"why did i buy a singlespeed?"  on the flats, i don't have as much power as i'd have if i had a big ring.  uphill, i don't have the granny gear i'd have if i had 24 gears to choose from. ask many people why they ride a singlespeed, and you will hear a plethora of lofty reasons why.   most people talk about the "purity" of the singlespeed, the return to childhood when all you had was one speed.  i remeber riding my bike as a kid, i rode all day, on trails, on the street, miles to my frined's house, and i didn't care that i didn't have extra gears.  it was pure fun.  but i'm not a kid anymore, and technology allows me to ride up a hill with ease and, when i get to a downhill or flats, with a flick of my thumb i can have all the power i need. 

so why do i ride a singlespeed?  my reasons are as shallow as a kiddie pool. 

riding on the trail on a sunny saturday, listening to my mp3s and zenning out, i pass a two guys going up a hill on a tricked out full suspension ride.  i don't ride my bike, me and my bike ride the earth.  we swoop, dive, climb, turn, flow like a river, the earth rises and falls beneath us, and we rise and fall with it, like a seagull bobbing on the waves of the ocean, me and the bike bob on the waves of the earth. i don't have to think about when to shift, i don't have to worry about bending derailleur hangers, i don't have to worry about chainsuck, i just pedal and ride.  i stop to take a drink and look at the beautiful scenery around me, and after a few minutes, one of the guys i passed comes rolling up. 

"dude, that's a sweet bike,"  he says between lungfulls of air. 

and that is why i ride a singlespeed. 

pablosnazzy