Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - 50/19 vs 42/16, whats the deal

50/19 is almost exactly the same gear inches as 42/16, the difference is less than .2" (1/5"). lets ignore the slight difference for the sake of my question.

why choose one over the other? does one take longer to wear down? since their gear inches are pretty much the same, will they feel the same when being ridden? i am

some people like 'em big...

My crank came with a 42 so i'd go 42/16. One less part to buy. Bigger rings/cogs mean less wear since you have more toothage. But you make that up with added weight.

My crank came with a 42 so i'd go 42/16. One less part to buy. Bigger rings/cogs mean less wear since you have more toothage. But you make that up with added weight.

and in the grand scheme of things, both decreased wear and increased weight are negligible.

50/19 is almost exactly the same gear inches as 42/16, the difference is less than .2" (1/5"). lets ignore the slight difference for the sake of my question.

why choose one over the other? does one take longer to wear down? since their gear inches are pretty much the same, will they feel the same when being ridden? i am

If I remember the skid-patch discussions correctly, a 50x19 will give you more skid patches than a 42x16.

-Trevor

Big chainrings look cooler.

the bigger is better because you have more room to gear down in the rear, which would be nice if you moved to a flat area, or the velodrome....

Big chainrings make you look STRONG. No one can tell the difference between a 16 and a 19, but everyone can tell the difference between a girly-man 42 and a manly-man 50. I ride a 52/19 so everyone knows what a manly-man I am. Only you know the 72" truth.

Also, the 'skid patches' comment is correct, 50/19 will result in more skid patches, which is good for tire wear if you do a lot of skidding.

peace,
sam

Not a lot of difference between the two, but I would always take the big cog/big chainring combo only because I can't think of any good reasons of why not to.

Pros:
1. longer wear (almost 20% more in this case)
2. More efficiency (small increase due to chain having easier time bending around bigger cogs , it's small but why not take it?)

Cons:
1. It's slightly heavier (I don't care about this, so no big deal)

P.S. The 42-16 combo as mentioned earlier has 8 skid patches (*edited). 50-19 has 19 skid patches (I can't reduce the denominator any more......so 19)

how do i calculate skid patches?

how do i calculate skid patches?
I was just about to ask that myself...

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=101252&highlight=skid+patch

There is another thread I like too. Let me see if I can find that one.

42x16 has 1 skid patch but 50x19 has.... 19 skid patches???????????????????????

42x16 has 1 skid patch but 50x19 has.... 19 skid patches???????????????????????



This thread may help http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=79605&highlight=skid+patches

It doesn't look like either of you read the link. 42x16 has 8 skid patches if you always skid with the same foot forward.

It doesn't look like either of you read the link. 42x16 has 8 skid patches if you always skid with the same foot forward.

My bad, 42-14 has 1 skid patch. I did the math quickly for 42-16 in my head that's why there was the error.

48-16 would have one skid patch.

42-16 would have 8 skid patches because you can devide down to 21/8, but can't reduce the denominator anymore while keeping the numerator whole numbers.


50-19 should still have 19 skid patches.

i guess you can't have half a skid patch.

I hear if you use brakes you don't need to worry as much about skid patches.

the only thing missing is a messenger-style facial hair configuration called the "skid patch"--maybe a long scraggly version of the classic "soul patch."

I always figured the skid patch appeared in the underwear of the brakeless hordes whenever a sudden stop is called for.

oh, my lordy.