r/singlespeed

Hey, sorry if posted recently before but i did a bit of searching and couldn’t see anything.

I fancy getting my first single speed. I want something reasonably cheap as I don’t know if I’ll like it. I spent a week in a single gear on a geared bike to explore it and I liked it a lot. Getting out of the saddle more was fun. Felt somehow more connected to the bike/road. I’m between bikes at the moment and am riding my wife’s step through sit up electric bike without the motor which is hilariously bad as an overall experience and not the ideal test but if I enjoyed a fake single speed then surely a real one would only be better?

Here’s the thing - I need mudguards and a rack for panniers and a lot / most of the single speeds don’t have the mounting points afaict. I mainly cycle to work, I need to carry a laptop, backpacks make me sweaty. I need mudguards because I hate turning up at work with soaking shoes it sucks. It’s a non negotiable. I found some fancy ones new with these features, gorgeous things but maybe £600+ pounds. Too much if I might hate it after a few months!

I’m struggling to find something reasonably cheap that can be my commuter bike to test the waters of single speed.

Happy to be second hand or new. The man at a local bike shop I trust suggested second hand racer from the 90s with a decent frame and horizontal mounting for the rear wheel and take it to them to convert but I feel a bit out of my depth knowing what to buy. I’m in Cambridge, United Kingdom by the way. You would think it would have loads of amazing second hand bike shops but they all seem to only have crap cheap bikes.

What do I mean by reasonable price? I guess up to about £300 maybe £400 all in. Tell me if that’s just unrealistic.

Any suggestions?