate your deeper explanation. I do understand the steel thing for sure just based on my geared steel vs Aluminum ss riding experience. You were that last little push to follow my instincts and get the SS steel. Haha you're one heck of a salesman or would be great at an inspirational Ted Talks. Lol. Alright, much PROSPERITY to you and thanks again for being gracious enough to answer and share your view on it. Steel single speed I'm on my way buddy! 😎

[@skyjuiceification]

single speed, freewheel or fixed is what builds the legs up fastest IN MY OPINION.

[@julz19]

you know any 700c wheels that can do gravel? or are they all designed for flat roads and no one has thought of it? preferable the cheap one :) subbed!

[@thegravelist]

My favorite gravel 700c tire are the panaracer gravel king sk’s! I’m sure other people have different opinions on what they like, but those are a great on/off road tire for the type of riding I’m doing.

[@jacobbucko4412]

What about wheels though? Good single speed wheels that can take hits and wide tires?

[@miguelduenas1045]

I have tried both worlds, Fixed and single speed. I started riding ss because it feels more comfortable for my riding style and it is safer. Well, fixed is actually fun but I am having more fun with ss can catch up with roadies without compromising safety.

[@thegravelist]

That’s rad. I agree that single speeds are a lot of fun. Hope you’re out there staying safe and riding as much as possible!

[@miguelduenas1045]

@@thegravelist Thanks sir! Ride safe!

[@knicosaluria7613]

what brand of freewheel cogs you use?

[@thegravelist]

Yo! Thanks for the comment. It’s a white industries freewheel 🤘🏼

[@knicosaluria7613]

thank you for the reply i try to find 1 or it then use on my single speed

[@mikeritter2979]

He was about to start swinging that stick

[@microcolonel]

Replaced all situational awareness with willingness to use force lol.

[@tragedyofthecommons1954]

Is this frame the Liquid Clay color?

[@thegravelist]

Nope - matte black

[@tragedyofthecommons1954]

@@thegravelist very nice!

[@mikesmith883]

Heck yeah I want to ride a single speed. Right nowvi ride a fix but at the age of 43 years old I need to give my knees a rest !

[@thegravelist]

I hear ya... 43 year and still rippin on a fixie! That’s awesome. My knees would blow up if I tried

[@mikesmith883]

@@thegravelist ha yup that's a injury I would actually stop riding.

[@miniac60]

Counting my blessings, never even owned a fixie until 4 years ago, at 55 I ride at the beach, or on gravel (no hills!)

[@owenlefkowicz]

U scared the crap outta that man...

[@thegravelist]

Haaa. No joke. He whipped around ready to knock me out, haha. We had a moment though, so that’s cool.

[@tennesseeoiler8899]

No need to tighten the freewheel once put back on. Just hand tighten. Literally the second you pedal it gets tightened lol.

[@B_COOPER]

You can risk stripping out your threads doing that. There is substantially more torque applied through pedaling than a wrench. Not everyone “hand tightens” the same I’ve witnessed a lot of “hand tightened” threads not fully engaged and I wonder what makes some people so ignorant to such things.

[@hobopro69]

What single speed of yours do you ride the most ?

[@thegravelist]

Good question! My Surly Steamroller for sure. That thing fits me the best and feels the quickest/fastest.

[@hobopro69]

@@thegravelist thanks

[@whatsupbro6978]

what's that hub? =D

[@thegravelist]

White industries! Sounds so good.

[@skyjuiceification]

First off, all fixed gear bikes are single speeds but not all single speeds are fixed gears. once u got that much of the argument and back and forth becomes dumb. once u have riden both configurations a while freewheel is far more efficient and safe in a road scenerio. in my experience the older one gets the more apparent this becomes.

[@Cobwobbler]

I'm gonna single speed EVERYTHING....

[@rewop12]

fixed gear > single speed

[@MelancholyMadoka]

Single speed/fixed bikes with canti brakes are just wrong. I personally love fixed gear and single speed for their simplicity. Cantilever brakes are inherently complicated, and just kill the vibe imo.

[@skyjuiceification]

F0r that reas0n the c0mb0 w0rks f0r me!

[@terryperry6491]

Bruh why you got a mask on and riding a bike? Is it dusty out there 😳

[@thegravelist]

So I don’t get boogers

[@rewop12]

Why do you ride with straps on a single speed?

[@thegravelist]

not sure, tried it as a recommendation from a friend and it stuck with me. I like the idea of using a single speed as a commuter and there are a few hills where I live, so having the retention is nice when climbing. Having the straps are better for me to wear a regular sneaker without having to bring a change of shoes if I had clipless shoes. Ya dig?

[@ed0078]

Japanese name made by an out of state or better said Taiwan China manufacture. Just say it as it is

[@skyjuiceification]

Why, cuz thats ur problem?

[@cherepaha3]

Cycling with face mask is ridiculous

[@marcusmartin5758]

Using the mask when training forces your heart and lungs to work harder. using them can improve speed, endurance, and strength. Do you even train mate?