Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 11,334
Bikes: 1961 Ideor, 1966 Perfekt 3 Speed AB Hub, 1994 Bridgestone MB-6, 2006 Airnimal Joey, 2009 Thorn Sherpa, 2013 Thorn Nomad MkII, 2015 VO Pass Hunter, 2017 Lynskey Backroad, 2017 Raleigh Gran Prix, 1980s Bianchi Mixte on a trainer. Others are now gone.
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My expedition bike with Rohloff has a 16.5 gear inch low gear with a Schwalbe 559X57 Marathon Extreme tire, 16 tooth rear sprocket and 36 tooth chainring.
I wanted gearing that would be 3.5 mph with a cadence of 72 for my lowest gear, I calculated that I need the 36 tooth chainring based on that goal for cadence and speed. It is too hard to stay upright if I go slower than 3.5 mph (5.63 km/hour), so that is how I selected my desired speed for my lowest gear and if my cadence falls below 72, my pedaling is not as smooth.
I have spun out a few times on gravel with this setup. With that low a gear I have a lot of torque on the rear wheel and when you spin out (lose traction), you come to a halt extremely fast.