This was my last single speed. An absolute weapon of a bike. Never sell your single speeds, kids

I love a good single speed. They’re light, accelerate hard, and are somehow furious fun. They’re not as fast as a well set-up geared bike, and rarely are they full-sussers (but can be), plus many riders often have rigid forks to keep things as simple as possible (albeit less comfortable). But there’s something about the experience, the quiet, the singular purpose and 1:1 connection of your effort to your progress. They’re awesome. Also, come UK Winters they are great for mud and for low maintenance.

However, buying one these days is a ball ache.

Kona Honzo DL looks good, but is also being discontinued

Almost any bike from a large bike brand is geared only. The Kona, Honzo DL and Unit are an exception, as is the old Specialized Fuse. Salsa, Timberjack, or the Santa Cruz, Chalemeon, are other good examples. Good luck finding stock in your size, however.

Maybe then you’re just wanting to get a frame? Kona doesn’t sell the Honzo DL frameset in the UK. The Specialized Fuse is hard to get new (XL is available) and has been discontinued. Stif, have stopped advertising the Santa Cruz Chameleon, plus no one seems to stock either the frame or the bike. Even second hand these bikes are rare.

You can of course go custom as the likes of Shand, Curtis, Singular, and more, as they offer custom single speed frames, but at high prices. Expect to spend £2k to get a frame, shipped, and with a headset and clamp. And then you’ll need to accept that the frame will be steel (which might be what you want, but possibly not), or you’ll spend even more to get titanium.

Sonder’s, Open Road, looks to be a great single speed frame if you like long geo

There are companies out there that do offer good value single speed frames, but there’s always a catch. If they work for you, then they’re brilliant. Sonder, The AlpKit brand bike company, offers the Broken Road. A great looking frame in steel or titanium, but the geometry is designed for the Broken Road’s purpose (and the name gives a hint). It’s a multi-day trekking bike. If that’s what you’re after then you’re in luck, otherwise for a modern trail bike there are better geometry options out there. And you may not want to compromise on a single speed as you have less gears and other tech to bail you out when the trail isn’t perfectly suited to the bike.

Second hand then offers a good chance of scoring a single speed frame, at a reasonable price, but you’ll have to contend with maybe not getting exactly what you wanted. Plus the extra hassle and risk of delivery and trust. You’ll need to spend your time looking at all of the different sites, setting up notifications or constantly monitoring them. Google search isn’t all that helpful here as they will tease you with pictures of perfect bikes long sold and unavailable.

This bike haunts me on Google searches. Long since sold, but look at it. Stunning!

Of course, after all the effort on deciding on what bike you’d like, the colour, the spec, whether you’re buying new or second hand, or going custom, then you still need to build it. That means buying more stuff, getting it all set-up, considering the pros and cons of each component choice, and then all to ride with only a single gear. Your biking mates will be right to consider you a bit weird.

Reverse chain tensioners are meant to be very good

The alternative then is to reduce your current bike to a single speed with the use of a chain tensioner, which works and works well. It’s most certainly the cheapest method to get a single speed working, but it’s noisier than a dedicated single speed. If you’re new to single speeds this is absolutely where you should start. For £50 to 100 you’ll find out whether you like single speeding, you may learn a little more about your current bike by removing cassettes, working out chain lengths, etc. It’s all a positive learning experience.

So, back to me. I’m on the look out for a single speed frame. I’d snap up a Santa Cruz, Chameleon if I could get one. I’m tempted by a Sonder, Broken Road, but not too big a fan of the weight of steel, the potential for rust, and frankly how pedestrian the bike might be (or, and probably more rightly, how it may help me realise how pedestrian I’ve become). I’m also coming to my senses on whether buying a single speed will give me the high that I’m chasing from past memories of single speeds I’ve loved and owned.

Overall, single speeds are heaven. They are brilliantly enjoyable, simple to maintain, are light and easy to move and store, and they offer aesthetics second to none. I heartily recommend them to everyone as an N+1 bike, but try with a chain tensioner first.