What gear inch do you all ride? I currently ride a 46x15 which is about an 85 i believe but am switching to a 46x16 which will make it 76...will i notice any difference?

Correction:46/15x23c tire(26.275") = ~80.6 gi


Yes, you will notice the difference; it'll be easier to climb hills and your knees will be happy.

check out https://sheldonbrown.com/gears/

You can see the gear inches, speed, or gain ratio for all combinations.

I used to run 46x15. My knees were killing me... it sucks for street use. I bumped it down to 46x17, then 44x17, then back up to 48x17 (around 75 GI, I think).

I think anything from ~70-75 GI is good for street use.

THE gear calculator for fixed gear bikes:

https://software.bareknucklebrigade.c...it.applet.html

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I have ridden every gear and tire combination from 56 gear inches to 82 gear inches.

They each have merit.

Most factory complete bikes come with 78 gear inches.

I consider 72 gear inches the best all around for a young, powerful rider.

I presently ride at 63 gear inches, which, because I have learned to spin, gives me a surprising amount of speed.

Sixty-three gear inches also makes it possible to ride brakeless without skidding.

Very precise, agile at low speeds, and, if tires allow, useful on dirt.

thanks for all the feedback! i think i might just get a 16t cog and a 17t cog and try them both out to see which one i like better

I was running 44x17 for a while and I loved it. High enough that you can spin down a hill fast, but low enough that you can go back up it.

70s for the skreets.

80s for longer, pleasure cruises.

Flat here.

48x17, I live in San Francisco.

48/17 for fast paced rides where I'll be burning myself to exhuastion, 48/19 for everything else. I can't spin long or fast enough for some rides on 19. Although I met an extremely cool fixie rider here who rolls 45/18 and he's mashing with a pack of roadies.

49/16 here in columbus (82.7). Its pretty flat. Let me check my gear ratio poster

52x16 or 88 gear inches for my SS. I have a few hills but nothing too steep. An 8% grade is about all I can take before my back goes out.

46x17 for every day snow commuting. 48x17 in the summer.

Where did you find that postet!!!???

currently for winter I ride, 700x38c wheel with a 34x14 drivetrain. so 66.7 gi

Have run 48x16, 48x15 was okay in a flat town, but when i got home i had to go to 43x15, but then i sold the bike, i think i'm running 46x16 now but i can't be bothered to count I've got two steep hill in my commute. with 46x16 i can crank up them both easyily, limits the top speed in the way down unless your willing to spin like a mad man, so make sure your saddle height is set properly.

I found one tooth made a surprisingly large change in gearing,

https://www.vengist.com/collection/ch...o-gear-ratios/

I just ordered my fixed gear bike, I wont have it until Monday. It's coming with 80.6 gi, which seems pretty high for me. I think I'm going to switch it to 73.6. There's not too many hills around me, but there is quite a bit of wind. Also I tend to average about a cadence of about 100, which will be plenty fast on 73.6 if I'm not mistaken (about 22mph?).

Does anybody have any suggestions for 42t 130bcd chainrings?

I live in Portland. Hills if I want them, as well as many flat routes. I just switched from 46x16 to 48x16 to finally 48x19. Big difference!! Took about a week to get the hang of it. Way easier now to mash away from stops and up hills. 48x16 was fast as hell for me (on the flats), not to mention the strain on my knees (starting and stopping). 48x19 now makes hills seem flat. Spin, Spin, Spin. Only thing is out of saddle mashing feels a bit unproductive? My G.F. runs 46x20 and she keeps up with me??? (more hills on her commute). Anyways spinning is better for you knees and in no time you will have thighs like this guy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-fqo...eature=related

These are good economical SSFG chainrings >>> https://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...&category=2629

Thanks!

In the off season I have my cross bike setup "dingle" with 38x20 and 42 x 17 (both free). I use the bigger gear (mid 60s) for commuting and dirt roads, and I have the lower gear (mid 50s) for real off road situations. It hasn't seen use yet, but probably will come spring. Fixed road and dirt road riding I use around 68 to mid 70s, depending on route, length, and how I'm feeling.

80 GI is way too high for most use by most people. Maybe on a flat group ride on the road, but even 42 x 15 gets you close to 27mph at 120 rpms, and that's only 74 GI. At 90 RPMs it's 20mph. I consider myself something of a masher but some of the gearing I've seen people use just makes no sense. I see so many people riding fixies around town never getting above like 70 RPMs unless they're going downhill.

Keep in mind that when old school time trialists went out to do 25 miles in an hour they were rocking 76 gear inches.

I have done this very thing on my vintage fixed gear running... wait for it...

76 gear inches.

Most people could learn to develop their pedal stroke and increase spin as you want to stay in your aerobic range as much as possible and higher gears will force you to become anaerobic.

been running 42x16 for the last couple of years for hills and what not but felt like a change and a little bit more of a work out and switched it up to 48x16 which is a bit tougher but halls on flats just did a 30 miler with it the other day and yes the hills were a bit brutal but overall I liked it and didnt feel too bad after haha.

Newbie here with a question: if you run the same gear inches but with a different cog/chainring does it feel the same? I.e 51/17,48/16, 45/15. I ran 48/15 over the weekend and that was hell and I'm now looking for a better combo.