replace the chainring or replace the cog?
 

Hey guys,
I picked up a Kona Paddy Wagon for bombing around the city and have really been enjoying the ride. The Kona replaced an older Fuji frame that was converted to fixed gear cause it didn't quite fit me right. I kinda wish I would have just built a bike from scratch to really learn my way around my machine, but the deal was too good to pass up, so I jumped. Although, after looking at all these nice bikes on here I don't think it will be long till I pick up a project bike. Anyway, I digress...

The bike came setup with a 42T/16 setup and it just feels slow without me mashing on the pedals all the time. My old Fuji had 165mm crank arms and a 46t sprocket, on the back was a 15t cog... it was great for flat land but hitting the hills was a pain. I am looking at replacing either the chainring or the COG for a different ratio and I wanted some thoughts on the overall gain of doing either of those options. I was looking on Rabbit cycle calculator as was thinking that a gear ratio of 5.4 (roughly 75 inches) would be a happy medium.

If I get a 15t cog then I would gain the gear ratio that I'm looking for, but the number of skid patches reduces significantly, but going to a 46t Chainring sounds a bit more expensive. I would love to hear what you guys have to say.


Forgive me if this post doesn't make sense and take it easy on me...I'm trying to learn.

The cog; it's cheaper.
And along the way you can replace the aluminum formula lockring that comes with it for a bombproof dura ace machined steel one for just around $20 extra.

I'm sure you mean GAIN ratio and not gear, gear ratio of 5.4 is like 60/11.

I'd change the chainring, for one it will have more teeth to share the load, second smaller cogs wear faster and lastly, I think larger-looking drivetrain looks better.

Do you still have your Fuji conversion? Can you just swap out the chainring?

Change them both to 47 X 17 for 72.7 gear inches.

For a young rider, I consider 72 gear inches the best all around gear ratio.

That gives you 17 skid patches, but stop skidding anyway.

And, instead of going up in gear ratio in order to go faster, learn to spin.

Change them both to 47 x 18 for 68.6 gear inches.

For any rider, I consider ~68 gear inches the best all around ratio.

That gives you 18 skid patches, but stop skidding anyway.

And, instead of going up in gear ratio to go faster, learn to spin.

*Apologies to Mr. Cox if I sound like a dick.

If the PW has the original 28s it'll be 69.9 with 47/18 ;)

After a second look on Rabbit I did indeed mean GAIN ratio. Thanks for the correction.

I sold the bike. Kinda wishing I didn't at this point. I should have just sold the frame and kept all the other parts. Although, the guy who bought the bike sure did seem happy, and it felt good to see another person embrace the bicycle as a mode of transportation in Milwaukee.

Can't say I skid much as it is. I usually try to back pedal to slow down as much as possible. You and Squirrelli make a good point about learning to spin. I will certainly keep that in mind.

No problem.

You can't help it.

As for the best all around street gear ratio for ANY rider, I nomimate 63 gear inches.

I know that sounds absurdly low to most fellow forumites.

I got that gear ratio from a web site addressing off road fixed gear bikes.

http://www.63xc.com/

They made a very good argument for that gear ratio, and so I tried it.

At first it seemed way too low, but as I learned to spin, I eventually found my trip times around town coming up to my times at higher gear ratios.

Presently I have three fixed gear bikes: one at 82 gear inches (with front brake) for a specific commute; one at 63 gear inches (no brakes) for around town; and, one at 59 gear inches (front and rear brakes) for unplowed snow.

During my experiments with gear ratios, I found that I could successfully ride without using my brake or skidding at a maximum of 72 gear inches, but just barely.

At my age and weight, 72 gear inches does not represent a practical gear ratio for me, as I cannot reliably brake nor adequately accelerate.

However, I think a young, strong rider of normal to light body weight could easily ride at 72 gear inches without skidding or using his front brake.

I submit that in normal urban riding (normal, for me, meaning stopping for red lights and rolling stops at stop signs), a young athletic rider at 72 gear inches will match trip times with a similar rider at 82 gear inches.

82 gear inches offers raw speed and efficiency on long uninterrupted flats; and, 72 gear inches offers control, agility, braking and acceleration.

And 63 gear inches gets me accross an intersection in the blink of an eye.

Or so it seems to me.