marcusprice

ooh! good to know. im actually going to be living in hillcrest and working in spring valley... are there routes to get to and from?

BRANDUNE

I used to live in Golden Hill before I lived here and worked in Mission Gorge, that ride is a ***** on the way home

SD Fixed

Yes. Pretty good ones. Email me, I can give you details of what I've found.

marcusprice

thanks =)

Crash716

everything west of the 805 is a hill....just that..albeit some steep hills, but few things over 700' or 1 mile.....the other side...mountains....of course...i don't even know if i am allowed to post in here as i am on a roadie....

k3nho

my favorite: 46X17 or 49X18. . . about 73 gear inches.

Rajer

what about that hill in that car scene in top gun?

marcusprice

haha, ive only walked down that hill. i almost tripped.

would a 43x16 spin too fast? ive never ridden anything that small
maybe a 45x16? would it make me a wimp? which is better, megaman 2 or 3?

SD Fixed

Is that banker's hill?

SD Fixed

You know how I think about gear inches there k#nho...


Hey, another two cool shops: Big Ring Cyclery

And

Veloculture (though I've never been I've heard nothing but good about the place)...

Ask K3nho, he likes the place pretty much.

thegreatwent

I used to live in Golden Hill and getting out of there (towards North Park) was a pain in the a**. Coming home, however, was fine because it was all downhill.


I live in North Park now and I'm riding 48x18 as I'm recovering from an injury.
Prior to that I was riding 48x17 and it felt pretty good. Good balance between top speed and ability to climb. I started out on lower gears, and increased slowly as my strength and stamina increased.
I tried 48x16 for a week or so and found it was just too much for the hills and my knees.
It made the knees ache a bit.
I think somewhere around 70 - 75 gear inches and you should be fine.
Ultimately, you'll just have to ride around after you get situated and see what feels right for you.

jodypolk

i switch between 45/15 & 45/17 on one ride and 46/16 on another...

70-80 is fine.

Mr. Samsa

46x17
47x17
VELO CULTURE IS THE BEST lbs in San Diego....the rest dont compare for fixed/track/singlespeed bicycles.
'nough said

marcusprice

thanks, guys. i have a 48x16 right now. but, i also have a 45 chainring i can put on.

efficiency

I ride a 48x18. San Diego is basically a series of mesas, so on any of the mesas it's really flat, but if you drop into any of the valleys, expect to climb back out. I find 48x18 is a bit too low for the flat part, but all the hills are do able without extreme difficulty. It helps to know alternate, less steep roads, like Bachman Place instead of Texas Street or Grape Street instead of Laurel.

Pancho Urbano

I ride 42x16 single speed, which is kind of spinning of the flats but gets me up Juan St. and Bachman. My brohter rides 48x16 and uses Washington Street. I'm often riding from Linda Vista/Clairemont to uptown (hillcrest, university heights, north park, etc.) and I find the freewheel and an easier gear ratio to be pretty important for the climbing I do. I spin around the beaches and downtown, but that's OK.

IF you will ride uptown, or stay downtown/old town/beaches (up until La Jolla) you will be riding mostly flat. If you have Mission Gorge, Torrey Pines, or up and down mission valley hills than think of something that will help you climb.

Wear a helmet and have your front brake installed - I grew up in SD and folks aren't very bike conscious. Especially folks new arrived or visiting from the sunbelt. Can't tell you how many AZ plated cars have almost hit me - often young idiots in their SUVs with the music playing, A/C blaring, on their way to their Mission Beach weeklong rental to cause nothing but trouble to locals before they head back to their cubicles in Pheonix. Sorry for the bitterness.

beakgeek

I used to hate summer since PB was inundated with zonies. Although, they had some cute daughters to lessen the hate ;-)

I still despise zonies after all these years.

BRANDUNE

Those god damned "Zonies"!!!!!!!