Originally posted by HogWild
Riderx,
Out of idle curiosity, what gear ratio is usually used on single speed bike? While I would imagine that it depends a lot on the rider and the terrain, I'm wondering if you tend to go with a high gear so you don't spin out when going fast, or a lower gear so you have a faster cadence at the lower speeds and on hills? Or do you just take what comes on the bike you get and learn to live with it?
On my MTB (which I ride the most), I run a 2:1 ratio (34x17). Where I ride there are lots of short steep hills mixed w/ some longer drawn out ones, but you get used to it. On the pure flats you are usually recovering from the climbs, so you don't "spin out" to often. For downhills, you can get going pretty good and let gravity take over. As an example, on one of the faster sections of trail I ride I can get 31 mph on my geared bike in
ideal conditions. I can do 27 mph consisently on the single speed through the same section. After a while you learn to carry your speed, pick better lines and use the brakes less.
On my fixed gear road bike I use a 2.47:1 (42x17). This works pretty good as an all around gear although some of the steep downhills cause me to spin like a madman.