Ladies gear ratio

Knees are alright so far. I don't have much of a problem maintaining a decent number of RPMs. We got mountains where I'm from and London has none, so that helps.

Elaine, it's a change in the rear cog and a new chain, maybe £20 max if bought brand new and you can probably get it all off the forum for cheaper. Highly recommended.

Yeah I know. I've been riding this ratio around for months now with zero problems (well I have had to walk up a few hills, but I don't think I'm alone there). If I start encountering any I know what to do.

Prevention's better than cure :p

BTW, what do you mean be 'a decent number of RPMs'? I only ask because 48x15 is a good gear for the track, but that mainly involves riding at 25-35mph (warm-up would start at around 20mph, and build up to 25-27mph over the course of 10 minutes or so, with a final 30+mph burst at the end).

im on 48x 15 and I'm haaaaaating it. like others its stock fuji and I'm also lazy but might bother to get a 46 or something.... any recommendations??? I travel fine on my bike as it is but fine I'm a little slower cos I have to grind along!

That's track gearing which is too high for general road duties, get a 46 on the front at least.

i ride 48/15 at the track and 47/19 on the road.

Re: RPMs, about 60ish would be the minimum yeah? I admit I'm only estimating, but in general I don't feel like I'm pushing too hard or going too slow. I actually found this gearing annoyingly low last time I rode it at the track. Although that was a 200m indoor track to be fair.

Short indoor tracks usually mean gearing lower e.g. Calshot @ ~150m, the hire bike gearing is 81" (48x16).

It's worth experimenting with lower gearing, and allowing yourself a few months to do this, so that you have time to adapt physiologically. It may 'feel' too easy, but the likelihood is you're going just as fast, legs stay fresher longer, acceleration is quicker, you never have to walk a hill, etc.

If after 3 months on something like 48x18, you fail to perceive any advantages, it's easy to swap back - very easy if your chain length/trackend length allows you to run 48x15 and 48x18 with the same chain.

Many high cat/elite racing cyclists make sacrifices regarding their longterm knee health/ability to walk later in life, but most people are put off by the idea of varicose veins and eroded cartilage. Even in my granddad's era (he rode fixed in the first half of the 20th century), the mantra was "better to pedal than to push".

I know, I rode 64-67 inches for years. I haven't actually noticed much of a difference in terms of perceived difficulty.

And this is getting further off topic but... lower gears on shorter tracks? Why is that? Steeper banking requires a higher speed doesn't it? The track I learned to ride on was 48 degrees in the corners and I think if you went below about 15mph you would fall right off. Which I did once. And a higher speed would be easier to maintain with a higher gear wouldn't it? In any case, when I started out with the lower geared bike, I found that to keep my speed up required a tiringly high cadence and I felt much more comfortable once I'd geared up. I guess you could argue that I should just get fit enough to spin faster for longer. Which is probably fair.

In any case. I'm really okay with my present gearing.

Tighter banking means higher forces acting on your speed as you make the transition from banking to straigh to banking to straight. Also a shorter straight to wind up a big gear properly. 15mph shouldn't be a problem to maintain in any gear over 50".

Glad you're okay with it. But I'd be irresponsible not to highlight possible longterm repercussions.

I know, just saying that 15mph was the bare minimum. For speeds that you'd actually achieve in training or racing, I found 86" too low.

bump

Right...so I've still got my stock Plug 42:16 set up...I want to increase my speed and not struggle so much with hills. I know that I've still got to make the effort, but tinkering with my gear ratio could help, right?

Am thinking trying 42:18 for a while and see if it makes a difference. Any thoughts/advice?

42:18? that's good few gear inches less
you need to experiment a bit, no one will be able to advise you on this
try 42:15, or change a chainring to 46 or 48
that'll make a difference and take a while to get used to, if you still decide you wan't to go higher change it again
no other way of finding the right gear

I ran 42:15 for a while when I had my plug, but switched back in the winter. I found spinnier better - I just worked on my cadence a bit more, I currently run 44:17 on the villiers and find that perfect.
But Ada's right, experiment - much easier to change your rear than fuck about with chainrings tho, and you generally wont have to worry about shortening the chain.
Spin to win Poots!

I was thinking of just tinkering with my rear for starters, fo'shure. Easier and cheaper, eh?

Ta ladies!

Surely 17 would make more sense in that dilemma, no? I dunno, I have no idea what I'm talking about.

I might go back to 48x16 this morning (after a couple of years on 48x18). Just for fun. And then do an afterworker, just to see.

edit: I did this and it was AMAZING. I recommend changing to anything just for the novelty value.

I dunno, I have no idea what I'm talking about.

Likewise. I need to get my head round gear calculators and ratios and all that hoopla. The facts that I'm a bit scared of numbers and not very good with mechanical stuff probably doesn't help.

I do however understand FUN, AMAZING and NOVELTY. You should do an alternative to Sheldon Brown.

39x16 works for me (66 GI).

I had 42x18 for a while. it was fun but did make me feel a bit ridiculous spinning so much on flat stretches. now have 46x18 which works really well though not many skid patches.

Easier and cheaper, eh?

you can get some cheap (mostly 1/32) chainrings from classifieds here, sometimes for a 5£

Likewise. I need to get my head round gear calculators and ratios and all that hoopla. The facts that I'm a bit scared of numbers and not very good with mechanical stuff probably doesn't help.

I do however understand FUN, AMAZING and NOVELTY. You should do an alternative to Sheldon Brown.

I might do this. Tips on which Sidis are easiest to coordinate with your outfit, etc.

Likewise. I need to get my head round gear calculators and ratios and all that hoopla. The facts that I'm a bit scared of numbers and not very good with mechanical stuff probably doesn't help.

My twin! :-)

My Fuji came with 46/15 setup but I'm using it as a singlespeed. Coming from a geared, older newbie cyclist, it wasn't too bad but I found it took me longer to start off and was conscious of holding up traffic, so yesterday evening I changed to a 17t and things are much better.

Explain in simple FUN, AMAZING and NOVELTY terms...with a 17t you found the pedals easier to turn, right?

I might do this. Tips on which Sidis are easiest to coordinate with your outfit, etc.

Do it. Quite frankly I are disappoint that the Ladies Forum doesn't have a make up/fashion bit. How to stop your slap sliding of whilst riding, that sort of thing, cos I for one take care pride in my appearance, especially when riding my bicycle.