What's your favourite gear ratio?

42/15. Flat City Riding.

I'm getting the ferry over to dieppe from and doing the 100miles to paris in a month or so, not sure about hills etc but what would be a good gear ratio for the distance? I'm currently 44 18 fixed, contemplating getting a freewheel, in all fairness extremely unprepared! Just posting here as it's the most recently added too forum an I'm new to all this forum mallarky.

Get a bigger ratio fixed. You'll be riding for hours.

Did a 60 something mile fixed group ride last weekend with 46/16. The obligatory hill climb nearly killed me. It was worth it, and might opt for a bigger ratio next time - for less spinning in the flats.

Im just starting out on the fixed gear malarkey after many years on various geared bikes. Went for the 16/46 combo after riding this config on my old bike - I thought it was a good compromise but after a but more research it seems that spinning is the preferred momentum as opposed to a bit more resistance on the flat. Is this ratio too high? I haven't hit any decent sized hills yet either so I might have to go 17/46..

I've found 46x17 to be perfect all round, and its quite hilly where I am. Good tyre wear as well.

spin like fuck = win

It gets tiresome on longer rides though. Especially when you burn lots of energy just to keep up the spinning where you could actually roll along. On the other hand, that is what you want to train. 'cause that crazy spinning is good for quick outbursts and stuff.

Can anyone tell me how I can work out my gear ratio?

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/

this chap as a fair bit of info about bikes on his website

46x16 perfect for in the city

I've tried all the fancy stuff, but in the end, it's hard to beat a decent vanilla.

51-17

49 - 19 :p

42-16 for commute is near perfect, but don't like spinning out downhill so want to try a slightly different ratio

42-16 for commute is near perfect, but don't like spinning out downhill so want to try a slightly different ratio

Try 59-16

I've found 46x17 to be perfect all round, and its quite hilly where I am. Good tyre wear as well.

Where abouts do you ride?

Yeah, it's a great resource. I've learned a lot from that site recently in trying to figure out my first build.

"http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/"

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/

this chap as a fair bit of info about bikes on his website

Thanks for that.

I'm actually looking for a spinnier gear. Does anyone ride 46-17 and would they recommend it?

Last year I went from 46/15 all the way to /18 and thought /17 is a good gear.
Though, for the winter I had /18 for more strength and ease to get through all the muck on the roads. That helped a lot. So much, that when I put back on my skinny tyres, /16 was much easier to tackle than /17 from last summer.

In the end of the day, all gears are good. It's just up to you whether you're up for it or not. Cogs aren't that pricey either to experiment with too.

Where abouts do you ride?

Yorkshire.

Commuter bike: 46:16 on 23mm 700c
Weekend club run bike: 49:16 also on23mm 700c.
Winter commuter/path bike: 46:17 on 30mm 700c CX Pro's
Mountain bike: 34:16

i find 50x19 very good. its around 71 g.inches, doesn't quite kill your knees and tyre wear is hard to beat, esp if you skid with both legs.

^ agreed. Had 50/18 but knees really started caning w the skids. Now 50/19 and they're fine again. Not as nice as 48/18 but then again as Archangel said the 19 patches are very hard to beat..

I go everywhere on 48/14 might be a bit high but I like the work up to max speed, I also use 18 cog but it feels tiny compared to the 14 and I end up spinning like fuck, but 48/16 is also nice

42-16 for all