Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - LA Riders: Newbie gearing question...

Long time lurker, first time poster.

Looking at finally biting the bullet and building up my first fixed gear this weekend. Ideally, I'd like to use the bike as a commuter, as the ante has been upped from an easy two mile ride on the Santa Monica bikepath to 26 miles roundtrip into Hollywood come the first of the month.

Suggestions for an initial gear ratio? I'll be taking Olympic east from the coast > La Brea north > Santa Monica Blvd. east. Reasonably flat the whole way, so I don't see myself coming off the saddle much, but lots of lights to contend with. I'd like to be able to keep a decent pace, have a little power on reserve to get out of the invariable cellphone-in-the-left, nonfat-latte-in-the-right driver's way, and not absolutely wreck my knees for the first month or so while I get the hang of things. I'll be using a front brake as well.

I've searched the forum for similar topics, but was interested in getting feedback from anyone who might have an idea of this route firsthand and would be able to point me in the right direction.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, with thanks in advance.

I ride in NYC where it is basically flat except for the bridges, and I have tried out a few gear combinations. I started out with 48/16, which was good for building strength and great for booking on flat stretches with green lights, but with all the starting and stopping of traffic lights and the slight rise on the Manhattan Bridge it started feeling too tall pretty quickly. I switched the big ring to a 44, which gave me faster pickup at lights and made the bridge easier on the knees, and finally swapped the rear cog for a 17, so now I am running 44/17, which is the right amount of power/spin for me. Spinning smoothly has always been a challenge for me, so I like that this gearing makes me spin more and improve my pedaling technique. It's a very personal thing though, what seems right for one person is too loose for someone else.

I run 46x17 in san francisco. One higher or lower would work fine too. Again, this is a very personal choice.

So many variables and personal tastes involved. All I can say is I use 68" gearing in LA. Not terribly fast, but easy on the knees, offers good control, nice for stop and go traffic.

For your particular commute you'll have no problem pushing low 70's. I'm happy with my 48/17 and 46/16 ratios on my fixies. I've ridden your route numerous times.

Thanks very much for all the input. This forum has proven invaluable in so many ways over the last couple of months, not the least of which has been incentive for getting off my @ss and back on the road more often with my SS. Driving a car in LA is a full contact sport, and I'm over it.

My initial plan was to shoot for 44/16, but I'll pick up a 46 to test out as well. Hopefully pushing some bigger gears along the way will force me to ditch the smokes once and for all (again, for the third time this week).

I've only seen a handful of fixed gears out here on the Westside. Any regular rides happening besides the CM in Silverlake? Preferably something west of the 405? I have zero problems with frequent beer stops if that's what it takes to get jumped into your gang.

I've only seen a handful of fixed gears out here on the Westside. Any regular rides happening besides the CM in Silverlake?

I live in Silverlake. Do you participate in this CM ride? I see these people regularly but have never ridden with them. Some look like they're pushing big gears....near 80 inches.

I live in Silverlake. Do you participate in this CM ride? I see these people regularly but have never ridden with them. Some look like they're pushing big gears....near 80 inches.

I've never ridden it, but I've got a couple of friends who are regulars. There was a midnight ride out there as well once or twice a month, populated almost exclusively with the fixed gear ilk, but I'm not sure if it's still happening. I can make some calls if you're at all interested.

And yeah, I guess when your bike is your car in a city as sprawling as LA, chainrings as big as pasta plates are no big deal. Me, I like to remain upright at stoplights.

Hehe, I do a similar commute Mon-Fri, eastbound on Olympic. I run a 45-16. It depends how strong you are and how heavy a bag you are carrying (I carry a change of clothes and shoes). Myself, I wouldn't run anything higher than that, since there's a hill on Olympic through Century City. Not too big, but the traffic is extremely heavy through there and you don't want to be fighting to turn the pedals.

I am using 48x16 here in Denmark which is completely flat. I also run the same gearing back home in Berkeley which is filled with plenty of hills. Sometimes I wish my ratio might be a bit lower to keep my knees in order, but everything seems to be working out fine so far. I am able to book it through lights and stop in time if someone hops in front of me.