Originally Posted by monkeyking (Post 7935871)

Here's a good source for caculating: http://software.bareknucklebrigade.c...it.applet.html
I ride 50x19 (69 GI) on my Panasonic and 46x16 (75 GI) on my Gan Well, both brakeless (in Dallas which is also pretty flat). Personally if I were running a 48, I'd probably go with a 17 cog for the skid patches and 74 GI is pretty reasonable for flatter terrain.

Originally Posted by adriano (Post 7937309)

how long are your crank arms?

Originally Posted by onetwentyeight (Post 7938433)

been running 45x17 for the last year.. i like to climb.

Originally Posted by Jabba Degrassi (Post 7934134)

Your girlfriend has never complained.

Originally Posted by adriano (Post 7937309)

how long are your crank arms?

Originally Posted by mangpress (Post 7942379)

the thing with crank arm length and gears is that, longer arms <i>should</i> effectively give you more leverage over the gear while a shorter arm gives you a smaller circumference to spin through.

sprinters tend to run shorter cranks, while pursuiters and endurance riders (on the track anyway) run longer crank lengths.

there is little to suggest any of this will affect your performance any more than drinking goat milk prior to a crit.

Originally Posted by bbattle (Post 7943329)

Whatever works for you; go for it. I've seen some bikes with insanely high gearing and knew it was all for show; the rider was not that good. A good rider had his bike running a 52 - 15 for one race. It was funny to see him get started, he did a running start. Once he got it cranked up he was gone. Until it came time to slow down or stop. Had to work hard to control that beast. Then it was another block of getting up to speed. He changed to a more manageable gear after that.

Originally Posted by adriano (Post 7931658)

this seemed on topic enough, but should i just start a new thread?

im brakeless and want to be able to accelerate and skid more quickly and easily, but i dont want to really cut my top speed or spin like a top all day. i ride in urban philadelphia, which is almost all flat and favoring acceleration and deceleration on demand over consistent top speed. when i run, i like the a 1600m pace but not the 800m as i have great endurance over a distance with poorer endurance as the force per stride increases. i think i can handle a higher spin well as long as the gearing doesn't require as much force as it does now. im at 48x16 right now, which is a bit much for me at 145 despite strong legs, if i do say so. the current difficulty in braking and my locale dont let me really use the top end much anyway, but the lower revolutions is nice. ill be maintaining 48t with either my current chainring or a friends so the change will be in the cog.

assuming 170mm crank arms, 44x17 is about 48x18.5. i have 165mm arms, which i think increases the ratio slightly, so your 44x17@170 is about 48x19@165. ive read up and heard a lot of different arguements for 48x17, x18, and x19. 19t too low speed, high spin? 18t still hard to accelerate or skid and poor skid patch count? for me, i think its between 18t and 19t, but thats my guess. should i just man up and wrangle 80+ inches? i could buy slew of cogs and see what works, but thats not financially possible. im trying to make the most educated, and preferably one-time, cog purchase. after fording my verbiage, whats your take and why? personal experience preferred; haters can lick me bollocks, haha.

Originally Posted by Philadelph (Post 7948522)

You should go with 48x18 imo. 48x17, although tempting for the skid patches will still feel a little slow to accelerate/decelerate, and could be a bit tough on some steeper climbs. I wouldn't worry so much about the skid patches, because most likely you will be able to just use backpressure easily with the 48x18 combo. Putting an 18t cog on will feel like heaven, and you will be surprised how fast you can go by spinning.

Originally Posted by millhouse7912 (Post 7961720)

Currently riding 48X16 - little low for me and even though I like the speed I find it a bit too hard to stop/skid. I want to be able to stop and skid with a bit more ease so I guess I have a couple questions...

Do more skid patches make it easier to skid? or just even out (create more spots for) the ware on the tires?

Would gearing to 48X17, 46X17 allow me to skid/stop easier?

THANKS all...

Originally Posted by spray2020 (Post 7962467)

Maybe someone on here could give some advice-

I went from 41 x 17 to 44 x 17 and now I am also having issues skid stopping

i guess i got used to the other ratio, and found that I was very easy to skid, even almost sitting down and skidding

any advice to skid easy with my new setup? I guess i gotta just lean more forward?

Originally Posted by frankiedee (Post 7962674)

right now i'm running a 40x16 with 170mm cranks and i have a lot of trouble skidding, should i bump up to 17 or 18 or should i bee looking for 44 or 46?

Originally Posted by frankiedee (Post 7962796)

i lean forward, and i can lock up my wheel, but instead of skidding, my back tire just skips to a stop.

Originally Posted by frankiedee (Post 7962674)

right now i'm running a 40x16 with 170mm cranks and i have a lot of trouble skidding, should i bump up to 17 or 18 or should i bee looking for 44 or 46?