Single Speed - Gear?
Discussion
48:18; not too short for the flat (Swansea bay seafront) but can still get up a hill (undefeated as yet). I tried 48:17 (fixed) but that one tooth made all the difference. To be fair though riding it fixed meant I wasn't clipped in so couldn't climb as well without the pull. I ride it every day (freewheel) to the exclusion of my roadbike. Enjoyed fixed but it tried to kill me at least once every ride - 30+ years of freewheeling is difficult to unlearn and riding home from work, I couldn't be arsed with the concentrating...
48-18 on mine as it's what the bike originally came with and so far I have not had to push up any hills.
In the 3 weeks of owning the single speed I've covered 356 miles with 19,074 feet of elevation so I'm not looking for the easy routes.
I did flip the wheel last week but the SPD pedals are a real pain to get into when on fixed so I'll wait until the better weather and put the SPD-SL pedals back on and run fixed again
In the 3 weeks of owning the single speed I've covered 356 miles with 19,074 feet of elevation so I'm not looking for the easy routes.
I did flip the wheel last week but the SPD pedals are a real pain to get into when on fixed so I'll wait until the better weather and put the SPD-SL pedals back on and run fixed again
50:15 I used an old Allez frame with vertical dropouts so I had to use a magic gear ratio calculator based on the length of the chain stays and a standard inch length chain as I didnt want to run a tensioner. I had the choice of a few ratios but this one seems ok as its only the commuter hack which is largely flat.
S10GTA said:
Only once have I hit something so steep I couldn't climb it.
What was that?There is a single speed chap down here, I see him labouring up the 15-20% stuff, am wondering what his knees sound like each evening... plenty of 25%+ hills here, I do wonder if it limits his routes?
pablo said:
50:15 I used an old Allez frame with vertical dropouts so I had to use a magic gear ratio calculator based on the length of the chain stays and a standard inch length chain as I didnt want to run a tensioner. I had the choice of a few ratios but this one seems ok as its only the commuter hack which is largely flat.
That's a pretty hefty gear there. I run 48:16 on my commuter because it's flat. Normally in singlespeed but running it in fixed on my commute this week having changed it to experiment in fixed at the weekend. It's good fun but hard work. Have taken it around the surrey hills once and it was very hard work, and slow, on coldharbour lane and leith hill!its the problem of running a single speed with vertical drop outs I guess, my commute is fairly flat though there is one short sharp hill (which can be avoided!) but its not too bad if you hit the bottom with some pace. I also use it to get into town on the cycle path so the higher gearing isnt too much of an issue on the railway path!
AyBee said:
1878 said:
AyBee said:
Was your bike second hand or new? 48:16 is a big gear to come out the shop with. My langster started off as 42:16.
New 2013 Langster - comes with 48:18 out of the box
PH: Pedantry matters
Ok so I've now resorted to actually checking the bike rather than relying on specs found online.
Yes it came as 48/16 and is now 48/17.
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff