Fixed Gear Ratio of Choice?

[jabberwocky]

My old fixie was 44-16. My two current ones are 46-17 and 48-18.

[OneEighth]

48×16 on the steel frame with high-pressure 25’s.
48×15 on the alu frame with higher pressure 23’s.
48×20 on the steel frame ride-to-the-market in sandals on swishy 35’s.

Might go to 48×17/18 if I start regularly using cross tires, but, honestly, I think 48×16 is just about right for most riding in this area. Low enough for most climbs (not Kill Bill) and high enough to comfortably cruise between 18 and 22.

[Dirt]

For endurance rides on Big Pink I have come to enjoy 48×16 with 23mm tires. I liked it so much that I even use it for commuting if I’m not hauling too much stuff in my pack.

My fixie touring bike is currently 48×18 with 40mm tires. I haven’t done the roll-out on that one yet, but I think it is remarkably close to what I run on Big Pink. While it is good for around town, it is a little tall when the panniers fill up. I get moving pretty darn slowly going up West Street in Falls Church with 20 or 30 pounds extra weight on the bike.

I’m in the process of setting up a Dingle drivetrain on the touring bike so that I can ride 44×17 with 700x40mm tires for normal commuting and light loads, and drop to 42×19 when I’m loaded down or pulling a trailer.

Surly makes the Dingle cog: http://surlybikes.com/parts/dingle_cog
FSA makes DH chainrings in 42t. Salsa makes chainrings in 44t.

It takes few minutes to change gears (loosen rear wheel, slide forward, move chain, tighten rear wheel, smile). I think it will be a good set-up. Hope to have that rolling in the next week or so.

[mstone]

@Dirt 31206 wrote:

It takes few minutes to change gears (loosen rear wheel, slide forward, move chain, tighten rear wheel, smile). I think it will be a good set-up. Hope to have that rolling in the next week or so.

So, basically, it’s the slowest derailleur ever?

[Dirt]

@mstone 31217 wrote:

So, basically, it’s the slowest derailleur ever?

No. The derailleur on my fat fixie mountain bike is slower. I have to remove the rear wheel, turn it around backwards and then put it back on again. Takes me 2-3 minutes total. It is a little faster if someone can hold the bike up for me while I do it.

[Dirt]

@Dirt 31222 wrote:

No. The derailleur on my fat fixie mountain bike is slower. I have to remove the rear wheel, turn it around backwards and then put it back on again. Takes me 2-3 minutes total. It is a little faster if someone can hold the bike up for me while I do it.

By the way… for off-road, I run 34×17 with 29×2.4 tires for mellow, rolling trails and 34×19 with 29×2.4 tires for more challenging stuff.

[dcv]

i’m more like Jason and Jabberwocky in gear ratio preference (spin to win). 1/8 and Dirt – you guys are riding pretty tall gears.

Cinelli 48×17 (74.26 gear inches)
Scott 48×17 (74.26 gear inches)
Lemond 46×17 (71.17 gear inches)
Motobecane Cx 38×16 (62.46 gear inches)
Fuji single speed 53×19 (73.36 gear inches)

check out all city’s gear inch calculator: http://allcitycycles.com/index.php/site/calc

[bikesnick]

my fg came with 46×18 (~68 gear inches) and 700×25 tires. it has been fine everywhere (w&od, custis, mvt, capital crescent, dc streets, arlington streets, etc).

[Bilsko]

I’ve got a 48×18 setup on my steel frame (running 23s).
Now that I have some drop bars on it, I’d like to step it down to 48×16 or so for a little less spinning

[Jason B]

Dang, a lot of big chainrings in this neck of the woods. But it is funny, once you start googling different ratios, you will get 15 different answers for the same ratio. I have had 3 different fixed gears and all have been 42/16, so I know no better. I have a 42 crank and a 16cog poised for the new build. I don’t want to change the chainring for it is a pain and cost more than tinkering with a different cogs. Might have to go to 42/14 to get a feel what you guys are cranking.

[dcv]

@Jason B 31275 wrote:

Dang, a lot of big chainrings in this neck of the woods. But it is funny, once you start googling different ratios, you will get 15 different answers for the same ratio. I have had 3 different fixed gears and all have been 42/16, so I know no better. I have a 42 crank and a 16cog poised for the new build. I don’t want to change the chainring for it is a pain and cost more than tinkering with a different cogs. Might have to go to 42/14 to get a feel what you guys are cranking.

42×14 gives you almost 79 gear inches, but you will only have 1 skid patch. maybe it won’t matter, it would be hard to skid with such a big ratio.
…or you could just use brakes.

[Dirt]

I have slowly stepped up my gearing as my distances got more. I rode 46×16 with 23mm tires for quite a while, but found when I got up over 70 or 80 mile rides, My legs just got dogged trying to spin over the gear at high RPM. I gave into the god of mashing and stepped up. I did 6 rides over 130 miles with the 48×16 this year and I’ve pretty much come to the conclusion that it is the ideal gearing right now. If I lose another 10 pounds, then I’ll drop to 15 and still be able to honk up the hills.

[Rod Smith]

I don’t know much about fixies but I believe a 48 x 16 (exactly 3:1) can cause the rear tire to wear out faster.

[dcv]

@Rod Smith 31285 wrote:

I don’t know much about fixies but I believe a 48 x 16 (exactly 3:1) can cause the rear tire to wear out faster.

you’re right, 48×16 has one skid patch – meaning you would always skid on the same spot. but that only matters if you don’t use brakes.

[vvill]

Ok, some questions on one geared stuff in general.

I have a threaded fixed hub+wheel now and definitely want to be able to put a freewheel cog on the free side, which only go down to 16T. So I am leaning towards getting a 48T chainring but don’t know if I need something specific to SS/FG and how it will go with the chainline, since you can’t really change the position of the cog on your hub. I know very little about cranksets and BBs etc. The current crankset is a Shimano triple 2203 52/42/30, basically like Sora. Would I be able to just buy a 48T chainring and put it on the existing crankset? Would it be worth just getting a new set?

A 48T seems to give nice options for gear inches. Any particular reason so many people have 48T chainrings on this thread?
48-16 ~79 gear inches
48-17 ~74 (about what I’m doing on my SS now, running 23s but the bike has clearance to go up to 32s)
48-18 ~70
48-19 ~66

I’d prefer to stay 3/32″ since I already have some chains.

[Author]

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