The first time I rode my Omnium Mini-Max offroad, on some light single-track, I had to admit that the experience was actually surprisingly awesome. I even had both wheels off the ground, unloaded mind you. It’s not an experience I’m chasing, certainly I’ve kept the tire choice to road & gravel, but reading Ben’s preamble I could see myself in the same circumstance.

“My SS Omnium BBJ hardtail was stolen on route to a ASSNATS earlier in the year (there’s a Bicycle Valentine in that one—a truly tragic love story—the one that got away). Anyway, The logical solution was to setup my Mini-Max for the event with a spare 19t Wolf Tooth Cog I had kicking about. It worked so well! Billy ran most of the course which meant we were able to finish in the first dozen or so riders. Turns out 32-19 is a great gear on that bike for flat XC rides and also for the rolling gravel around home. I kept it SS over winter and have been enjoying the lack of maintenance. Gears will go back on for summer though, no way am I carrying camping gear AND the dog without them. But it won’t be the last time this bike doesn’t have gears.“

Whether it’s fit for purposed or repurposed to fit, if you have a single-speed mountain bicycle, ATB, commuter, or a rig that’s undefinable beyond being #1FG it’s easy to share with the MEATengines community:

You write a Haiku

Submit it with a photo

Then, I say thank you

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Ben on the Ominum:

cargo MTB

with one gear meant to be, we

even raced XC!

For more of the MEATengines one-speed haikuniverse: About a Single-Speed   

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If you’re interested in supporting the MEATengines community there are multiple ways to help out. You can submit an About a Single Speed or Bicycle Valentines piece, or fire me an e-mail if there’s some other ATB or mountain bicycling topic you’re passionate to write about. I’m interested. You can engage with a comment below, join the crew at r/MEATengines, or, if you have a couple spare bucks {ha!}, you can always  buy me a coffee. Thank you.

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