Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - 16t, 17t, or 18t cog?

Just got my Windsor Clockwork, and I'm going to head over to my LBS to pick up a fixed cog for it. I'd like some input on what size I should get for what I intend to do with the bike.

I'm going to be riding around campus in a moderately flat area with a lot of pedestrian and car traffic. Right now I'm riding 46/16 with a freewheel, but I'm not sure if that gear ratio will be too high to stop quickly when pedestrians decide to run in front of me or when cars decide they want to merge without looking if I'm riding fixed. I was thinking about going up to a 17t or 18t cog.

I don't have the money to get more than one cog, do any of you who ride in cities/college campuses have any input?

Relatively flat in my area, I'm currently running 48/17 because there is not a lot of wind this time of year when I'm riding (mornings and after dark.) In the summer I ride 48/18 to give me some relief during the howling afternoon winds.

I ride in a relatively flat area, and 46/17 is perfect for me. Plus you get 17 skid patches. 46/18 gives you 1...or 2.

17 for the skidz. But keep your brake on and you won't have to worry about stopping on time.

Right now I'm riding 46/16 with a freewheel, but I'm not sure if that gear ratio will be too high to stop quickly when pedestrians decide to run in front of me or when cars decide they want to merge without looking if I'm riding fixed.

It shouldn't matter since you're running a brake(s).

1) get a brake for stopping. please.

2) how does the 46-16 work for you on the 'going' front? acceleration is quick/ok/painful? top speed limited by strength or leg speed? let this determine your gear.

i run a 46-16 and am a fairly strong rider in a moderately hilly area. i ride the fix almost exclusively for training purposes. it's perfect at 20-22mph, too much on steep hills, and too little in a fast paceline...that's why there are derailleurs.

with that as background, if it were me, in a flat campus environment where acceleration trumps top speed, if i were foolish enough to endanger the safety of others by going brakeless...i would damn sure want a lower gear than 76 inches. 17t = 71in, 18t = 67in. go for the 18 and bust some madd skidz (9 patches, actually).

I ride in a relatively flat area, and 46/17 is perfect for me. Plus you get 17 skid patches. 46/18 gives you 1...or 2.

what are they teaching kids in school these days?

i ride 46/17 in a pretty flat place, but if it's that tough for you now you might want to go up to the 18.

I ride in a relatively flat area, and 46/17 is perfect for me. Plus you get 17 skid patches. 46/18 gives you 1...or 2.

Basing a chainring/cog combo on skid patches is stupid.

Well the OP is obviously intending to go brakeless so skidding/skipping would in handy, and the more the better.

Well the OP is obviously intending to go brakeless so skidding/skipping would in handy, and the more the better.

No, running a lower gear is handy as you can skid/skip easier. And it is stupid to base a setup on skid patches. Ride what works best, if you skid to stop with no brakes and are worried about wearing out a tire use cheap tires. Or once a week remove the wheel, lift the chain off the cog and rotate the wheel forward and put back on. New unworn spot to skid on. If the op is worried about the ability to stop and avoid peds on campus, he/she needs to ride slower and use a brake.

lock up and walk around on campus, i just go to the middle of campus and lock up, and set your schedule up w/ enough time to walk to each class, then you can get whatever ratio you want and not worry about stopping for students ;-)
i ride 46/16 and love it i just moved up from a 14, like everyone said if you want more skid patches go to 17 but if your new to fixed then i wouldnt be concerned w/ skids and tricks, just control, and if you're trying to learn to skid, get clips, i wont lecture you into getting a brake but im sure most would advise

I ride in a relatively flat area, and 46/17 is perfect for me. Plus you get 17 skid patches. 46/18 gives you 1...or 2.

+1, 46/17 works for me.

No, running a lower gear is handy as you can skid/skip easier. And it is stupid to base a setup on skid patches. Ride what works best, if you skid to stop with no brakes and are worried about wearing out a tire use cheap tires. Or once a week remove the wheel, lift the chain off the cog and rotate the wheel forward and put back on. New unworn spot to skid on. If the op is worried about the ability to stop and avoid peds on campus, he/she needs to ride slower and use a brake.
Definitely, but 46/17 is not a high gear by any means, so skidding should be easy.

