One Gear Giddy

Twin Six Dark Horse (2012) — $Sold

Someone asked me how many singlespeed bikes I’ve had and I honestly couldn’t remember. I would have to count all the kids bikes that have passed through the garage. There were 4 or 5 fixed-gear bikes as well. This one is special though. It is the only singlespeed, belt-drive, cyclocross bike I’ve had.

The one thing about cyclocross racing that everyone agrees to is that it’s hard. Most races are between 30–60 minutes, depending on age and category. The whole time you’re going all-out and trying not to crash. Cross bikes don’t have bottle cage mounts because you barely have time to breath. You can always grab a beer handup if you’re thirsty. I got this frame with the idea of doing a couple races, but I only managed to get it on course once. It was such a blast!

Twin Six is an apparel company, like Swobo was. And they based this limited edition model on a standard Raleigh RXS. The unique feature is a slot in the rear dropout that allows the use of a Gates Carbon Belt Drive. This is my 5th or 6th Gates bike, and a big reason why we use it on our Karmic Koben S. The belt is super strong, nearly silent and mud, muck and dirt can be washed off. It makes an ideal drivetrain for the typical cyclocross conditions, as long as you have the legs for it. The other great thing about ‘cross is if anything is really steep, people get off their bikes and run up. No shame in getting off your bike!

The last thing I’ll say is that Bike Industry sizing sucks. While I can fit on most stock geometries, the exact fit varies from brand to brand. I’m usually a 53cm if I get a choice. But that means a 52cm or a 54cm ‘stock size’ depending on the Brand. Raleigh only made this frameset in Small, Medium, Large. This Small is supposed to be a 53cm but fits more like a 54cm. My Giant TCX is also a Small, which is closer to a 51/52cm. That is my go-to bike for mixed terrain, so this Twin Six just feels slightly too big. It’s a bit nutty to get thrown off by 1cm. I guess that’s why people still pay silly money to get custom bikes made.