Originally Posted by gaytrash

in terms of skid stopping, gear ratios make more sense in terms of leverage: if you have a 14t cog on your wheel and a 52t chainring, your cranks would probably have enough leverage to break bones without even going too fast. closer to equal teeth makes pedaling, and backpedaling easier. so you can get a BIGGER cog or SMALLER chainring. chainring will be easiest to change out, though there are a few different BCD sizes.

the ratio is how many times the wheel rotates when the cranks make a full rotation. 14x52 would be almost 4:1, most people who ride fixed like it between 2 and 3