3 speed cruiser gearing
 

Just picked up a used Nirve Night Owl 3-speed and I'm surprised at how spaced out the gearing is. I prefer to spin and it seems as though the low gear could be lower for better climbing and the high is way too high. Usable speeds on this type of a bike is 10-23-ish perhaps and the cadence in high gear is way too low.

Am I right thinking if I change the front chain ring to smaller, and the rear to bigger, the result will be lower and closer overall ratios?

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=467372

Most 3 speed hubs come with an 18 tooth cog I all most always change it to a 20-22 tooth cog. On a cruiser type bike I would go 21 or 22 tooth . They are cheap and easy to change I would try that before I looked at the front chain ring.
Roy

AW3 cogs range from 13t to 22 t..

use your Math ? 22t hub 44t crank is a 1:2 gear x 26" wheel = a 52" gear wheel turns twice as many times as the cranks..

Thanks plumberroy, I've changed them before so I'm thinking I'll try a 22 and see how that feels.

fietbob, I wasn't sure how the math/formula worked with 3 speeds. One of the gears is 1/1, correct? What are the other 2, are they all a standard multiplier?

First is usually 1 /.66, Second is 1/1, and third is 1.33/1
I run my bikes so 3rd is normal cruise at about 65 gear inch.:D Tim

^^ 3rd and first are inverse fractions of each other ( so the .66 is a bit off..

thats 2/3 not 3/4 so high would have to be 3/2 ; 1.5)


AW3 is 3/4; 1 ; and 4/3 ; .75/1/1.33 ..

My experience is that ALL 3-speed internal hubs seem to be geared too widely. If I were in hilly or mountainous terrain, I could see the spacing that the hubs use, but I'm not. EVERYTHING around here is FLAT, and with a 3-speed, only the middle gear is usable - period.

It would be nice if hub makers offered "close-range" 3-speed hubs that would make all three gears usable, but they don't. Of course, if I lived someplace like San Francisco, I'd want WIDER gear spacing on those hubs, so there's no pleasing everyone.

My response is to avoid 3-speeds. Seven or eight is about right for me (internal or derailleur). But most of the time, I ride a single-speed coaster brake. It suits my needs fine.

Strmey used to sell both a close ratio and a fixed gear 3 speed hub. You still see them from time to time. The reason you don't see them is about 90% of the production was aimed at the AW hub. Roger

If you switch to a cog with more teeth and a chainring with fewer teeth- you will lower the gearing, however the relative step between each gear will remain the same.

Thanks for the input, it seems like -30/+30% is way too wide, seems like +/-15% would be more useable on a bicycle. I'll have to play around with it a bit.

I plan to inspect the rear cog on my three-speed Azor and ultimately lower the gearing. It seems that where I live even though it's flat, both second and especially third gear are geared too high.

3 speeds are usually best set up as flat land gear on the 3rd gear, with a low for hills and a "granny" gear for really steep hills. I have a Shimano Nexus 7 hub on my cruiser. The steps on that hub are almost exactly 15% across the range. It was replaced with an 8 speed hub that has bigger changes (25%?) between 1st and 2nd,and between 7th and 8th. You can still get the 7 speed, either NOS or used. Mine is geared so that 5th is a little short (65"), and 6th is a bit tall (75") with 7th as a downhill/ with-the-wind gear. I've thought about getting a one tooth larger rear, but the way it is now, on a longer ride, I do 6th as a flat land gear, and drop to 5th if I get tired.

I have the mid gear on my 3 speed a 57.9.. start in low(43.4) . High is a 77..