cranks(chain ring)
 

What size chain ring should be used when converting to a single speed from a multi speed-- I see many people use a smaller ring and i am inclined to use the larger( of the two) from a 16 speed set...

please help . . .

No "fixed" rule. Try riding in a single gear with the larger ring and see if you can ride everywhere you need to. Just remember it's better to err on the side of needing to spin more often than to set it up so you're mashing the pedals all the time. Cranking hard at low revs is a lousy way to get in shape and hard on the bike as well.

thanks.. it sounds like you would go with the slightly smaller size rather than the large.....

watcha think . . if i go larger and feel ok .. stay with it and if its a problem change to smaller ring..

or should i go right for the smaller ring... sorry i dont have the sizes .. just imagine a racing road bike (bianchi) with to front discs.... big and medium

i appreciate your advice and would go on your reco. .

jr

Well, it's as I said - try before you commit by putting your bike into a single gear and leaving it there, then see if you can ride where you want to go comfortably. Yes, I would definitely tend toward the smaller one.

To decide what gearing I wanted I rode around on my geared bike on some of my rides, but put it in a single gear and didn't shift. I decided I liked something around a 53/19or20, so to achieve that gearing I use a 47 front/17 rear on one bike (magic gearing to avoid a chain tensioner w/vertical drops), and a 44/16 on the other ('cause I could get a gold 44t ring). You do have to remember that you are limited if you are using a freeewheel on a std hub to a minimum of a 16t rear cog (I do think someone is making a 15 for more $). On a cassette you have more freedom.

I bought a new chainring and cog when I did this.

The argument for the larger ring (and cog / freewheel to match) as opposed to the smaller ring and cog is that larger ring and cog = more teeth in contact with the chain at any given time. While I doubt you're going to kill a drivetrain with the smaller setup, I've heard people argue that. It's more important on SS MTBs, I suppose.