what gear? singlespeed in hilly area

hski

Can someone recommmend me a good average singlespeed gear size(inches) to have in a hilly area. I live in Carlderdale surrrounded by Halifax and Huddersfield so plenty of hills and some flats, although not too many?

stigofthedump

When i found my fixie (at the dump) it was fitted with a 66 inch gear. A friend described this as 'Mendip standard'.
I live near the Mendips, just south of Bristol. The 66 inch gear was a little short for my fairly flat commute, but did allow me to climb the odd hill. I haven't been up Cheddar gorge on it however.

mz__jo

It depends on your age, your strength, fixed or free, how you climb, what you carry and a lot of other things. When Paul Sherwen was a young thing back in the mid-70's, he and his mates used to hack around the hills on 74" single freewheels for the winter. At the time we all used to calculate our gear sizes on a nominal 27" wheel and my winter fixed for mid-Wales was 66" (49/20) which allowed me to carry a well-loaded saddlebag around Aberystwyth. Later on it was 44/18 which is pretty much the same and for the record I thought of it as 66" even when I used tubs which made the gear size a bit shorter.
Now I am a lot older and I calculate my gear sizes on the real wheel diameter (26.4" in my case) and on a 42/17 combination (65.2" real, 66.7" nominal) on fixed I can even tackle short cols if I am not too loaded but I am in a region where the slopes tend to be long and gentle. With an 18T freewheel I can handle most things with confidence and stay with my (retired) cycletouring clubmates on gears, but I tend to spin my legs.
What isn't often appreciated is that going downhill on a fixed is often as much work (or more) as going up so don't gear smaller than you have to. In this age of 42T chainrings start with a 17T sprocket and if it feels possible move up to a 16T (69" real, 71" nominal for me) which will be harder going up (but not as brutal as it sounds) and so much easier going down.
For what it's worth the standard Audax fixed gear (PBP and the like) seems to be around 42/16 or the equivalent.
If you can't get on with spinning your legs fast going downhill (you tend to bounce on the saddle a bit which can be a bit painful for some) try using a single freewheel but go 1 tooth more than on fixed (18 instead of 17) but you won't be as quick on the flat, it's harder spinning a freewheel than a fixed.

mz__jo

I should add that climbing on a single speed (fixed or free) is a completely different technique to climbing on gears. For touring you use a much slower cadence and avoid forcing the issue or throwing the bike around violently, even out of the saddle. My cadence on a steep hill goes down to 15-20rpm. The surprise after gears is that this slow a cadence actually works! (Of course training for racing you can be as violent as you like, it's not the same thing at all)

hski

Thanks for the replies
I am thinking of using 66 inch as i have a 48T chainring and both a 18T and 20T freewheel cog. So if i find the 20T cog too easy, i could always progress to the 18T one.
Cheers

Sea_Green_Incorruptible

I actually ride a 'mendip' commute of sorts on a singlespeed, from Portishead to Bristol (around 12 hilly miles, depending on route). On gearing, it's a bit of a balance, but my advice would be to make sure you take into account the descents and flats as well as the climbs.

In fact, I run my commuter on a 49x18, which according to Sheldon B is a just shy of a 72 inch gear. This is quite a big gear for some of the climbs on my route, but not so big I can't grind it out, albeit perhaps a bit slower than I would in a lower gear. That said, any smaller and I'd just be spinning all the time on the flat or on the downhills, and when I DO get back on my fully geared road bike EVERYTHING just feels so easy.

Remember though, you can always start low and go bigger as and when you need. , unless you spend billions on an ENO freewheel or something. As you have an 18t already that might be a good idea.

Also, if you've got lots of hills, I'd also go with an SS over a fixed every time. You lose the flywheel effect on the ups, but it's no fun spinning away on a 66" gear down a three mile descent, particularly if you do it a lot. Also, if you get aero on the bike, you can go fast downhill on a freewheel (35+mph) - on a fixed that's almost impossible.

billybiker

I'm fairly new to the fixie game but mine came with a 68" gear. Very good compromise, recommended!

scottgeniusltd2005

Sea_Green_Incorruptible wrote:

I actually ride a 'mendip' commute of sorts on a singlespeed, from Portishead to Bristol (around 12 hilly miles, depending on route). On gearing, it's a bit of a balance, but my advice would be to make sure you take into account the descents and flats as well as the climbs.

In fact, I run my commuter on a 49x18, which according to Sheldon B is a just shy of a 72 inch gear. This is quite a big gear for some of the climbs on my route, but not so big I can't grind it out, albeit perhaps a bit slower than I would in a lower gear. That said, any smaller and I'd just be spinning all the time on the flat or on the downhills, and when I DO get back on my fully geared road bike EVERYTHING just feels so easy.

Remember though, you can always start low and go bigger as and when you need. , unless you spend billions on an ENO freewheel or something. As you have an 18t already that might be a good idea.

Also, if you've got lots of hills, I'd also go with an SS over a fixed every time. You lose the flywheel effect on the ups, but it's no fun spinning away on a 66" gear down a three mile descent, particularly if you do it a lot. Also, if you get aero on the bike, you can go fast downhill on a freewheel (35+mph) - on a fixed that's almost impossible.

i love fixie riding and have done over 1700 miles this year in hilly rossendale, however, i've recently developed massive ankle pain, switched to ss and it's getting better. i can only assume that the 150 rpm's i was getting to, was too much and was separating my ankle bones. i now ride 48:18 and can get up short 20%ers.

Tom Butcher

Depends what you want it for but I found mid 60s was about right.

byke68

I've got a Giant Bowery with 46x16 and I've only been beaten by a hill once! When it comes to riding up hills, I find that I have to speed up other wise I'd just slow right down and struggle. It makes me look as if I'm riding to beat the others to the top! With single speed, it's nice to be able to freewheel down a steep hill instead of my legs spinning like a Tazmanian Devil! 8)