Depending on how long his drop out slots are, he may not need to shorten his chain to go from 52 to 45 since he said he was at the front of the drop out with the 52.


You'll be going from 81 inches to 70 going from a 52/17 to a 45/17. A dramatically more hill friendly gearing. You can calculate gear inches here: http://allcitycycles.com/ click on "GEAR" on lower right