As above on a 29 er, it's just for relaxed rides to the pub, no racing!
Cheers.[i]
Assuming the pub is 47miles away over 4 Lakeland passes it may be a mite stiff.
SS ratios are hard to answer.
How hilly? How fit? How stubborn/determined?
I run 32:19 in the lakes.
33 / 18 on my Niner.
It's frustratingly spinny on the road.
Currently running it 33 / 16 with b+ / 29+ combo, & it's a bit better.
If it were not seeing anthing hilly I'd be looking 36 / 16 minimum.
Thanks peeps, I guess I'll suck it & see but 32/16 is ok for me on 26" wheels.
32:18 on my 29er, 33 would be just as good (& less spinny on the flat)
It is only 1 GI higher than your 32/16 on 26 wheel so should be very similar (52 vs 53)
Both way too low for me but as said above everyone needs different gearing based on their fitness, area riding in etc,.
It's pretty close to the 2:1 (26at) ratio that defines the men from the crabs.
Or something like that..
DrP
I run 30/18 on a 29er but i'm a spinny kind of rider.
Anybody any thoughts on an oval 34 over a standard 33?
Do the oval rings help enough on climbs to go 1 tooth higher?
33/18 sounds perfect for a 29er. Make sure you have a thick/thin chainring.
Personally I run a 32/18 in a weighty steel sawyer and managed SSUK just fine.
Just gone to 32:18 from a 1-key oval 34:18 on the moderately hilly Isle of Wight.
Got on fairly well with the oval chainring as an actual gear ratio but found it skipping off quite a bit. Hard to maintain an ideal tension on it with the EBB on my Selma.
andyv, can you recommend a 33 thick thin ring please 😉
I geddit...!!
DrP
I run 32:18 on my 26er in Calderdale. Very spinny on roads but off-road its generally fine.
thick/thin rings are unnecessary for an SS build anyway. If anything it'll just wear quicker than a proper SS chainring