Basing a chainring/cog combo on skid patches is stupid.

He said "Plus I get 17 skid patches" not "I ride 46x17 cause I get 17 skid patches" People around here need to read before being such judgemental @sses!

I also ride 46x17 and chose this setup because its 71 Gear inches AND since I ride brakeless I get 17 skid patches as a bonus to the gear I want to run. OP go with the 17, you won't regret it.

46x17 is the best all around gearing imo.. great skid patch too :)

I run 48x16 in similar conditions around my campus, and it works out great. I'd say 16 if you're running brakes, 17 without for teh skidpatchez.

17 for the skidz. But keep your brake on and you won't have to worry about stopping on time.

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what are they teaching kids in school these days?

meh...46/18, 48/16 whats the difference anyway.

i am going from 48/16 to 46/17. lower gear inches mean i can ride up the hills i live in and as a bonus i got more skid patches. don't know how it rides yet, just came yesterday and i forgot my mail at my parents hose when i was leaving (hands full of laundry).

wow i must be a vagina! i run a 42X17 lol

jumped from 48-16 to 48-19 last night, but havent had a chance to spin it out because of the inclemency.

He said "Plus I get 17 skid patches" not "I ride 46x17 cause I get 17 skid patches" People around here need to read before being such judgemental @sses!

Oh I can read and in no way was I being being judgmental of the persons choice of gearing, I never said riding 42/17 was stupid, I said that choose a gearing based on the skid patches is gives is stupid.

Now, me thinking you are an ***** based on your silly little post, thats being judgmental.

What is a "skid patch"?

I've only been riding single speed a few weeks (42x16 I think), so you'll have to forgive what is probably a dumb question...

well that was wierd. i got a few words of my post in then it posted. but i got my mail! hopefully i can toss on my chain ring and cog tonight and try out 46/17.

What is a "skid patch"?

I've only been riding single speed a few weeks (42x16 I think), so you'll have to forgive what is probably a dumb question...

Basically the number of contact points on your tire that you can skid on with a particular gearing.


From Sheldon Brown (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fixed.html#skid): "If you make a habit of doing "skip stops" you will wear your rear tire out considerably faster than if you use your front brake. This problem is exacerbated by certain gear ratios, because you may tend to repeatedly skid on the same section of the tire."

i ride at my college campus and use 48/17

your mom goes to college and she rides 49/16

I ride in a very hilly college town with tons of pedestrians, brick roads, and awful drivers and i run 46-15, but i use my front brake very often when riding near campus. I tend to think of the campus/uptown area of Athens as a video game where the goal is to not get hit by a car or hit a drunk bro crossing the streets to go to the bar on the other side of the street.

+1 for 46x17 because it's a decent gear to push for the sort of riding you describe. And +1 for a brake. Get a cheap, used brake and decide later whether you want to take it off.

LOL, can't you just move the chain a tooth ? ... just incase your tire is getting toooooo thin in spots ...
: o )


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LOL, can't you just move the chain a tooth ? ... just incase your tire is getting toooooo thin in spots ...
: o )


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Yes, which was already suggested on pg 1.

Get the 18. :innocent:

is 49x17 similar to 46x17? im trying to figure out gearing for a relatively flat area with long, mild hills.

is 49x17 similar to 46x17? im trying to figure out gearing for a relatively flat area with long, mild hills.

No. Go take a geared bike and ride where you are going to ride. Figure out the optimum gear. Determine the gear ratio e.g. 39x13 = 3.0. Determine the gear ratio for the fixie that equates to that e.g. 48x16, 45x15 and 42x14 all equal 3.0 or an 81 assuming you ride 700's (Yes, I know I based the 81 on a 27in wheel and not 700 but that is how I do it and most if not all track riders.). :thumb:

I'm not sure if that gear ratio will be too high to stop quickly when pedestrians decide to run in front of me or when cars decide they want to merge without looking if I'm riding fixed.

