Best Gear Ratio

billy whippet
billy whippet Posts: 171
edited May 2008 in Road general
Just bought a Condor Pista... with a 46/17 - what do people ride in hilly rural areas (i.e Bath where i live?)

Comments

  • peejay78
    peejay78 Posts: 3,378
    i spoke to a guy near churchill, where i'm going to be living in september (or south of bristol) and he said the local consensus is a 64". i think that's a bit small, personally, and would probably go to 69 or 70, but i'm hard and went up ventoux with a 25/39 as my smallest gear.
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  • NorwegianBlue
    NorwegianBlue Posts: 484
    Gear choice is a very, very personal thing. You only have to watch professional racers climb in a break to realize that. Each rider in the group can be climbing flat out, at the same speed, but in a different gear. Some of us like high cadence, some like to slog it out.

    Don't just take advice on what gear you need. The only way forward is to try different gears and see what works for you. Get yourself a bunch of cheap secondhand sprockets and/or chainrings and try out a few different gears.

    One things for sure, if you're new to fixed wheel riding whatever gear you set out with won't be the gear you settle on.
    "Swearing, it turns out, is big and clever" - Jarvis Cocker
  • Pete Beer
    Pete Beer Posts: 604
    Billy,

    Your set up is OK if you're fit, I ride a 71" in Bristol and have 73" on my argos with tubs. if you struggle on your set up, lower it slightly.

    And we'd be happy to se you at our forthcoming events www.fixedbristol.org.uk

    Cheers
  • krakow
    krakow Posts: 110
    NorwegianBlue wrote:
    One things for sure, if you're new to fixed wheel riding whatever gear you set out with won't be the gear you settle on.

    I'm hoping it will be useful to have just converted my everyday bike to singlespeed a few weeks before my prospective fixed gear project gets underway. Hopefully a few weeks getting about on the 38x16 (700Cx32 tyres - apparently just over 64'' gearing) as a singlespeed will give me a much better idea of what gearing to go for when the fixed gear is put together than if I were starting from scratch.
    I'm in more urban than rural territory though. I don't know if Glasgow counts as hilly or not.
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  • meagain
    meagain Posts: 2,331
    "38x16 (700Cx32 tyres - apparently just over 64'' gearing) as a singlespeed "

    If a 64 free suits, then probably find c.68 OK for fixed.

    More generally, obviously varies with fitness/age/style. I'm down to 60" now to match my years! But I've always preferred lower rather than higher.
    d.j.
    "Cancel my subscription to the resurrection."
  • graham_g
    graham_g Posts: 652
    I'm over in Bristol (recently moved from Birmingham) - the fixed is my commuter/utility bike and I find 65" about right as I'm not all that fit. If doing any longer rides I'd have to consider putting my clipless pedals on it as me pumps aren't exactly efficient!

    Pete - thanks for the link. Any rides planned soon? I'd definitely be up for joining you guys as long as you don't mind waiting for me on the hills as my lungs explode!
  • billy whippet
    billy whippet Posts: 171
    thanks... 73 seems great at the moment, except for one particularly nasty short sharp hill... elsewhere just about on the right side of challenging!

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