What gear ratios do you ride

I didn't have a clue what would be a good ratio when I first converted my bike to single speed so i left the cassette on for a while and tried a few ratios until I found one I liked.

I live in a very hilly area and the ratio I ended up with is 42-17

How does this compare with you guys

mamos

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carpe scrotum

If you didn't build it, you don't own it.

I'm assuming it's a road bike, with 700c wheels? 42-17 is about 66", which is the perfect gear for SS'ing on the road. It's the gear I've been using for the past few years. Good choice!

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"Gears are like eyes or testicles. Having more than one is an unnecessary luxury." Elvis A. Presley

most of the fixed gears in my area are running 74" to 82".  pretty darn hilly town too.  I can see how a lower gear would be a perfect cruise on a free bike though.

I´d agree, fixed-wheel dictates a higher gear - because you don´t have the option of freewheeling to cover higher speeds. And, the messengers average very high speeds, dictating a bigger gear which has become fashionable as a fixie standard. 

I only know what´s worked for me, around here, as a regular club cyclist for the past few years. I´ve tried higher gears, but settled on 42-17. The 66" can be spun along at 22 or 23 mph quite comfortably on SS, and for pretty long periods when you´re used to it and have developed the necessary suppleness. When the pace of the group gets faster, I do the ´spin and rest, spin and rest` thing - with some close drafting - and seem to keep up fine. Yes, it´s a relatively small gear, but can still be taken way beyond 30mph for seated sprints and cresting into descents. I always use 66" SS for Sunday morning group club runs (normally 40-60 hilly miles, but sometimes more) at an average journey speed of 16-18 mph. It works very well for me. 

I´ve ridden with a few SS newbies using higher gears, 72" being the ´classic´ fixed-wheel gear in Britain, but they soon gear down if sticking with single-freewheel for club cycling. I think over-gearing is one of the main reasons why some people don´t stick with SS. Fixed and SS ain´t quite the same when it comes to gearing.

Yes, 66" is also a good gear for town riding!

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"Gears are like eyes or testicles. Having more than one is an unnecessary luxury." Elvis A. Presley

I feel a right wimp compared to you hardcore geezers.

I'm running 36/19 it's a little(!) low on the flat, but it works off road  and I do survive many/some of the hills...

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She who succeeds in gaining the mastery of the bicycle will gain the mastery of life.
– Frances E. Willard, How I Learned To Ride The Bicycle, 1895


The follower of singlespeeding
is at one with his bike.

not to worry. my MTB is runnig 28/15.  Low and slow.  . . until I hit the trails.

my mtb 36x16 road and mild rolling areas, thats a freewheel. road and steep climbs 36x20. still eyeing for the trails on a ss.

Well IMO it's up to the rider.  What you did with leaving the cassette on and playing around with it was very smart.  I did a bunch of online research and decided on going with 42/16 about a 71" gear ratio.  I'm in Las Vegas, NV on a road bike not a lot of hills, some small ones but we certainly do have inclines.  I like the 42/16 but will probably bump it up a bit maybe to 44-45/16.  I think my legs can take it and I like going as fast as I can on the flats (sometimes I gotta check my birth certificate).

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Ride it like you stole it!

Hi,

 My Mountain bike is set up with a 36T White Industry crank and a 19T (same brand) freewheel, and my Commuter/road has a 46T-18T. 

Cheers,

B.C

 

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-BC-

I am having trouble getting hold of the 42 tooth chain ring I wanted from thorn.

I have already got the 17 tooth rear cog

Thorn have a 41 and a 43 in stock

How much difference is either of these going to make?

I can get up most of the hils in the area so is a difference of one tooth going to make a noticable difference?

I did try going from 17 to 15 once but found it just a little too hard

Thorn say it will be another month at least until they get a 42 in

 

mamos

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carpe scrotum

If you didn't build it, you don't own it.

17/32

21/32

16/32

at the moment, its quite hilly round here but even 21/32 is enough to stay ahead of most folk on anything but the big peddally bits

 

48/16 fixed on the road bike.

36/18 single speed on the mountain bike.

I am pumping a 42/16 setup and I love it...

really we should all be speaking in gear inches.  Especially the MTBers.  A 29er and a 26er both running 32/16 will be very different.  In an ideal world us mountainbikers (those of us who run 26ers) could speak in strictly ratioed terms.  But now I no longer know how much rubber one is wearing on their  wheels when they say the term "Mountainbike".  I should have stated in my earlier post; I'm runing 48.533333333333333333333333333333333 inch gears.  But 48 will do. 

I just got a Torelli SS and i'm running a 46x17 with 700's on flat ground.  It won't work in the hills but I didn't buy the bike for that.  Cruises along nicely...

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Riding the streets of San Fran and the Bay Area cuz that's where I live. :-)

80 mile hilly cyclo sportive (Southdowns Challenge) this morning on the 66" (42x17) gear, single freewheel. Finishing time of 4:43H was almost exactly 17mph average speed.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Go with what works well for you. 66" is perfect for my kind of cycling in our local terrain.

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"Gears are like eyes or testicles. Having more than one is an unnecessary luxury." Elvis A. Presley

mamos:

I am having trouble getting hold of the 42 tooth chain ring I wanted from thorn.

Thorn say it will be another month at least until they get a 42 in

mamos

You don't need a SS specific ring. If it's 130 BCD (Shimano 5-bolt road), just use any inner ring for road-double. There are no ramps or pins on road inner rings. Stronglight and TA do a good selection. There's no need to wait for the Thorn item.

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"Gears are like eyes or testicles. Having more than one is an unnecessary luxury." Elvis A. Presley

Thorn have sent me a 43 tooth for free until the other one turns up

 nice

 

mamos

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carpe scrotum

If you didn't build it, you don't own it.

Here's a question:

 I'm using a 52/42 chain ring with a 19T in the back. What does the 52/42 mean? Is my ratio 52/19 or 42/19?

It's nice for the flats but it's a tad slow at acceleration. But once I'm going, I'm gone man. SF hills are another issue. But there's nothing like a good climb to get the sweat dripping.

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He who does not get out of the saddle
Will not make it to the top of the hill.

Count the teeth. It's probably a 52 ring which is ramped and pinned to work with a 42, hence the '52/42' marking.

52-19 on a road bike is a pretty big gear.

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"Gears are like eyes or testicles. Having more than one is an unnecessary luxury." Elvis A. Presley

I ride a 34/16 on my mtn bike.  Find I am spinning a load if I hit the roads but thats ok, keeps the heart rate up.

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Your eyes are weary from staring at the monitor. You feel sleepy. Notice how restful it is to watch the cursor blink. Close your eyes. The opinions stated above are yours. You cannot imagine why you ever felt otherwise.