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city riding

looking for a new gear ratio for flat city riding. please help

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Permalink Reply by Wyles Vance on October 21, 2008 at 8:03pm

What's your current ratio? I ride 44-16, it's good for all-around campus riding.

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Permalink Reply by dillisquid on October 21, 2008 at 10:07pm

I've only been riding fixed for a couple months, but really like the 3:1 ratio (48-16) that came stock on my Steamroller. I thought initially that I'd want to push something a little steeper to avoid spinning out on the downhills, but I've gotten the feel for controlling my speed now and find the ratio pretty comfortable.

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Permalink Reply by Alex on October 22, 2008 at 6:03pm

70 to 75 inches should be fine for dry flatland riding... when you get up to 80 inches it is harder to stop and start at lights and 4 ways... you might want to drop it down below 70 if you plan on riding in snow/slush.

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Permalink Reply by Fixed Gear Republic on October 22, 2008 at 9:54pm

I ride with 46 - 17 and it is perfect for that kind of flat city riding, it also allows for plenty of skid spots which is nice.

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Permalink Reply by Cliff_H on October 23, 2008 at 8:11am

I rode 42-15 on a heavy fixed commuter fitted with rack ,fenders, and panniers- worked well in flat Memphis till I crashed and totaled the bike. I ride 48-16 on my faster lighter sporty fixed gear bike. Cruises at a real nice cadence (90 or so rpm, it seems) at 19-22 mph.

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Permalink Reply by MWA on November 13, 2008 at 5:26pm

I started 48/16 and it was a little too much for hilly Seattle, then I switched to 46/16, which I really liked. Then I was kind of forced to try 44/16, which was also really nice the problem though was that combo only allows for 8 skid spots if you're ambedextrious. So I did some research and found out that 47/17 offers nearly the same gear ration as 44/16, only with 34 skid spots instead of 8. No more holy tires and I can kill the hills and flats.

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Permalink Reply by fixie fag on November 13, 2008 at 6:26pm

i have a 42/15...i can hit 26 m.p.h. if i really try.

i'm getting a 13 back and hopfully a 48 chain ring.

this is what i rode in denver. it was really comfortable.

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Permalink Reply by Rossin Addict on November 14, 2008 at 11:29am

I run all kinds of ratios, but I really like to run 47 or 49 up front for the amount of skid patches you get with odd teeth up front. In back I run 18, 19 and 20. Stay close to 70 gear inches and you will be fine on the flats.

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Permalink Reply by buffal0b1ll on November 15, 2008 at 2:40pm

49X17

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Permalink Reply by The Wheelbarrow Man on November 17, 2008 at 5:09pm

42:15

really good for the flat, accelerate fast, travel at a good speed with a good cadence.

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Permalink Reply by Andy Chittenden on November 18, 2008 at 5:59am

anything around the 70" mark is a good benchmark, try using a double fixed hub with diffferent sprockets on,I personally use a 63" as I can do about 16 mph at 80 to 90 cadence,but in a flatter area I would be up to 72" to get some speed, but round town with lots of stop starts 63" is fine.again it is down to your riding style are you a twiddler or a tester,do you want calfs like Arnie?