Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - SS Gearing..

I know that there are a ton of topics on this but some of the stuff in it doesnt really make sense to me. Like gear inches? What exactly does that mean? Right now my gearing is 40X16 which is kinda alright for hills but sucks going down them. Around here i cant get anywhere with atleast going up one decent sized hill. Mostly everything else is flat or very low grade hills. What would be a good gearing to use? Or can someone explain gear inches to me and ill experiment to figure it out myself. Thanks in advance.

gear inches: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gear_inches

many people say that around 70 gear inches is a good average to shoot for. you can calculate gear inches here: http://software.bareknucklebrigade.com/rabbit.applet.html

I used to ride 40x16 on my singlespeed as well, and I agree, it was easy to spin out, at only 65.9 gear inches. If your setup would allow for a 44 tooth chainring, that'd boost you to 72.5, which also will increase your max speed some, prior to spin out.

okay thanks for the links, ill look into 44x16 and see how that is.

You say 40-16 is kinda ok for up the hills? Is it too hard right now or too easy? If it is too hard 44-16 will be significantly harder. Is this really a SS or a fixed? If it is SS it shouldn't make much difference down hill, just coast away.

Its a SS, its not that hard for hills but its not easy. I wouldnt mind something alittle harder if it means i wont be spinning out so quickly.

i'm running 42x16 on my langster's SS side (69 gear inches with 700x23 tires), which seems to be the perfect gearing for the just-west-of-Boston roads. i can hammer up nearly every single hill i encounter and i can easily hit 20-22mph on the flats before spinning out. anything faster and i usually pedal like crazy for a short period and then just coast.

edit: my point is that a jump to 44 may be too much right away. try 42 and you should be happier with your ride.

alright, thanks ill give that a shot.