I FINALLY got an unramped, singlespeed-specific front chainring, albeit a DH ring, so it's nice and thick (but still light) where it counts (near the mounting bolts). I got the Truvativ 40-tooth DH chainring from King's in Quiapo. I'd seen this particular ring there a few weeks back, but was hoping for something smaller as the 40-t would make my gear ratio with my current rear cog (16t) a bit high. But after all my frantic searching, I had to settle for the Truvativ, hoping I'd find (yet another frantic search!) a bigger rear cog somewhere else (not Quiapo, definitely).
Anyhoo, so my SS (or 1G) conversion is finally complete (not counting the rear cog change and new carbon fork [ehem] in the future). Jane at King's was also able to provide a set (4) of short chainring bolts (the last ones they had, she said) so I wouldn't need to do another hunt for washers/spacers to make my regular bolts fit. They were expensive for what they were, but were at least a lot cheaper than what other shops were charging for a set of 5 (can you imagine 750 pesos for 5 measly bolts???!!!)
So this morning, SS Ruth had her second maiden voyage (if there is such a thing) as a one-geared gal.
And my fears were realised...
While I enjoyed the ability to spin more comfortably on the flats and downhills -- now that I had higher gearing -- it was quite an effort to get the bike moving from standing starts (at traffic light stops), slowdowns, and uphills. And while my overall travel time was actually faster than my average (by about a minute), I was almost totally wasted (OK, maybe not wasted, but I couldn't think of another word for how I felt) even before I crossed EDSA.
Now I'm thinking, maybe I should've built up my leg strength first and used the 32:16 for at least a couple more months. Or just stick it out with the 40:16 and remember to stand and mash instead of sit and spin (a requisite technique for SS riding).
I'll update this later with a photo of my drivetrain (haven't uploaded the new images from my camera yet). This'll have to do for now:
Based on this maximum speed, I was spinning at well over 110 RPM!
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