What's your favourite gear ratio?

will running 48 x 16 be much tougher than 46 x 16 in London? I've got to decide a crank set for my build in the next few weeks.

48 x 17 in winter 48 x 16 in summer.
Would use 48 x 15 if I didn't live in the hills. Not all of London is as flat as some people claim. Thought the centre is completely flat

mashton [quote]Hovis Brown 46x16 or about 75"

re: your question...16 cog in the rear would do you fine.

48 x 16 only gives you 2 skid spots :-( [/quote]

true...but perhaps repeatclicks doesn't skid?

50 : 14

50:15 - London is very flat.

I ride 47x18, which is about 68", I think.

47x18 here too

78.4" here.
it's fine for most of london, but there are a couple of hills on my route to uni (euston to harrow) that could do with a lower gear.
i was thinking of getting a fixed/fixed hub.
k

48:17

41:16 :)

You lot running high 70s/low 80s all year round in London traffic are mental. Rubbish acceleration at low speeds, and I'd hate to see the state of your knee cartilages a few years down the road.

Whatever floats your boat I suppose :-/

53:11

Yeah, anything over 120" is fine though.

I'm testing knee's. Currently my right knee is titanium and my left one is phospher bronze & wearing out fast.

BringMeMyFix You lot running high 70s/low 80s all year round in London traffic are mental. Rubbish acceleration at low speeds, and I'd hate to see the state of your knee cartilages a few years down the road.

Whatever floats your boat I suppose :-/

hence looking for a fixed/fixed hub...

i was reading that thread about knee health a little while ago. did a bit of reading up myself.
and from what i can gather, riding fixed isn't bad for you knees (arguably, it's better), but high gears are! it's just too much stress for your joints.

I don't think there's anything wrong with high gears per se. If you want to compete in time trials or ride the kilo or pursuit on the track, or have a chance of staying with the bunch when it's winding up for the finish, they're de rigeur.

Trouble is, a lot of people don't take the time (years) to build up joint strength (not just muscles), or ride big gears inappropriately. It's one of the reasons why youth riders are on restricted gears. Protects their developing musculature, and encourages them to develop the ability to spin comfortably at 90-110rpm, whether they're a natural spinner of not.

In some ways, all this big gear abuse is great news though. A couple of years ago, 90% of newly qualified physiotherapists were unable to find work. If you ignore the fact that demand for health services doesn't always prompt the government to allocate funding, a lot of the people on this forum are ensuring that highly skilled health professionals have jobs in the future.

aidan [quote]repeatclicks flat as shit London

what does that mean?[/quote]

It means repeatclicks has really really bad diarrhea. Personally my shits stand up pound in a nice self supporting structure.

I've just changed from 40:15 with a 25mm tyre (71") to 52:20 on 23mm (68" ish) and it feels great.
It's smoother because of more teeth, I can ride faster for longer and get more skid patches.

I'm about to go 48:18, currently on 48:16

48:17 is where it's at.

48:18s lovely, pistanator, you'll have a blast

39 x 13/14/15/16/17/19/21/23/25

53 x 12/13/14/15/16/17/19/21/23

:p

cornelius blackfoot 48:18s lovely, pistanator, you'll have a blast

Thanking you kindly Sir. So when we gonna hook up as we're both on the same manor? Well, I'm actually Streatham Hill now....

i ride 48x19 and its quite hilly round here nice to spin though

aidan 41:16 :)

Me too! Does this mean that - setting aside obvious differences in location and age - basically, I'm just like you, Aidan? :-P