What Ratio? New to the game!

Current set up is 32:16, but I find I spin out too quick, fine off road, but on road ummm! Manage all the hills so far.

Would I be better with a 34:16 or even 36:16 for road bias work, or will I end up killing my legs uphill and even pushing

The only way to find out what gear suits you/your trails is to try out a few different combos.

Go for the highest combo that’ll still let you just about crawl over the top of the steepest climb on the route you’re doing.

36:16 here cos I is rock ard 😉

16:32 here cos I isn’t 🙁

32:17 is my magic number, might spin out quite a bit but gets up nearly every thing around here, nothing with more than 15-20 mins climbing though!

lionheart do you live in holland?

32:18 here cos i rides a 29er innit.

Sunny – well was today- Devon 8)

I used a 36T : 18T today (2:1).

I rode on road with slicks to try the bike out for faults (brake rub etc) and span out easily downhill and not much top speed but having chuncky tyres would have been fine for the extra resistance on road on the way to my local trail (4miles).

I had a megadeath up-hill for a 2 miles-out of the saddle hammering for 5 mins. I’m saddistic and love killer climbs on roads! You’ll spin on a mtb if the ratio is too easy.

If you have to ride a fair bit to a trail and it’s uphill (not cheesy but tough) then consider 36:18 as you have to get home too-if you have hammered your legs on the trail.

If there are no hills then 36:16-it does depend how fit you are and personal choice.

Try and see is the only way and we can only offer guides.

38:14 on my SS street/town bike. It’s fast 😀 Like riding the old BMX again 😀

SS is always a bit of a compromise, so what might work going uphill wont be ideal on the flat.

Personally I’d rather spin fast and not go that fast when on flat ground and be able to get up most hills.

33:16 for me. Seems to work well on the routes I ride.

34:18 works well as a compromise gear on my 29er – same as 32:14 with kiddie wheels.

I’ve 32:17 on my 26er at the moment. Not sure how that’ll be on the 25 miles to/from Hamsterley.

34:18 works well as a compromise gear on my 29er – same as 32:14 with kiddie wheels.

By kiddies wheels I am guessing your talking about 24″ wheels? Because its nowhere near the same if you mean 26″ wheels.

I meant 26″ wheels. I also meant 32:15 – trying to post while kids climbing on me 🙂

34:18 on 29er = 55.0″
32:15 on 26er = 55.3″

For reference (on 26er):
32:16 = 51.9″
32:17 = 48.8″
32:18 = 46.1″

I’m running 32:17 on my Inbred 26er now, and am worried it might be a bit low for the 25 miles to Hamsterley and back for getting to group rides. I did a 100 miles on the road on 52.6″ a year or so ago though (34:18 on 700×44 tyres), so should be alright.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/ is your friend if you’re thinking about different ratios to try.

44:18 for 700c flat road commute.

I use 33:18 on my XC bike, 44:18 on my commute bike, and 22:18 on my snow bike. All depends on what you need to do.

Having injured myself dragging the fully loaded commuter up some serious hills a few weeks back, I would advise against going for big manly gears too readily.

never found a good compromise for SS mtb, due to there being compulsory road sections round here. 32:16 was fine offroad, but a disaster on a long gentle decline.

52:18 on 700’s hilly road commute.

I’m being dumb…but what do the inches of the gear ratios actually relate to? Another biking thing I don’t understand the science behind!

I upgraded my 44×16 commuter to one with 29er wheels last week but kept the same gearing, does that mean it’s actually a slightly harder gear?

I run 32×16 on my MTB, but I live in the flatlands so it’s mainly used in places like Thetford, never used it in anger on anything approaching a proper hill. I’ve ridden it to work a few times though and it’s awful on the road, I spin out at about 12 mph.

I use a range of different ratio depending on the terrain I am riding on and how steep the hills are. I got fed up of carrying lots of different chain rings with me so devised a way of sticking lots of slightly different size cogs together and then using a modified chain tensioner to de-rail the chain from one chain ring to another.

Do you think the idea will catch on?

What should I call the de-railer, perhaps a Mech?

its inches travelled through one turn of the cranks.

it takes into account the wheel/tyre size as well as the gearing

sheldon brown is your friend.

someone once told me 2:1 on mtb, 2.8:1 road

I find a 36:16 perfect for road duties. Mind you, I live in Manchester. It’s as flat as a witches tit

I’m a singlespeed newb, but I find the contrast bewteen these two posts hard to fathom:

soobalias
52:18 on 700’s hilly road commute.

binners
I find a 36:16 perfect for road duties. Mind you, I live in Manchester. It’s as flat as a witches ****

In my head, they’re the wrong way round. Is my perception of flat/hilly way out? Or does two teeth more/less on the back make a much bigger difference than I think it does?

I run 44:18 and it spins out on flat road at any decent kind of speed and is useless up any kind of realistic hill.

34×15 here for a 11 mile commute (3 big road hills and other half tow path)

should be 34×14 next week…..

52:18 is a pretty big gear.

probably find that binners is on an mtb.
im on an old tourer with drops, 23c tyres @ 120psi with a particular aversion to spinning out when trying to keep up with traffic.

perhaps manchester flat is hillier than chilterns hilly
there is also a chance that we are built differently, ride differently…..

there is no right answer across the board.