Ok so as some of you may have seen in the Classifieds. (http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/wtd-road-hack-bike-bits) I'm building a single-speed hack bike, What ratio would you all recommend?
I live in Chester, but i plan on doing light touring on this bike. So i don't want to be spinning out, but i want to be able to get up the hills.

Any help would be great.

Thank you.

il throw in the standard 32:16….
I use 32:18 but i live in hilly wales 😀

General road riding aim for a gear of around 70 inches and fixed of course. 🙂

The late Seldon Brown has lots of ideas relating to Fixed/SS bikes.

http://sheldonbrown.com/fixed/index.html

I run 44:18 on the road – works well for me. Is hard enough to not spin out too quickly (though you learn to relax on the downs pretty quick!) but I can get up pretty much any hill and, just as importantly, I can pull away at junctions/roundabouts safely.

(I think Walla24 is referring to off-road)

@walla24 Thanks for that, when i build my mtb SS i'll use that.

Thank you @zangolin I'll check it out.

@MountainMonkey I was thinking, 44-18 Bigger is better IMO. Less wear because more cogs to take the torque.

#Edit.

Re-reading, that post, i wasn't being dirty!

oh sorry! yup mtb input…

Lol. NPS. I will be using that combo on the MTB though. 😀

So is it decided then? 44-18 = Best option?

Yep, around that. It also gives you the option of going to 44:16 or higher if you do find yourself spinning out. My commuter is at 44:16 and it's a little bit spinny for me on the flat but it's good for everything else.

You might find a 44×18 a little low for the road.

Gears in inches as follows (700c x 28mm wheels)

44×16 = 73.6"
44×17 = 69.3"
44×18 = 65.4"

42×16 = 70.2"
42×17 = 66.1"
42×18 = 62.4"

Loads of old road chainsets around with 42 rings so I would go for 42×16 – if you are trying to do it as cheap as possible. Also a road chainset may give you a better chainline.

Although thinking about all of this advice on ratios etc what it is really going to come down to is how you ride + what your background is.
I'm looking at this from a a roadies point of view with over 30 years experience of racing track,road + fixed riding. So while I might be happy twiddling away at 100rpm not everyone else will be.

Pre gear days I think the old timers used to aim for around a gear of 70" – as I mentioned in another post. Just experiment + defo have a go at fixed – just remember to keep pedaling if you do!

700cc or 26" wheels, on my commuter I run 42:14 on 26" wheels which is 78 inches but the ride is only 5 miles. 42:16 on 26" would be fine imo for general riding as long as it's not massively hilly and then 42:18 or 42:20 if you were loaded or planning on tackling big hills. I ride 32:18 off road.

Best thing to do is to get something at the front where 16-20t at the back gives you a good range of options buy some cheap rear sprockets to see what works then get a decent rear sprocket when you've decided on a ratio.

For a SS road bike I'd go for somewhere around 70-76". Mine is 48:17 which I really like but some people seem to think that's a bit high and go for 44:16 (although there's only about 3" difference in those ratios).

Thanks for everyone's help. Once i've got the wheels i'll stick on a 16 or an 18 depending on what chainring's i've got lying around.

36:14, chosen as these were the bits laying around. Works well on all the 'hills' we have here in flat Lincolnshire but I can spin it out quite easily. Do some circuit training with a bunch of roadies on Tuesday nights and it's a good workout riding my SS!

@andrewh It's always a challenge on a SS but hey, thats why they're good.