Humboldtian

My 2015 Schwinn Corvette 7-spd has very tall gearing. I replaced the standard 46t chainring with the smallest I could find (43) that is compatible with a 3/32 chain, that didn't help much. I've looked everywhere for a smaller (36-40) chainring but the teeth are too wide (1/8) or the spindle hole is too small (such as for bmx), or both. On the other end of the drivetrain, no one seems to offer a genuine wide range freewheel. The Shimano Mega-range just has a larger first gear than is standard on the bike, leaving a huge gap between first and second gear. Having essentially four unusable gears seems kinda dumb, this isn't the kind of bike that one rides mostly downhill at high speed. Has anyone else addressed this issue? Thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.

Philphine

if 7 gears isn't a real issue for you (you'd need a new shifter too. don't know if you want to get that far into it), you could look for a wide range 5 speed cluster. i think they're mostly used on older touring type bikes? i have one on my main cruiser and it has the 34 low gear like a megarange, but 2nd is around 28t (haven't counted it in a while) with the remaining gears as evenly distributed. i like it better than the bike i have with the 7sp megarange and find all the gears more useful. i've seen similar 6sp clusters, but the ones i have all start at 32t. still even jumps bettween the gears though. i find mine at the local co-op (luckily no one else seems interested in them) or hunting around on ebay.

Humboldtian

Thanks for response. I did just find a Sunlite 36t chainwheel on eBay. It has 3/32 teeth and a 23.8 spindle hole. It looks kinda chintzy but for $12 I'll give it a try.