Are gear inches everything?
macs
Posts: 209
I'm looking at changing my bike to a 1x11 system and I've checked the ratios of the outgoing 3x9 system and the incoming 1x11 system.
My current 22x32, 42x13 and 42x11 gears won't be covered by the 11-42 cassette and I'm pretty much ok with that as I don't use those gears anyway. But I was wondering if gear inches (or gear ratios) are the be all and end all? for example 32x13 and 42x17 have basically the same ratio of 2.46 or 2.47 but they feel different when riding. Is that just my imagination?
My current 22x32, 42x13 and 42x11 gears won't be covered by the 11-42 cassette and I'm pretty much ok with that as I don't use those gears anyway. But I was wondering if gear inches (or gear ratios) are the be all and end all? for example 32x13 and 42x17 have basically the same ratio of 2.46 or 2.47 but they feel different when riding. Is that just my imagination?
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It's your imagination. HTH.Trail fun - Transition Bandit
Road - Wilier Izoard Centaur/Cube Agree C62 Disc
Allround - Cotic Solaris0 -
They may feel different, but they aren't.
It's your imagination - or perhaps more diplomatically it's the psychological element of bike riding.0 -
Just gone to 1x......missing my favourite gear, either too high and feel like spinning out or too low and makes legs ache. With the 2x could get exactly the gear I needed. Getting used to it now tho. Mines a 10 speed so gaps will be bigger than your 11 speed.0
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They may make the rear suspension (if you have it) feel different due to the line of the chain. You could be feeling differing amounts of bob and feedback.0
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You may also think about factoring in the crank arm length - this may get you back anything you lose on gearing (in terms of torque and thrust anyway, not cadence). Watch out for toe strike or ground strike though.Cube Reaction GTC Pro 29 for the lumpy stuff
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Trek 830 Mountain Track frame turned into a gravel bike - for anywhere & everywhere0 -
Believe it or not but there is a subtle difference when you get the same ratio in different ways. The difference between 48/16 and 33/11 will be that the smaller chairing/cog combination makes the chain flex more (more frictional losses) and puts the chain under more tension (more friction losses). Whether you can feel these differences is something I can't comment on.Specialized Roubaix Elite 2015
XM-057 rigid 29er0 -
It's like multiplication tables, you can arrive at a number ( say 12, for example ) different ways. Whether it's 2x6, or 3x4, the answer is still 12, it's pretty much the same thing with bike gears.0
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Giraffoto wrote:Believe it or not but there is a subtle difference when you get the same ratio in different ways. The difference between 48/16 and 33/11 will be that the smaller chairing/cog combination makes the chain flex more (more frictional losses) and puts the chain under more tension (more friction losses). Whether you can feel these differences is something I can't comment on.
I've always wondered about this, I always prefer using my big ring even though I can get the same ratios using my smaller ring at the front, didn't know if the big ri g gave a different feel or it was in my imagination??0 -
I agree, the ratios might be the same, but it does feel different somehow.I don't do smileys.
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Parktools0 -
to me it feels like you are generating more torque for the same effort when you have a bigger front chainring.
I Assumed it was just the power of placebo .... but seeing that other find the same, perhaps there is more to it0 -
fat daddy wrote:to me it feels like you are generating more torque for the same effort when you have a bigger front chainring.
I Assumed it was just the power of placebo .... but seeing that other find the same, perhaps there is more to it
In order to feel if there is a difference or not, you would need to be able to shift between two ratios, which are the same, achieved with different combinations, instantly, without going through any other ratios. As far as I'm aware, that can't be done, so a lot of the difference in feel, is due to the fact you have to pedal in other ratios first.0 -
JGTR wrote:Giraffoto wrote:Believe it or not but there is a subtle difference when you get the same ratio in different ways. The difference between 48/16 and 33/11 will be that the smaller chainring/cog combination makes the chain flex more (more frictional losses) and puts the chain under more tension (more friction losses). Whether you can feel these differences is something I can't comment on.
I've always wondered about this, I always prefer using my big ring even though I can get the same ratios using my smaller ring at the front, didn't know if the big ri g gave a different feel or it was in my imagination??
I tried just this experiment last night - very easy with 48/36 chainrings - and came up with the observation that the smaller ring/cog combination feels less smooth and makes it a bit harder to maintain an even cadence. Perhaps the "polygonality" issue that made SRAM stop at a 10T cog has a noticeable effect?Specialized Roubaix Elite 2015
XM-057 rigid 29er0 -
fat daddy wrote:to me it feels like you are generating more torque for the same effort when you have a bigger front chainring.
I Assumed it was just the power of placebo .... but seeing that other find the same, perhaps there is more to it
I also feel this, I much prefer using the big ring, over the smaller ring. Even when using various cassette sporockets to achieve the same ratio - the big ring seems to feel as if you're really motoring along with a good feeling of tourque compared to the same ratio on the smaller chain ring.
It's weird but you're not alone.0
