Originally Posted by
roughrider504
What you want is a larger rear cog. Most of the older three speeds are geared high with the stock gear ratio, yours probably is too, and a larger rear cog will fix that.
The bigger the rear cog is [more teeth], the lower your first gear will be. I will guess and say the current cog is a 18t, or close to it. You can get up to a 23t cog, which will lower the gear ratio nicely.
oh wow, I am glad I am asking because I think I had the relationship backwards (but wasn't even sure what I thought.)
Thank you.
hmmm, mine is a new bike with the new SA which is made in Taiwan or something I think. Does that change anything?
What are the cog sizes used generally by people now hauling heavy-ish loads? You see, I don't think it'll matter for me if the 3rd gear is like the 2nd currently, or even the one if that means I can pedal without my legs giving out. (How do I count the teeth? Do I count them 123 or is it less straightforward than that?) My reasoning is that I think it might be easy for someone to misjudge the pedaling dificulty for me, and I don't don't know how the sizes relate. So examples of the range people use would help me understand better. I guess there is a point that makes the size matter for the mechanics itself too, and not to be simply chosen by me?
Sorry for being so confused...