Bigger ring...

Is that anyway to talk at Xmas time? Is it? Can't you save it for one of your "training" sessions in the RP bushes? (That Clive talks in his sleep)

the bushes are not all evergreens, there's scant cover you know. which is how we saw you watching again last time.
Clive's not shy, talking isn't all he does in his sleep

Grides; sorry we all assumed you were on fixed and then me and hippy and rpm had a little thing going on. not sure what the smallest freewheel you can get is; 16 maybe? you don't want to make too big a jump though so consult gearing tables first.

I have recently switched to 46/20 having ridden 48/18 or 19 for a couple of years, and i wish i had done it earlier, top speed very slightly down, but i am hardly ever in a situation where that matters, but i find my average speed is slightly up, and find it makes the whole bike far more controllable in the tight stuff

The 48/18 was a carry over from when i rode SS, and if i was still running SS i would definitely go for a 48 or 46/18 - the standard gearing on the Filmore is too low for SS IMO

Grides, what freewheel you got in the back? I run 46/16 and that's fine for me

you did have a little thing going on didn't you...I guess every one loves ring when it comes down to it. Thanks for the advice though, its appricated

I'm on 48/18... that's a nice compromise for me - just over 70 gear inches. Lets me get up the hills in Richmond Park without grinding to a stop and enough resistance to nip around on the flats. With a bit of training I'll probably drop the back cog to a 17 in the spring. I'm a pretty average Joe when it comes to fitness, so if you're some kind of Ubermensch I guess you could take that up a bit. If you're relatively new to this (and at the risk of being patronising), I'd go along with the other comments about working on your cadence rather than stepping up a "gear" or two.

18 at the back....will 16 make the same difference?

44/16 will get you spinning - you might find that you're 'spinning out' sometimes but if you're cycling where there's bumps you might find it a bit easier - you're welcome to give mine a spin if you're west london way

Ah ok, then slightly scrap my original advice, as it seems generally accepted to ride a higher gear as a singlespeed.

a bigger chainring will give you a higher top speed, but that will be sacrificed by the fact that it will make it significantly harder to accelerate.

depending on where you live you will have to judge how much of a trade off is worth it, live VV says in london, you're better off on a lighter gear as you can get up to full speed quicker, but if you live out in the sticks, acceleration may be less important and top speed might be more valuable.

I think my cadence is fine, because I'm freewheel it gets to a point when I'm spinning fast and the wheels wont turn any faster....so I just thought bigger ring, higher top speed. No need to worry about my fitness really

Ever thought about a geared bike?

Thanks for the input though....of to look at some rings. Can't wait.

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ive just checked out the rabbit gear inches thing, and 46-17 is 4 gear inches higher than 46-18 - how noticeable do people think this'll be. I quite like the 67.2 gear inch mark, though it can be a bit spinny on flats. Wondering if skidding (and wheelying - i know of lot of u think that this shouldn't be done on a fixed but fuck it, i like it)) will be a lot tougher or about the same... any ideas.
cheers!

4 inches extra is quite noticeable.

4 inches is quite noticeable.

only if that's all you've got

ive just checked out the rabbit gear inches thing, and 46-17 is 4 gear inches higher than 46-18 - how noticeable do people think this'll be. I quite like the 67.2 gear inch mark, though it can be a bit spinny on flats. Wondering if skidding (and wheelying - i know of lot of u think that this shouldn't be done on a fixed but fuck it, i like it)) will be a lot tougher or about the same... any ideas.
cheers!

Lower gearing generally accepted as being better for skidding, tricks etc . . . however if you are accomplished at skidding etc a small rise shouldnt really fuck with you

I find It is far more noticeable how much easier it is to skid when stepping down from a higher gear, than how much harder it is when stepping up a gear, but that might just be me

only if that's all you've got

Quote fail. But I've heard you're a wizard with your 4 inches..

well, its 4 gear inches, but im also dropping from 170 crank arms to 165. i'm thinking that this will hopefully balance out the loss of acceleration, as well as mean that at top speed im gonna b spinning at about the same.

im fucked off actually (with myself), i just bought a 46t 75 ring off hub jub, i should've got a 47. then i could ride 47-18 and i would have raised my gear inch by 1.4 and got more skid-patches. foolish forms.