Roscoe 8 Slow
 

Hey folks. Bought a Roscoe 8. Love it, but feels underpowered on flats. Do I pursue a bigger chainring or additional chainring and front derailleur?

I'd start with a larger chainring. What's on it now and how is the low end for climbing?

Install more powerful motor. Gearing changes torque, but not power.

It's a 30 tooth in the front. Plenty in the back for climbing. Thinking of going to a 34 in front.

What do you mean by “under powered“? Are you spinning out?

Unless you are spinning out your top gear, I am not clear what a larger chainring is going to achieve for you.

That’s easy to try and not expensive. Just make sure there’s enough chain left

Thanks everyone. I guess from what you are saying is I need more torque. Bottom line, I am always in the low end of the cassette and I feel like I’m working harder than I should need to. Forgive my lack of knowledge.

If by "low end of the cassette" you mean the largest cogs (which are the lowest gears), then a larger ring will not help. With a larger ring you will end up using even lower gears (bigger cogs) in the rear. If you are not using the higher gears, you may actually consider a smaller ring.

However, I don't think your issue is gearing, unless the issue is that you are often stuck between gears (one is too low, the next up is too high), in which case you need a more tightly spaced cassette. But I am a little doubtful that is the issue.

Ultimately, I think the issue is either the engine (your legs) and/or something else about the bike is really slow. It is a hard tail, so it is probably not the suspension. Does this have Maxxis Rekon tires? I would think those are decently fast rolling, but plus tires can be heavy. Heavy wheels/tires can make a bike feel slow, particularly if you are on and off the gas a lot.