Just did a singlespeed conversion. 42/17 gearing. I just happened to have a 42. I am new to ss and find climbing with this combo is perfct, even border line tough. Flats and slight downhil however, l find me not being able to spin fast enough to gain speed. I pretty much top out at 21 mph on the flats. Any suggestions on which chainring I should switch out? Thanks!

I ride 46x17. It's hard up hills but I can handle. Good all around I think.

i ride a 42x16 and like it as an all around gear even though im about to drop to a 15 in the back. like someone on here once told me, rear cogs are cheaper so experiment with those.

i normally ride 48-17 but have since dropped down to 44-17 now that the weather is colder and my knees were starting to hurt.

get a 46t chainring. you'll be fine.

I ride Colorado hills with 48/16 and want something higher for coming down but dont think I could climb with anything bigger.

Are the rear cogs easier to change than a chain wheel?

I think that depends on whether you can remove your chainring without removing the whole crankarm (I can't).

i think its about the same if you have the proper tools. neither one is time consuming. but if you make changes a lot i would go with multiple cogs than multiple chain wheels.

+1

Not to mention that one could have two cogs out back and simply flip the wheel.

Buy a handful of the cheapest rear cogs you can find. Test until you find the ratio you want. Sell off cheap cogs and buy a good one in the size you like.

Smrt.

What crank do you have?

Thats just the way I did it in the beginning. I bought 8 no name cogs from J&B Importers for around $2 each. I went from 14 to 21t. I found out that with a 48t chainring, I liked the 16t cog the best (At the time). Sold off the cheap ones and bought a Dura-Ace cog.

I have a Sram red crank with a 42 ROTOR chainring. The 42 was off a TT bike. I liked the idea of a SS to improve strength, so I put together all my extra parts. Ended up with a BMC aluminum Road Racer frame, Sram Red crank, 3T fork and stem, Profile design bullhorn handlebars, Ultegra brakes, Mavic deepdish wheelset, Most seat post, and selle italia gel flow seat.(quite a combo). I already want to ride the SS over my two road bikes. just something fun about, SIMPLE! Thanks for all the suggestions, and the serious replys were welcomed.( YOU have to go through about 15 worthless replies in Road biking to get a suggestion that is serious or helpful) I thonk i will try the 46x17 combo, will have to work harder on the climbs, and should give me a little more push on the flats and downhills. Again thanks for the input!!

me to..i have a problem with that. im also a single speeder but slow on flats and fast on hils

Rear cogs are easier/cheaper to change, unless you already have the parts on hand. I guess you are using a tensioner.

BMC??? sounds sweet! post a photo.

If you really want to develop, why not get a new rear wheel with a track hub spaced to 130mm so you can go fixed. It's best to not use a tensioner for fixed cogs, so if you build the rear wheel with a White industrys Eno eccentric hub, you can get good tension with vertical dropouts.

Fixed is good for training, because it forces you to develop you spinning technique, which it seems (via consensus on the matter) makes you a faster rider. Isn't that why Lance trains with a FG???

SS is good, but downhill you can just coast, which doesn't help the training much I am sure.

Correction: you can't use a tensioner for fixed

The flip side of that coin is it allows you to be ultra lazy between on the 6-12'oclock position of the pedal stroke because you don't need to actually push to get it through. Cranks spin themselves.

My bike started out 42-17 but after a while I went to 42-15. I keep a 16T freewheel cog on the flipside.

With that sprocket ratio you should be able to take off spinning the rear tire and lofting the front wheel in the air! I ride all flat land and really want super fast topend. I switched cranksets last night from a 16/48 to a 16/52, also going down from a 170mm arm to a 165, I just ordered a 14 tooth freewheel for even more top speed, looking to get well into the 30's.

if you can't go any faster than 21mph with a 42/17 the problem isn't the gearing its your legs, that's only 105rpm which you should be able to do. I ride the same gearing and have no problems hitting 30mph on downhills and 25mph in the flats and I'm old

wrong.

I dont get how people can ride 42s on the street. I get it if you are into feestyle and trick riding but for getting around, I just dont see it unless you like going slow and at a high cadence.

I started off rding fixed with a 48-16. Briefly, I tried 48-18 and found it spun out way to easily. Now Im riding 48-15 and loving it. Uphills are a mashfest but man does it pay off onthe downhills and flats.

because you can't spin. I run 48:19 and comfortably ride at 18-20 mph