swekarl

I'm in the process of buying a new bike. I will use it mainly for commuting, but also on the country roads in the weekends. However, it's not gonna be a roadbike.

I've almost decided to buy Nishiki Hybrid 501. You can see it here (click on Hybrid 501). The only problem (?) is that the teeth on the front "cogs" are 48-38-28.

So my question to you pros out there is: Will 48 teeth on the biggest cog be enough? I have forgotten how many I had on my old bike (it got stolen). I don't need a road bike with 53 teeth, but at the same time I don't want to be disappointed. Experiences or thoughts, anyone?

Grasschopper

What cassette is going to be on the back? Just about no matter what you put back there the 48 on the front will be plenty. I almost never ride on the 52 on my Marin and in fact took it off recently only running 42/30 on the front. 42-12 gets me over 27 MPH and for my commuter that is more than enough.

swekarl

Thanks Grasschopper, that sounds great. There are 8 cogs in the back, ranging from 12-32. So I guess I will be satisfied with 48-12 as maximum.

OneTinSloth

grasschopper, the link says it'll be a 12-32 cassette. i just switched to an 11-32 on my bike (just to try out something new), and aside from losing all my midrange gearing (had a 13-25), i'm pretty excited about it. took it out for a brief spin to and from work yesterday and it felt great with my 48-38 rings. and some of the same gears that i used to ride in with my old setup felt much easier, like 48-16. would a long-cage RD make a difference? i should probably know this already, but i don't have any experience with long cage vs. short cage...it doesn't seem like it should matter, since they're both doing the same thing...anyway, back on topic...

i have 48-38 rings on my road bike, and the only time i'm wanting more teeth is when i'm going downhill and spinning out and probably shouldn't be trying to go faster anyway. i actually prefer the smaller rings in the front, because i can spin them easier, and i prefer to spin, rather than mash if i can.

in short, a 48T big ring in the front will be quite enough.

2manybikes

New bikes are geared pretty well for the intended use of that particular bike these days.
What you have is good for a hybrid. If you decide you need to go faster in the future you can get an 11 tooth small cog in the back. A hybrid is harder to push at high speed than a road bike, thus a lower overall gear choice. If you get to the point of running out of gears at high speed, you probably will want a road bike by that time anyway.

PWRDbyTRD

If I recall I can spin 19mph in a 32/11 gearing. I think so...I did it early today...that was at 76rpm *I think* don't quote me though.

MichaelW

I have a 28/38/48 with a 12/28 cassette and it suites me for all everyday riding. On big downhills I just coast and if I go any faster it would be dangerous.