Originally Posted by
_Ben_
^ That seems pretty brutal, but a high gear would definitely get you around quicker. 80 gear inches i would say.
Actually, not. Not in my case at least.
With high gear, my top speed is definately faster. But looking at my average speed over 30 minutes, it is faster with a lower gear.
My "low" gear is 42x16. Yeah, I ride 48x14 (and many others) on the track, but that doesn't work well on the street. The higher gearing takes longer to get up to speed, and doesn't get my rpm really in the sweet spot (unless I'm really in a hurry). even smaller changes like 42x15 make me slower. It just takes longer to get up to speed (and riding fixed probably longer to slow down).
In the end, my average speed is faster with the 42x16, where I am riding 90-100rpm and going 19-20mph.