My new beater came with 42 teeth on the largest chain ring. Being used to 48 I have to say its downright slow. The first chance I get its getting switched out. Seriously, what use is 42 by 12 on a bike meant to be used on paths and roads?

Clearly they under-estimated their target consumer.
Are you sure this wasn't intended to be installed on some folder bike with 12" wheels?

What in the world is this bike? A 10-speed that's missing the outer ring?

That said, I did all of Ragbrai last year with nothing higher than a 38/12, due to some technical issues. Learn to spin!

According to Sheldon Brown's gear calculator 42x12 should provide about 24.4 mph at a cadence of 90 rpm on a 26" bike and 25.1 on a 700c. Not lightning fast, but adequate for commuting, trails, fitness, pleasure etc. What kind of bike is this on?

https://sheldonbrown.com/gears/

A 48 X 12 is a big enough gear for most road riding unless you're a pro.

Manufacturers have struggled forever to figure out what gearing consumers want. I remember those bikes with 42 tooth rings - Shimano Altus or Acera quality hybrids, usually.
I also remember when you couldn't find a factory-stock mountain bike with a gear smaller than 24/28. And old ten-speeds have a small gear of 42/27 or so... who in the hell did they think was riding these things? I guess in the 70s people didn't ride up hills.

While you are waiting to swap gears for something more realistic, Learn to spin at a higher RPM. It's not a good way to travel fast but it makes you a more efficient pedaler (peddler?) and is a great cardiovascular workout. Properly set up clip-in pedals and shoes or toe-clips (toke-lips?) will make it much easier (ma, cheezier?)

42x12 is nearly equal to 53x15. Would you call it a slow gear?

At 100 rpm, 42 x 13 on a 700C bike gives you a 26 mph "fast cruise". Crank it up to 120 rpm and you can sprint at 30 mph. That's adequate for most riding and most riders, outside of a race setting.

Thats the bike.

Everyone is different. I don't have any problems pushing 48x12 on the flat out to 30-35km/h for as long as 3 hours. But peddling really fast just to acheive the same result? I don't see the point. With my 44x12 on my nice MTB I can get 36-40km/h for the same cadence it took to maintain 32-35km/h on this bike. With the 48x12 on the old beater I could maintain a much higher cruise for less perceived output. I don't like it. Besides, the top speed I could get out of her was 44km/h while I've managed 56km/h on the other bike (much nicer, lighter etc but still...)

Found a dude with a triple set that includes a 48t ring he will install for me for $20, sadly I didn't carry much cash today so I'll go back ASAP and get him to install it for me. I really don't like the feeling that bike gives me at the moment. Despite the fact its commuter/beater it still has to FEEL good to ride.

If you need that much seaptost extended, that bike is way too small for you, would be more concerned with this, and the possibility of the seatpost snapping (got to be pushing around or over the max insertion marker) than having a 42T front.

Being as it is a MTB design, would not expect it to have anymore than a 42T at the front a well.

Thats one super long seat post. Theres plenty left in the tube. In the picture it was too high as I was playing with the basket at the back. It sits a little lower than that usually. Its bigger than the previous versio, though still a little small. Doesn't bother me much as it gets used for lower impact riding than my main ride.

On a MTB with knobby tires, that's impressive. You should get yourself a road bike, you'll be flying.

the reason the compact crank became the normal spec on mountain bikes

is higher ground/obstacle clearance, to ride over, like, fallen logs.

Not everyone does the maneuver , but the manufacturers like the image..

This is one of the great mantras of cycling. This is another:

"Bicycles have two pedals, one for each foot".

If all you have is 1 speed, you have to commit to changing gearing to what suits you. Not every gear setup is right for everybody, so I don't understand what sort of advice or opinion you are looking for.

-G

That 2 teeth difference doesn't mean 5-6 km/h at the same cadence. 44x12 @ 90 rpm is 40.7 km/h, 42x12 is 38.8.

+1 on this one. This kid looks like love to grind and ride like in slow motion.

In the track we used to get over 60 km/h in sprints using 50x15... and over 42 km/h regular pace making and not forcing it, definitely not a slow gear at all. SOme guys like to go in slow motion for some idiotic reason but well, they dont consider that the grinding gears get get them slower and slower with the time.... too much strength developed but no power to move it fast, uses.. like having the gearbox of a toyota corolla in V8 engine.

Love to see them in the road rocking their hips from size to size too

Comfort is comfort. If I was racing - which I have no interest in I'm sure spinning faster would be better. However, I don't race, have no interest in group rides of any sort so I figure its worth riding a bike in what define as comfort. I wasn't really looking for advice, just commenting on how $%$^ awful that 42 feels.

Its tempting just to leave it on as the gear train while cheap is super smooth and altering it won't help that. It may also be good to have different gear setups to force myself to spin a little every now and then. If I have the option I'll choose a higher gear over a lower.

"But peddling really fast just to acheive the same result?"

Classic!

I can get 38mph out of a 42x12t gear...

If you're worried about how fast you're going, why is your first post about how a 42t chainring making your slower?

And if you really think mashing away at a slow RPM is "comfortable", expect to hear, umm, quite a bit of skepticism.

My old GT mountain bike had a 42t large ring. It was great for almost all situations except for fast descents. I ended up just getting a road bike for that.

Call me odd then because it is. Also speed is important because I have two young children which limits how much time I can spend riding. I also have busy commuting days so I can't spend time crawling along or bike commuting becomes impractical.

Thus I need to be able to maintain over 30 km/h without too much effort as I end up sweating less and this makes it easier to clean up when I get too work. A larger gear ratio does this. If I spin fast all the time - as I like to do in training rides I end up drenched.

I switched the gear set over yesterday. Much nicer. The colors on the crank arms don't match anymore, but I don't care about that. Less incentive for someone to steal it.

It would be even worse with small wheels.