Northendfixie

I use a fixie to commute ( about 14 km each way on reasonably flat ground) and I was running 46:16 , then 46:18, now trying 46:19 (tyring to spin at a higher rate... better on knees, better aerobically etc.) Hhow does that fit with you?

Thriller!

Whatever feels good for you brah. Spinning higher will be better for fitness if you can keep your speed up. Unsure about knee health. Use https://software.bareknucklebrigade.c...it.applet.html to work out gear inches, will tell you speeds at various cadences too

icrose

Was running 48/18 but wanted to give brakeless a shot. Current setup:
For the city: 38/15 66.6GI 15 skid patches
For the track: 48/15 84.1GI

beardzilla

I got my fuji with the semi-standard 48/16 which was too steep for my daily commute. I swapped out the 16 for a surley 19t which made it perfect for daily ride. my gear inches now are ~68, whereas previously there were in the 80s.

dervish

currently got 48X14 on one bike and 50x18 on the other

noely

Been running 49/16 for the longest time, seems about right for me.

walkthedog420

46 19. i get my spin on.

Ken Cox

I have ridden everything from 82 gear inches to 54 gear inches.

A while back I had a few months of medical treatments that took some of the steam out of me, and I geared down to 39 X 17, for 60 gear inches.

I now that sounds ridiculously low for most people, but I had to do that or not ride at all.

Anyway, my spin improved enormously, and now that my health has recovered, meaning, now that I have red blood cells again, I literally FLY at 60 gear inches.
In fact, because of my improved spin, I think I go as fast now at 60 gear inches as I formerly went at 72 gear inches.

So, a month ago my saddle slipped backwards on the post, and I didn't notice...except...my knees started hurting, and especially my right knee so that it hurt to walk.

I went to my regular Physical Therapist and he aske do see my bike.
He noticed the saddle had slid back about three quarters of an inch.
We moved the saddle forward to its normal position and the knee pain went away in one day.

andre nickatina

I hate sliding **** in the seat area!

But Ken... those are big words. I'm fairly sure I could smoke you with my 73" gear vs. your 60". A 13" jump is a huge amount. If you were running 86" and I 73" I'd be the loser then.

BenATX

44x15

deadforkinglast

46x17 on one bike and 32x13 on the other. 32x13 is soon to be dismantled and reassembled as a touring bike.

ralphm2k

46:16.
Kind of easy...good in the wind.

ryansexton

But he said he could go as fast then as he could now. Ken Cox is an older dude, and you'd probably smoke him riding any gear inches. I don't think upping your gear inches to 86" really makes you that much faster, because in the street it'd make it too hard to gain momentum, you'd suck on any slight up hill, and your muscles would get too physically strained. If he was spinning 80 RPM before, and is spinning 140 RPM now, then yes, he would be going faster.

vobopl

38/18 on 32mm tires makes 58 GI - this is winter/off road - tried that on wet pavement (60k in 2:15), too
50/17 on 21mm tires makes 77 GI - suburban commuter (32k round trip, slightly hilly)
48/18 on 23mm tires makes 70 GI - in the city, brakeless track

hiredgoons

THIS HAS NEVER BEEN ASKED BEFORE, EVER.

Also, around 60" atm.

trentschler

Although it's counterintuitive, I've also found that my overall and average speed is faster with a lower gear. Even though my top-end speed on the flats is limited, I'm much quicker up hills with a good spin than with a chug-chug-chug in a taller gear. But I also run a freewheel so I can get away with coasting downhill and I don't have to maintain an outrageous spin. I'm running 42 x 18 x 165 mm cranks x 25 mm tires (62").

idiq

It's all going to be up to you... what you're used to and such. If you want to develop a really high cadence and just spin, go with a lower gear-inch gearing, if you want to go down hills without spinning out, then don't go with super low gear-inches.

I have a fixed/fixed wheelset and I run a 46 up-front, and 16/18 in the back. I chose this because 18 is roughly 70 gear-inches, 16 is roughly 80 gear-inches, and if I do an alleycat I can throw on a 14/15. A 46-14 is awfully close in gear-inches to a 49-15, but gives you more of a flexibility in the front.

I like this setup because I can go for more of a spinning/cadence setup (18), my regular commuting/riding/around town (16), and higher gear-inches if I want to run an alleycat or such.

Flimflam

46:17 for 71GI on 23s. Perfect for all my riding so far.

jdms mvp

48/17 - FTP
49/17 - Nagasawa

trelhak

48x16 commute/train/warmup on track
48x14 most mass start races
40x16 singlespeed cyclocross
50x14 pursuit/tt events

kennykaos

52x18

maddyfish

My utility bike, that carries heavy groceries and tow a trailer 42-20, my fair weather commuter 42-16.

joaos

46x20 (56")- very easy track stand and acceleration from stop lights.

beatnik

50 x18 on road fix
40x15 on mt.bike fix
cheers

smp22

48x15
freewheelin