fixed gear city bike

wine9555

I am building a fixed gear city bike for my daughter in Chicago.She never has ridden a bike very much but would like one for short trips and fun.I have an old Trek 830 frame that I have sanded and had painted a beautiful red by a friend at a body shop.
What size crank and cassette shoul I install on the bike

John Stevenson

Do you mean fixed gear or do you mean single-speed? A fixed gear (aka fixed wheel) has no freewheel: if it's moving you have to pedal. Probably not a good idea for an inexperienced rider.

If it's a single speed, that is, a bike with a freewheel but no gear change mechanisms, then 32 and 16 seem to be popular choices, but I'm far from an expert on singlespeeds.

AndyGates

32/16? That's ever so twiddly for riding around town!

peejay78

32:16 - is chicago mountainous?

AndyGates

I'd say aim for a ratio around 65-70 gear inches. That's what pretty much everyone on a general-purpose fixie rides. More than that is for fast strong people (or folks with loooong legs), less than that is too twiddly under most circumstances.

It doesn't matter too much if you get it wrong the first time: you can always change the cog.

Mark Alexander

peejay78 wrote:

32:16 - is chicago mountainous?

it's about a mountainous as Milton Keynes after an earthquake

peejay78

48:16