Ratio's

Can anyone advise me about which gear ratio would be suitable for me?

I have an off the peg fixed wheel. Ratio is 42-16 which is okay, but I find myself spinning out- alot.

I am in Glasgow so its not exactly billiard table country! I do a 23 mile commute so I feel I need a bigger gear but not something I would struggle to get away from the lights.

Can anyone of you peeps advise me on which gear I should try.

Muchos.

Can anyone advise me about which gear ratio would be suitable for me?

I have an off the peg fixed wheel. Ratio is 42-16 which is okay, but I find myself spinning out- alot.

I am in Glasgow so its not exactly billiard table country! I do a 23 mile commute so I feel I need a bigger gear but not something I would struggle to get away from the lights.

Can anyone of you peeps advise me on which gear I should try.

Muchos.

Funny, my handlebars are called Merak, (I think)!

Can anyone advise me about which gear ratio would be suitable for me?

I have an off the peg fixed wheel. Ratio is 42-16 which is okay, but I find myself spinning out- alot.

I am in Glasgow so its not exactly billiard table country! I do a 23 mile commute so I feel I need a bigger gear but not something I would struggle to get away from the lights.

Can anyone of you peeps advise me on which gear I should try.

Muchos.

How about buying a 15t for the rear end and giving it a go then?

What's the deal with the Spock picture?

Is it the done thing to change the rear cog rather than your chain ring? I don't have a clue tbh.

I do know that the 42-16 feels a little small though, does just one tooth make a big difference?

Thanks for your help.

yes

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

Set it to gear inches, play with the numbers, see what you get. higher numbers = harder pedalling
This way you can work how much your gearing will change dependant on what bits you change.

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

Set it to gear inches, play with the numbers, see what you get. higher numbers = harder pedalling
This way you can work how much your gearing will change dependant on what bits you change.

That's great, thanks alot.

teeth on the back makes a bigger difference than teeth on the front.

teeth on the back makes a bigger difference than teeth on the front.

I didn't know that. I thought that more teeth on the big ring would have made more of a difference. I think I will try a 17 tooth cog on the back.

Thanks for your help.

generally, my fixed wheel bikes (3) hover around the 72-77" mark.

at the moment i have 44:15 and 48:17 (x2).

bear in mind i'm officially now super hard and just climbed up ventoux (look on wikipedia) with a 12-25 cassette on the back and 39:53 on the front.

i ride 77.2GI, thinking of dropping it to 72.3

I didn't know that. I thought that more teeth on the big ring would have made more of a difference. I think I will try a 17 tooth cog on the back.

Thanks for your help.

hang on a sec am i missing something... doing that would make you spin more.

pj was saying is that changing the rear cog has a greater effect than the front.

Spock is saying go 15t on the rear would make a difference to you spinning on the down hills and make it slightly harder to pull away.

Shin say go 15T

true - one tooth on rear is bigger difference than one tooth on front.

also, going smaller on the back means bigger. going smaller on the front is smaller.

hence leipheimer doing TT on 53:11, obree on 54:12, big gears.

Basically merak, increase size of chainring = bigger gear, increase size of sprocket = smaller gear, and the opposite for both. Basically the larger the number of difference in teeth between the chainring & sprocket means the bigger the gear.

isn't that what i said?

increase size of angle grinder = better crank removal

Yes but i didn't read your post.

The cranks on my bianchi pista, which haven't been touched since I bought it in July, are stuck. Can't even get the bolts that go into the BB spindle out.

Also, they're shitty truvativ ones.

Should I: A) cement my reputation as angle-grinder man;

or B) attempt to remove them in an even more unorthodox fashion.

why piss around, take to to BLB, they'll have them off in a jiffy.

Merak, I'm in Glasgow too, so listen to me instead of these bloody Cockneys who ride about on roads designed with a spirit level. Fixed wheel is probably so popular in London cos there are no hills to coast down anyway. :-P

I'm on 41:16 - which isn't a million miles away from what you're using - and that ratio seems just about right to me. You may spin out often, but at least you won't have to plan your route to accommodate the gear.

There are hills here that would be unmanageable on a bigger ratio. I can think of plenty of traffic lights in the town centre where, on longer gear inches, I wouldn't be able to get the bike moving from a standing start.

I suppose you should consider the wind too, especially if you cycle alongside the Clyde for any sort of distance. It's brutal down there. How did you get on in Friday's gusts? It can be like that for weeks during winter and you REALLY notice it when you don't have the option of shifting down a gear.

By all means, try what the other guys say and use a 15-tooth cog for a while. Just don't go totally daft and swap to some sort of Obree-esque macho monster gear, cos I think you're pretty close to the ideal right now. Of course, it's down to personal preference, riding style and where you're likely to be cycling too, and you'll know much more about that than me.

