Are we MEATy folks on the gradual path to run-biking down gnarly trails with nothing but aggressive hiking boots for brakes? It might seem a logical future step in a journey that, for many, began with carbon sag-wagons with top-end forks and shocks and has stopped, at least part time, for now, at simple-steel rigid frame and fork setups.
Maybe not. Most of the folks I know riding one speeds are like me, pedaling simple one-speed bicycles resplendent with more than a few luxury-level components. Take the 1.66° Project 321 G2.5 on my Waltworks V2. Shelled as a Stan’s hub it uses P321’s G2 magnetic-pawl driver combined with the excellent G3 hub axle and in addition to instant-enough engagement it has held up to a year of regular single-speed abuse, and is even shielded well enough that I’m on the original bearings.
Function is fantastic, it sounds great, it’s proven as durable as many boutique hubs I have used, and it’s easily inter-compatible with multi-speed drivetrains for maximum redundancy between bikes as well. So, why on earth would I consider replacing it with something significantly more basic with significantly lower (5° vs. 1.66°) engagement?
Since White Industries’ 5°-engagement freewheels grabbed a (coveted, hahaha) MEATengines Award, I’ve had a number of chats, and e-mails, about single-speed mountain bicycling with a simpler setup. Rather than relying on a multi-speed internal freehub system for my crank leveling & backpedaling needs, on a bike that’s only ever going to be one-speeded, why not a simple and robust freewheel system? Still totally high-end, mind you.
Take the excellent, bombproof, simple, beautiful, and easy to work on crafty California concern’s Paul WORD Boost-148mm single-speed disc hub, add a 5°-engagement White Industries freewheel (16-22t), and pedal a top-quality single-speed-specific setup for less scratch.
As much as 5° is my preferred minimum level of hub engagement for slower technical trails – up and down, and as much as I love the faster engagement of the hubs I’m riding currently, the appeal of threading an external freewheel onto a simpler hub construct is undeniably high.
{Above photo: Hardtail.Life}
Maybe not for a bike like my Waltworks V2 that has a hanger and derailleur cable routing. Not that V2 has ever had a derailleur mounted on it, but, as with running a single cog and spacer kit on a multi-speed hub, the point of the bike was always one of versatility. I’ve run it rigid, I’ve run it with a suspension fork. It’s hard to imagine the bike with a multi-speed drivetrain, but in this case I’m constantly in a state of choosing not to put one on, which has a certain value to me as well.
But what about if I cut the hanger off? What about a theoretical next frame – V3 – that’s rigid-specific like my V1 and has no gear-cable routing? EC34/EC34 (1-1/8″) headtube, NOS Chris King deep-cup steel set headset, Paul Disc WORD hubset, and a W.I. freewheel sounds awesome. I mean, it sounds like an awesome idea, and the noise its pawls make also sound awesome.
{Drewitors note: yes, I’m sticking with hydraulic brakes. Sorry; not sorry.}
Apparently everyone I’ve talked to and traded e-mails with rides around in the same echo chamber, because the boutique simplicity of the Paul/W.I. combo has a universal appeal. Even for folks currently riding boutique cog-holders like classic Chris Kings, Industry Nine 1/1 & Hydra, DT Swiss star ratchets, my P321 wheels.
Simple minds apparently think alike.
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