Polo Bikes

Measure them like they do at track races (junior)

There's probably a quicker way but I prefer doing it like that.

Hub gears are awesome.
But how the deuce do you work out the GI?

Sheldon tells me the gear percentage, but I'd like to know exactly what gears I have going on.

Shimano Nexus 7-speed hub Gear Ratios
The overall range is 244%, in jumps of:
1st 17.2% 2nd 13.8% 3rd 17.3% 4th 15.8% 5th 16.6% 6th 15.7% 7th

Wicksie have you got a Nexus 7? Where did u get it from?

Yep, eBay. Got a built wheel with shifters n all for £60. Seems to be working well. There's a few hubs for about £35 on the bay also. Posted a link in the polo ebay thread.

Oz, are you talking to me? Measure what if so?

Measure them like they do at track races (junior)

There's probably a quicker way but I prefer doing it like that.

and that is how???

maybe, not everybody knows how to measure them.... thats why they ask

Hub gears are awesome.
But how the deuce do you work out the GI?

Sheldon tells me the gear percentage, but I'd like to know exactly what gears I have going on.

Shimano Nexus 7-speed hub Gear Ratios
The overall range is 244%, in jumps of:
1st 17.2% 2nd 13.8% 3rd 17.3% 4th 15.8% 5th 16.6% 6th 15.7% 7th

you use the sheldon brown calculator
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/internal.html

just out in 1 chaining and 1 sprocket, select the hub and click calculate

and that is how???

maybe, not everybody knows how to measure them.... thats why they ask

As there is an easier answer provided by Flickwg ^ I won't bother. Before coming to this forum the only bike people I knew were people who raced. Everyone who has raced at a junior level or has been to a junior race knows how to measure a gear be it road of track bike.

old school

Old school in my 20's? Old before my time maybe

Bitd...

. Before coming to this forum…

Yes but you're on the forum now Oz...

Thanks flickwg, really helpful. Sorted.

I'd still like to know what it's a percentage of though.

Yes, I'm on this forum and I'm still trying to work out how little other people know. And what to explain. Going into the track section of this forum and explaining to everyone how to measure their gear is just stupid, but then I come to this section and it's a different story. Doesn't help that I've never met any of you and probably won't anytime soon.

Here's a clue, when someone asks about something, they probably don't know how to do it.

Also, it would be wise not to generalise.

Hope these tips help.

I would guess a way to measure on the track is to go round and count how many times your pedals rotate. Then it's just maths involving the radius of your cranks to find the circumference of the stroke divide track length by number of rotations and you've got a ratio?

Pretty much, yes.

I was chatting to some old boy in the cotswolds who saw my bike and told me about when he used to ride track. He told me how they used to measure gear inches and some other stuff, most of which i have forgotten.

I'm gonna go clipless, cue road rash and bruises a plenty... any top tips people?

Atac, 1/2 worn cleats are best.

I'm gonna go clipless, cue road rash and bruises a plenty... any top tips people?

stay on your bike. get better gloves.

^ good advice.

Cool, might stick with what I've got then (old time z), was gonna get some new aliums.

stay on your bike. get better gloves.

Didn't fall off all weekend, bonus. Gloves are on their way I think.

Yep, eBay. Got a built wheel with shifters n all for £60. Seems to be working well. There's a few hubs for about £35 on the bay also. Posted a link in the polo ebay thread.

Cant see the link there Wicksie...

Yes but you're on the forum now Oz...

Thanks flickwg, really helpful. Sorted.

I'd still like to know what it's a percentage of though.

Flickwgs link is how i found out mine.

Its a percentage of the gear ratio of direct drive (the sprocket/chainring you have on the bike)

Atac, 1/2 worn cleats are best.

+1, start with the cleats the right way round.. then think about switching them over.

Cheers Max. Still needs some working out on my part. Never mind, Sheldon is win.

Kev
http://www.lfgss.com/post2081727-1559.html
Although it's finished now. It went for £30 inc P&P

It said he re-listed it but I couldn't see it.
Just do a search but make sure it's one for drum brakes. Mine is Shimano Nexus Inter.3 sg-3r40 but I'm not sure if there are other models for drum brakes. Make sure the O.L.D is correct and you'll have to play around with the spacing since there's no drum brake.
You might need the appropriate 'non turn washers' for the relevant drop out'.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/nexus-mech.html

Played a day on it, really great, not too heavy and now I've sorted my ratio, I'm well happy.

I'm gonna go clipless, cue road rash and bruises a plenty... any top tips people?

Have a look at the sole of the shoes that you are currently using. They will have indentations from the pedals which will show you roughly at what angle your feet like to be on the pedals. The Time cleats will need to be perpendicular to the identations. To get this right, you will need to spend a bit of time looking at the sole of your new shoes and your new shoes.

There's another method (which I have never used) in which you smear correction fluid on the cleat surface and ride around for a bit in your new shoes, thus printing a template onto the surface where you will place your cleat. I have never used this method.

Yet another method is to sit on a table with your feet dangling. Your natural foot alignment will then become apparent.

In general, the most bio-efficient set-up is to have the axle under the big joint of your big toe, although this varies from person to person slightly.

The above two alignments are, in my experience, really important to get right. After many years, and kilos, of cycling, I can now tell, simply by looking at my feet, whether my cleats are set up right, although changing shoes can make it more difficult, by observing where my big toe joint and my heel are in relation to my cranks. But starting from scratch, it can be fiddly.

To judge Q-factor (the distance of the cleat from the crank, roughly speaking) look down at your shoes, and observe how much axle is showing between the inside edge of your shoes and the crank. Assuming that your new shoes are roughly the same width, and your feet sit in your new shoes at the same angle & alignment as your old shoes, then you want to see roughly the same length of axle.