Originally Posted by
Dahon.Steve
Good question.
I have the Presto which has the same gears as the Piccolo. I happen to find 2nd gear perfect because it's low enough to allow you to ride all day long.
48T chain ring
13T cog
Gives you the following 66 inches high gear
49 Direct drive
37 Low gear
You're only hope is to lower 3rd gear to 49 inches but that will eliminate your high gear. If you don't mind coasting down hill, this just might work. You don't have to change the front chainring but just change to a 17 tooth sprocket. This is about as low as you want to get with a 3 speed hub.
48T chain ring
17T cog
50 inches High gear
38 Direct drive
28 Low gear
I agree with Dahon Steve. I own 4 different 3 speed bikes, 3 folding and 1 regular bikes. If I were to change my gearing ratio, I would always change the rear cog first to a larger diameter. But the tradeoff is a loss of speed at the flat terrain. So I keep all of the bikes using the stock chainring and cog combination they all came with. I seem to have little trouble with 99% of the rolling hills surrounding my house. These hills morph into completely flat terrain at a moment's notice.