jhaber

Gonna get a new cog for my winter bike this weekend. There will be snow and ice where I am riding.

I run 70.1 gear inches on my good weather/summer track bike and like it for the hills in town and riding brakeless.

My winter bike is a conversion with 27 " tires and a front break. The bike is also a little big for what it's worth. It has a 40 tooth chain ring so I am either gonna go for a 16t (67.5 gi/2 patches) or 17t cog (63.5 gi/17 patches) cog. I'm leaning towards the 17.

What say you?

Live2Die

holy crap you only run 70 gi in the summer? I run 80+ all summer and winter no lower than 76. If I were you I'd leave it. 70 is plenty low for control IMO

pyze-guy

I ride 42/16 on my mtb in the winter. Still quick enough for dry days and low enough gear that I can move through the snow and slow down easily without fear of skidding on snow/ice. I also like spining more in the cold, helps warm the legs up.

monsieuroctagon

All this talk of gearing is making me reconsider how smart it is to be running 87 gear inches all the time.

skeem

ive never ridden my fixie in the winter, but now i will have to because i commute to school. ive run 42/15 for about a year since i got the bike and i find it to be a very good ratio. i put a 17 tooth on today just to see and it was waaayyy to easy. i think youll probably be ok for the winter with such low ratio/GI- i think the main issue for you (it is with me) should be tires, they make a world of difference. i also think another HUGE problem for you is 27 inch nice tready winter tires. from my experience working in shops quality 27 inch tires are rare and i havent looked but im sure its hard as **** to find nice winter ones.

vobopl

It is individual. I run 38x18 on my winter bike, I used the same one riding offroad with MTB friends this last summer. I had no problem keeping up with them at 20 mph (120RPM) on medium (50 km) rides. It definitely helps your spin - it does feel to easy when you switch from road like gearing, well it feels too hard switching the other way. That sensation is short lived, though.

divineAndbright

You don't want a tire with any treading on it trust me. Ive rode 27" tires for about 3 winters so far using slicks w/o issue, I also live in northern ontario. I was thinking of just running 23cs this winter, though they will probably be too skinny

jhaber

I got very narrow 27" tires with no tread on my winter bike. This was advised by the guy at a bike shop in Toronto that used to courier during the winter.