[Closed] SS gearing

start with 2:1 i run 36 18 ,, as it looks more hardcore than runnning ickle front rings ,, and stops the kids at skool thinking I ride trials

32:16 is the default. 32:18 is good for really twisty tight trails but soul-destroying to spin along the flat.

ride your normal bike and see which gear you use the most. then transfer that over to your SS.

I agree that a 2:1 ratio is good if it's not too hilly. I used to run a 1.8: 1 (32:18) but I did ride it everywhere including cwmcarn and other pretty steep places - but agree with um, well, mr agreeable that it'd be a bit frustrating on the flat.

I also agree with ade that 36:18 would be good, as you won't wear the rings as quickly as a 32 16 set up (although I do think smaller rings look nicer!)

i started off with 32:16, but couldn't get up anything you would call a 'slope'.

am now running 32:18 which is a good deal easier, and i can't hear my knee ligaments screaming with tension.

it's a bit too much for me when it gets really tight and twisty, but it's not quite enough for the smoother faster stuff inbetween, so it's probably about right for me.

i'm told it's called 'yorkshire gearing'...

i've found that wider handlebars really help with pedalling up steep stuff. You'll be standing up to pedal and you've got to pull up just as hard as you're pedalling down. After my first week 'singlespeeding' my legs/knees felt fine but my arms/shoulders were ruined.

odd.

Why would you want to ride a bike with no gears on it? Seems a daft idea to me.

Run 32:18 as I tend to spin rather than grind, it's good thru the mud but do find it embarrasing when I get overtaken by old ladies on the flat 😳

If you're running 2:1 is it better to run 34:17 rather than 32:16 ? Something to do about the wear on the rings being more even - theory being that on an even / even the inner and outer parts of the chain are always on the same respective teeth and so half the teeth wear while the others don't. But even / odd this doesn't happen.

I'm running 32:17 on my 26" wheeled bike and the equivalent to 32:15 (34:18) on my 29er.

The 29er is ok on all but the steeper off-road stuff, but I prefer the slightly lower gear on 32:17 off-road. Once you get used to spinning, you can spin along at 20ish kmh all day long when it's reasonably flat ([url= http://sportstracker.nokia.com/nts/workoutdetail/index.do?id=1274758 ]proof here[/url]) even with the low gearing.

Amazing just how often this question comes up....

Why would you want to ride a bike with no gears on it? Seems a daft idea to me.

Maybe to offset the weight of a spare top tube

Mmmmmmaybe............

34:17 can do virtually anything on mendip

32:16 I can climb most things on the Quantocks, if my legs a fresh!

Thanks for the advice everyone. The reason is that I'd rather not ruin an X.0 drivetrain, and I can get a bike worthy of being converted at a very good price.

On-one a good place to get the conversion kits?

Ciao.

Have run 34:16 (hertfordshire/Thetford speed monster), 32:16 and currently living quite happily on 34:18 on Woodbury Common and round devon. Finding the extra torque more useful than the higher gearing here.

44:16

on my race BMX...

36/19 for me, that extra tooth helps an old man climb the devon hills....

there are those who say that gear inches are more important as a measure than numbers of teeth: [url= http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/ ]Saint Sheldon[/url] (49inches)

32x18 for me oop norf int lakes like.

32x17 for me

Same as T 1969, also in the lakes......

33*18, cos that's what came on my bike. I don't think it's hugely important what gear you have on an SS, you'll be in the wrong gear most of the time anyway, but you get used to just digging in and grinding/hamster wheeling...

Oh, and not meaning to be a pedant, but this has no gears [url= http://www.koga.com/uk/bike.asp?collectionid=11&segmentid=94&id=6059949 ]backpack bike[/url]
A singlespeed has ONE gear. Both cost less to maintain through winter. 😛

32:15 here because I am a throbbing mountain of flesh

Then again it is almost flat here, I've only tried it once and I did walk a bit

(oh, and if we're doing pedantry - a single cog can be described as a gear can't it? So a SS is really a dual geared bike ?!?!)

32:16 It's the [b]law[/b]! (26" wheels)
Unless it's proper hilly, then 32:18

....or 32:18 on the 29er
Unless it's proper hilly, then 32:20. So any one of 4 really!

In fact I have seen these gizmos that allow one to change gear according to gradient without having to visit ones' workshop 😆

32:16 gets me around my commute with 2 steepish hills. I've also quite happily ridden it around the surrey hills with no problems.