Ladies gear ratio

Theres a ladies gear ratio thread? And Ed is the regular contributor? Where have I been all this time!

All sorts of good stuff going on in here Mr Ignore !

This may be a daft question but here goes: If I have a double chain ring can i remove one and still use it? Will it still be strong enough? I've already done it and it feels fine... fingers crossed.

Depends on the exact cranks, but I've done it on loads of bikes. Just swap to the right length of single cranks bolts.

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif][SIZE=2]Hi. Bumping this thread in the hope that someone can help. I'm seriously considering getting a ss bike after years of dithering because I live in a hilly area. I've worked out a low gearing combination that works for me from experimenting on my road bike. I like the simplicity for commuting and think it will make me fitter.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif][SIZE=2]The problem is I can't do math and don't really understand this gear ratio business. Working on the basis of the formula of Gear = Wheel × Chainwheel ÷ Sprocket, I'm assuming that if I get the same gear inches from a different chainring and sprocket combination, the ride will still be the same? Is this right? The middle chainring on my bike is 42t and I'm using that but many ss bikes come with a 46t chainring. Sorry if this is a stupid question. I hoped that if I asked in the friendly ladies forum I might not get bollocked. Thanks.[/SIZE][/FONT]

HI Kevans

I don't understand the gear ratio either! I run 46/20 on my SS, which I understand gives me 55.9 GI. I think that makes it very spinny but my knees can handle it. I'm on a 650c bike with 165mm cranks.

Try this site to get the info you need.

http://software.bareknucklebrigade.com/rabbit.applet.html

Hope it helps.

Thanks for that cafewanda. I'll check it out. I'm 5' 2" and considering a 650c ss bike if I can get one but my road bike is 700c so that should be fine too. The ratio that works for me is pretty spinny too but kind to my knees.

Check out Sheldons gear calculatorhttp://sheldonbrown.com/gears/
Although I believe this has already been mentioned.
If you have hills, a gear inch in the mid 60's using whatever combination you prefer to give you that, should be fine. But, having said that, it depends on steepness, length of said hills and strength of the rider. Personally, I don't like combinations that use really big front chainrings, but given you will need a lowish gear that wouldn't be an issue. And it's an aesthetic issue, rather than a performance one.
How hilly is it where you live? If it 's very hilly, is ss the best way to go? If you choose a gear that can cope with steep ups, that gear is going to have
you spinning like crazy on the descents. My uncle, an old school club rider, always rode fixed in the winter. He had a few hills to deal with and used a flip flop fixed/fixed hub with a small sprocket on one side and a larger one on the other. On long, steep descents, he'd stop and flip the wheel to the smaller sprocket. Then flip it back when the going got too tough.
I run 44/16. I can just about get up Gipsy Hill on that. But I wouldn't want to do it every day. Although, it might get easier if I did ( or completely knacker my ageing knees).

I started optimisitically on a 16/48 ratio. Im dont do a massive commute and there are couple of steep but short hills on my route. However after a few months I noticed pains in my knees which ive never had before. Not only that but was seemed to get overtaken a lot. I switched to a 16/44 and the difference was noticeable, knees stpped hurting ad much faster. There is definitely as safety issue with too high a hear ratio, it will damage your knees. start somewhere in the middle . most likely tou will switch your chain ring in 6-9 months anyway or max 12 months, so you can always go higher lower. Even start with cheap chain rings that you know you will replace often and experiment.

It's good that you've geared down, generation99. You might even want to go lower. The generally recommended gear range for riding fixed on the road is about 69-71 gear inches. I ride 42/16, which is about 70. You're on about 74.