48x18 sucks
 

well, i hate to be the guy to make the "im going to change my gearing" thread. But I actually want peoples input.

Took some time off fixed, and just road my geared bike. Upon getting back in to fixed, I feel like my gear ratio is way to low.

Has any one ever had 48x18 and one day was like "dude this totally sucks" and went to a smaller cog?

i would go 17 or 16 on your cog.

I wish I could try out multiple gearing with out putting cogs on and off.

I have it on my conversion, i can spin it out pretty fast but i also live in a very hilly area. plus if skid a lot and drop down to a 17 you'll get like 32 as opposed to 4, but i don't know how much faster you'll go on 1 less back tooth.

i don't skid, i started to learn, I live on a dirt road, so when ever I come home I try to skid, but don't have tools to tighten them up yet until my next pay check. But even so, skidding isn't important to me right now.

I have pretty powerful legs and still find it bit cumbersome to ride 48 x 16.

Wouldn't it be more comfortable on flat terrain though?

So try a 17, what's the big deal?

What size chaingring is on your roadbike? Possibly just use the different cogs on that to get the feel? Or are you in an area that has multiple shops with ss/fg bikes that might have different ratios? Or they would even change out some cogs for you to test? IMO there is no magic number for everybody, due to location/physiology/riding type, so you'll have to figure out a way to test different sizes.

Personally I don't mind having a few size cogs in my toolbox. Changes up my pace, can use them for different types of rides, and even just change them out to give me a different cadence to aim at.

I was expecting all the internet bike nerds (like my self) to be all "ya I hate 48x18 too, get rid' of that ****."

What are you talking about why?

Are you trolling? Ride a road bike.

yah i think 48x18 is it pretty much sucks as well i rock a 14 myself n skidz

You live in a pretty flat area? that seems like a killer ratio.

We all troll these dumb threads.

Get on a fully equipped bike, work those clickers until it feels shweet and count the teeth. You're almost done--use 4th grade math to find out what cog you need to screw on.

fail.

I guess it depends on the terrain. Sorry for wasting everyones time.

I run 48X18. Finished middle of the pack at a recent sprint night (everyone there was either a messenger or someone who's a pretty dedicated cyclist), have tons of energy to do 50+ mile rides without getting fatigued and I hit 35mph going downhill last night. It's a good gearing, a more likely explanation is that you suck at spinning.

some times i get eat-alive in my threads.

Keep the 18, but go with a 47.:rolleyes:

at least you didn't go the other side of dumb like me and think that 46/15 would be a good start...never could spin my cadence past 60 unless i was on a hill....i spent an hour today on 46/17 and I felt like I had new legs

Weird, I'm exactly the opposite. I started out with 46/17, it was a nice ratio but I felt like I was spinning way too fast going down hills and I felt like I couldn't reach a very high top-speed without pedaling like crazy. About a month or so into riding, I switched it over to 46/15 and feel like it's an almost perfect ratio/gearing for me. Going down hills, I still spin pretty fast but it's much more manageable than 46/17 and I could finally reach some pretty nice top-speeds without pedaling like crazy.

I live in Iowa which is for the most part flat, but has some pretty big hills every once and a while. What do most people prefer in generally flat areas? Lower gearing with high cadence RPM or higher gearing?

I live in a coastal glacial moraine area (lots of short steep hills) that regularly has 20mph winds coming from some direction, 72 inches is perfect for my morning commute, which starts with 100 feet of climbing in 1/10th of a mile. The rest of my hills are normally more gradual which hasn't caused me to spin out (yet anyway)

I run 47x18. It's great.

No it's a sucky gearing because you can't skid on it without destroying your tire in a week. Plus it's a low(ish) geariong, i suggest 48/17.

Why ya in such a hurry? biking is such a glorious form of transportation, I like to chill and take my time : )