Originally Posted by Digital Gee
....
The rings are 50-39-30, btw. 12-27 on the back.
'stock' - OTR bike? sure itz notta 53? you do a swap?
that 39 is as close as it getz to 'Leatherman' on a bike, specially with a 12/27.
big ring is for comicbook heros
visualize whorled peas
or go to
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/ , put in your numbers, I groove on 'gear inches' rather than gain ratio for my gear units.
print out the ittybitty chart and tape to your stem.
That there gear-inchworms is the 'apparent' size of your rear wheel in whatever 'gear' you happen to be in.
So when it sez "78", it means a 78 inch diameter wheel.
So when youz pedalin along in your 39-15, youz actually toolin along with about a 69 inch rear wheel. Try it in a 53-17 (82 inches) and then a 53-15 (92) and so on...
soon enough you'll prolly be able to 'visualize' what a 53-12 might feel like, or a 30-23... a lot sooner than you can visualize those whorled peas...
and den, all-of-a-sudden, one day, you'll ride up to one of doz steep pitches that litter most of Sandy Eggo, and KNOW that you'll really whan to pop it into that 48 inch gear when yo hit the start of that climb...
den you'll be a comicbook hero