Just out of interest, what are you riding? I'll keep my eyes peeled for you.

^All true.

...but you are riding 23 mile journeys so I'm not surprised it's important to gear a little higher than stock.

15th on the back would be sensible.

Merak, I'm in Glasgow too, so listen to me instead of these bloody Cockneys who ride about on roads designed with a spirit level. Fixed wheel is probably so popular in London cos there are no hills to coast down anyway. :-P

I'm on 41:16 - which isn't a million miles away from what you're using - and that ratio seems just about right to me. You may spin out often, but at least you won't have to plan your route to accommodate the gear.

There are hills here that would be unmanageable on a bigger ratio. I can think of plenty of traffic lights in the town centre where, on longer gear inches, I wouldn't be able to get the bike moving from a standing start.

I suppose you should consider the wind too, especially if you cycle alongside the Clyde for any sort of distance. It's brutal down there. How did you get on in Friday's gusts? It can be like that for weeks during winter and you REALLY notice it when you don't have the option of shifting down a gear.

By all means, try what the other guys say and use a 15-tooth cog for a while. Just don't go totally daft and swap to some sort of Obree-esque macho monster gear, cos I think you're pretty close to the ideal right now. Of course, it's down to personal preference, riding style and where you're likely to be cycling too, and you'll know much more about that than me.

Just out of interest, what are you riding? I'll keep my eyes peeled for you.

Your talking sense there.

I dont really have major problems with the 42-16 i like it when its rolling but I agree with you, the inclines in and around the city are 'difficult' I do my best to avoid them!

I just find Im spinning out for example riding down Queen Margaret drive legs are a blur! But by the same token if Im tired I struggle away from the lights. What you say about being close to the right gear, I would agree with that.

I think I will try the 15 at the back. Incidentally I do travel along the Clydeside yesterday was savage in the wind, today is not much better but at leat the suns out!

I ride a Langster green with red tyres.

Thanks for your advice.

Hi Merak - Spock was making a 'logical' suggestion, based on your current gut feeling.

However, Sowetto888 makes a good point. 42x16 is about 69", which is a very good everyday gear. You'd only have to spin at 150rpm to do 30mph - acheivable by most people when gravity-assisted, and a sensible speed threshold for urban riding. (I've done over 40mph a few times in the same ratio)

You should also be able (with practice) to grind up 10% climbs in that gear, or even short stretches of 15%, though it would feel very hard going.

If you go for the 15t at the back, you're average speed on the flat is unlikely to change - you'll just pedal more slowly.

And finally, it's often a good idea (for the sake of your knees/muscles) to ride one tooth bigger at the back during the winter, and switch it when the clocks change.

Thanks alot for advice. I will try the 15 through the summer and see how I get on.

I appreciate what you are saying regarding the smaller cog at the back. I dont have a burning desire to go quicker just to have my legs turn a little slower. This may be the ideal solution.

I also appreciate the off the peg bikes have the 42-16 ratio for a reason, research must say this is the ideal gear for most people, indeed you have agreed thats the case. I like the gear just dont like spinning like a madman!

Thanks again.

BMMF, It doesn't always hold true that you need a lower ratio in winter. I thought there were more settled days this year than average. since the clocks changed we've had some fairly stiff breezes so far.

Okay, I may not the strongest cyclist but I'm probably faster than the average commuter. In Merseyside it's pretty much flat with one or two freak steep roads and I've run 71gi before changing to 69gi. It's so much easier to keep moving on the flat in any condition with the lower gear even if I do spin out on short stretches. I just see the spinning out as preferrable to injuring my knees or not being able to keep my momentum going in high winds. Thinking of going to 68gi soon.

Merak, Queen Margaret Drive is one of my favourite roads in the whole of Glasgow. For those that don't know this street - pretty much everyone - it runs from less-than-salubrious Maryhill into the student-infested, trendy West End. It's about half a mile long. The road surface is lovely and smooth and the bulk of the 40-metre drop comes within the first 200 metres or so.

I can easily top 30mph on this stretch of road, even though I'm not a super-fast spinner. It just goes to show that BMMF's figures hold up to scrutiny in the real world. Anyway, all of this makes me wonder if your dislike of spinning is just because fixed gear is still a bit new. Have you been riding your Langster for long?

The more you ride, the more you'll learn to love it when your legs are a blur. It took me a while to get used to the idea, but eventually you start to realise that you're capable of spinning much faster than you previously thought possible. Relax your whole body on downhill stretches and just go with the flow a bit more. Don't clench or lock your shoulders. Maybe the sensation of spinning out will lessen as you build up experience and confidence.

Of course, you may have been riding for years and years now, in which case all of the above is nonsense and I'll just shut up. :-)