Gear Ratios....What gear ratio are you riding with?



I'm currently riding with a gear ratio of 2.7 according to Sheldon Brown's fixed-gear calculator.

I have a 46 in the front and a 17 rear cog, I like it for around the city but its a little hard for me to skid and do more flatland stuff...

Anyone have any recommendations for a good setup for more flatland riding?

Tags: Brown, Sheldon, calculator, cog, flatland, gear, ratio, rear, skid, stop

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by mark lapham on September 4, 2009 at 1:41am
42/18...theres not to many hills here ..idunno maybe its a little easier of a gearing but i like it cuz i was at a 49 and i felt like i couldnt take off very quick at all....its a touchy thing.i think it kind of depends on your riding style,if your going for longer distances and super fast speeds you should probubly use a higher ratio,if you just want to go kind of fast but want to beat cars off the line then use an easier one like me.
Permalink Reply by EVIL LIVE on September 5, 2009 at 8:31pm
mark lapham: 42/18 is crazy, I would imagine without hills you could run a higher gear... I bet now it's like driving a civic, lots of noise and no speed!
Permalink Reply by mark lapham on October 6, 2009 at 3:42pm
see thats what im trying to figure out..i like to think i know alot about bikes but this is one area thats confusing me for sure....i notice most people have a bigger chain ring..44 or 46 but they have smaller cogs 16..15..13... doesnt the lack of teeth whether it be front or rear mean the same thing??? im confused and would love help

would i be better off putting on a 46 and buying a 15 tooth rear cog??? is that easier for skidding??
Permalink Reply by Rodan on September 6, 2009 at 3:59pm
Fixed 42x13 (84.9 gear inches) I've been riding this combination for a little over a year. Don't ride hills too often. Prior to that I had a 15 (73.6 gear inches) on the back and would consider going back to that if the roads are more hilly.
Permalink Reply by andymbc on September 11, 2009 at 12:51pm
after having my old ride stolen i picked up a 70s falcon conversion which is running 53/21 (a gear ratio of 2.5 according to that calculator). for riding flat roads it feels awesome but it makes hills hell on earth and i'm finding it near impossible to skid. any idea if is this more to do with the chainring or the sprocket, or the combination of both?
Permalink Reply by Paul on September 11, 2009 at 2:27pm

That calculator is cool. Thanks.
Permalink Reply by bob on September 12, 2009 at 12:24pm
can someone break it down for me and explain how the guys in mash or whatever i watch are able to skid so easy, is it in the gears the tires what is it? i know my knees hate when i skid, i run 46 17 i usually back pedal but damn those skids look like fun.
Permalink Reply by Andrew on October 1, 2009 at 12:37pm
I think it's more technique than anything. You just want to through your weight forward and lock your pedals at the same time. I only like to skid in the rain. I run a 48t-17t by the way.
Permalink Reply by nick on October 6, 2009 at 8:46pm
i ride 52/13, which makes doing anything other than going forward impossible, but i enjoy being able to haul ass. if it werent for the fact that i live in practically flat north orange county, i'd ride something smaller, but i like how ripped my legs are
Permalink Reply by Chris on October 9, 2009 at 5:16pm
yeah i have been reading about it and from my understanding a normal cadence is around 80 to 110rpm and if i want to be going lets say around 25mph at 90rpm i should be running like a 46 and 15 on 700?
and would i be able to get outta a bad situation quick, like if i dont see a car coming or something?
oh and its all flat here no hills

all this gear ratio stuff is alittle confusing at first haha
Permalink Reply by Gus M on October 9, 2009 at 9:20pm
Ok so what gear combination would someone like me need..i live in LA but i attend glendaleCC on the way over there and the way back i encounter some hills that at first arent that bad but after a couple of weeks with no rest and track practice you get sore and the hills are horrible...basically i want to go up hills with not a lot of effort but still have speed flatland..??
i think right now i have a 16-50
Permalink Reply by Anthony D DeMont on October 11, 2009 at 1:06pm
While I was in santa barbara,i was usinga 42/17, but my bottom bracket and crank broke as soon as i got to seattle. The place where i got my new parts didn't have a 42 so they put on a 46. With the 46/17 i can get a lot of top end, but there are way too many hills here,so i think ill pick up a new chainring thats 42. 42/17 it is

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