henrymiller

Need gearing advice for my townie, 26” wheels and 1.5 slicks, 175mm cranks, single speed and only going to be used in town. Light to moderate hills and some flats. I have an 18 tooth cog, so I was thinking 42x18 or 38x18, 46x18 feels like my knees are going to explode and its hard to start. I have no clue what to run and any help would be appreciated.

dayvan cowboy

whatever works for you, we can't tell you what you'll like.

jgrant75

26" tires are going to make pushing a gear combo harder than 700c
assuming you have another bike use its gearing to gauge what gear you would think would work best.

you can use your projected speed and how fast you want your legs to move with this:

https://www.fixedgeargallery.com/articles/steve-cadence/

and having an assortment of cogs/chain rings is a nice investment if you can afford it.

henrymiller

Sorry I am a mtn biker, I run 32x16 and 36x20 in the hills. I have beening running 36x16 fixed with 2.4 knobbies as I try and figure out the gearing I need for dirt.

I have to replace the cranks on my new beater due to a cracked drive side spider, and the only cranks I have are compact or 94mm spacing. My stock of rings are all 110mm and mostly for the hills 32 to 39 teeth.

So I need to buy a new ring or a new 110mm crank, I figured a new ring would be cheaper.

I think I may go 42x18

Off to ebay to look for a 110mm drive side crank arm.

jgrant75

42x18 sounds right, it may spin out early on the top end; but its just a townie. it'll be easy to start.

thats what i like about that gearing is that it kinda forces you to slow down and take in the scenery. i rode 40x16 a while thru late fall & winter and it worked great as my spinny bike. if you got a 16t cog (which may be cheaper than a ring) you could rock the 39x16.

you're running brakes right?

henrymiller

Its a beater single speed, rocking the deore dx cantilever brakes. On my fixed mtb, I have a 185mm bb7 and may run a rear brake as soon as I start riding more technical trails.