Originally Posted by
Rocan
neww here, but ive been browsing for ages.
Ill jump in and say this: im pushing 80.6 gear inches in nyc, and when it comes to races in the park, i still should be pushing a higher gear ratio. if you can push a high ratio, youll be that much stronger when you switch out to a lower one. as it is, i push around 160rpm at 34 or 35 mph... not bad for the downhills in the park, and i can really haul ass up any hill you throw at me.
just to summarize... racers will look at any common "street ratio" and laugh at it. You just cant compete against the guys who can actually push a higher ratio
Well I'm not asking about racing. More than half the fixie riders I see don't do fast group rides or anything of the sort but they run high gears and pedal real slow. This is what I'm curious about. They obviously suck at pushing a high gear but there's some social force that keeps them from using their noodle and gearing down.
I do have a smaller cog on the other side of my wheel for when I want to take my fixed gear on a real fast paced ride. If you're a real fit rider and can haul ass then more power to you with the higher gears. But it still seems like a PITA for normal street riding.