It your concern is stopping then you should go with

-The larger cog
-Brakes

I don't skid or skip because I don't want to shorten the life of my tires and wheels.

However, I do brake with my legs.

That said, 16t, 17t and 18t cogs represent huge jumps, which compare to jumps of 4-5 teeth in the chainring.

I like sprockets with prime numbers, which means 17t or 19t, and, based on my impression of the OP's riding style, I would recommend going with the 17t sprocket and experimenting instead with different chain rings.

I find it much easier to change a chain ring than a sprocket, and some times I can use the same chain with different chain rings, whereas a different sprocket always requires a different length chain.

Assuming the OP rides on 23mm tires, a 17t cog with a 47t chain ring will give him 72.7 gear inches.

I consider 72 gear inches the best all around gearing for a young, strong rider on flat to rolling terrain, because it allows braking without skidding and it also allows a decent amount of speed when cruising.

If the OP hasn't visited the following site, the Bare Knuckle Brigade Rabbit Applet (singlespeed and fixed-gear cycling calculator), I suggest he give it a try.

http://software.bareknucklebrigade.com/rabbit.applet.html

15t here - 56 X 15 - but then I've got a Swift folding bike with 20" wheels. That makes for a 75" gear which I like.

What is a "skid patch"?

I've only been riding single speed a few weeks (42x16 I think), so you'll have to forgive what is probably a dumb question...

The other reply forgot that you are riding single speed. Skid patches are only something to worry about if you are riding fixed and skid to slow/stop yourself. Too few skid patches and wear your tires faster because all the wear happens in just a few spots.

Everything else is dead on.

I don't skid or skip because I don't want to shorten the life of my tires and wheels.

However, I do brake with my legs.

That said, 16t, 17t and 18t cogs represent huge jumps, which compare to jumps of 4-5 teeth in the chainring.

I like sprockets with prime numbers, which means 17t or 19t, and, based on my impression of the OP's riding style, I would recommend going with the 17t sprocket and experimenting instead with different chain rings.

I find it much easier to change a chain ring than a sprocket, and some times I can use the same chain with different chain rings, whereas a different sprocket always requires a different length chain.

Assuming the OP rides on 23mm tires, a 17t cog with a 47t chain ring will give him 72.7 gear inches.

I consider 72 gear inches the best all around gearing for a young, strong rider on flat to rolling terrain, because it allows braking without skidding and it also allows a decent amount of speed when cruising.

If the OP hasn't visited the following site, the Bare Knuckle Brigade Rabbit Applet (singlespeed and fixed-gear cycling calculator), I suggest he give it a try.

http://software.bareknucklebrigade.com/rabbit.applet.html


If you don't skid, why do you prefer sprockets with prime numbers?
Also, you need a lot more money to experiment with chainring sizes.

some times I can use the same chain with different chain rings, whereas a different sprocket always requires a different length chain. Why would that be?

The other reply forgot that you are riding single speed. Skid patches are only something to worry about if you are riding fixed and skid to slow/stop yourself. Too few skid patches and wear your tires faster because all the wear happens in just a few spots.

Everything else is dead on.

OP indicates he's looking to buy a fixed cog.

If you don't skid, why do you prefer sprockets with prime numbers?
Also, you need a lot more money to experiment with chainring sizes.

I don't skid intentionally, but sometimes, when braking hard with my legs, I unintentionally skid (it might look more like a skip).

Further, intuitively, I think a prime number sprocket spreads the wear and tear more evenly over the entire drive system and rear wheel/tire.

As for the observation about the cost of changing chainrings, I thought of that afterwards.

I ride with a Stronglight 130bcd crank, which means I can use relatively inexpensive 3/32 single chainrings.

If a person rides a 144bcd track crank and a 1/8 chain, chainrings will generally cost significantly more than sprockets.

Still, one tooth on a sprocket represent a very large jump in gear inches compared to one tooth on a chainring.