I'm building up a SS for my sister for her college graduation gift in May and I'm completely clueless as to what gear length to put on her bike. She's pretty small (48cm frame), lives in a mountainous area, and doesn't cycle all that often (I'm hoping this bike will change that.). Having said that, she is fairly athletic and strong (very much a short and stout person).

The bike I'm building is an old Trek steel road frame with 700c wheels. Like I said, I'm going to make it SS as she will be using it as her around town commuter bike.

What size gearing would you girls (or guys in the know) guess is appropriate? (Like I said, I'm lost. I know waht gear inch I push, but I'm a 6' male who's been riding for a few years.) I'm thinking something like 39x17 or so. What size gearing are you SS/fixed females pushing? Thanks!

my girlfriend whose 5' 3" pushes 63 (40X17) on 27" wheels, in pittsburgh which is has alot of steep hills. so i think anything between 60 and 70 is good to start, get her a smaller cog if she spins out to much.

put a 44 or 42 up front and an 18 out back... give a 16 tooth cog as well and the tool to change em...

that's the advice i give to people building bikes as gifts...

teaches em to work on it as well as ride it...

old treks are really nice frames. their collectibility is growing just like miyata and bridgestone frames. we americans should keep on buying up vintage treks and keep them in our storeholds until the japanese collectors come out on ebay (taki59). i cant think of any american based builders who made such good lugged steel stuff back in the day who totally doesnt in the least anymore like trek

Well, I think my GF rides about 70 inches, but then again she was used to probably 80 or 90 inches on a Dunelt roadster.

I'd agree with high 60s or low 70s... possibly more in the 60s for mountain-land.

Cool. I've got two Miyata frames: a fixed 914 roadie (early 90s) and an 86/87 Team model w/ full campy 14 speed setup.

I saw a 70s Trek at goodwill awhile ago for $10 and I'm kicking myself. They make extremely sexy fixies, in my opinion. Someone in the neighborhood's got one...lust grows daily...

i' m riding 43 up front and 15 in the back, not too high and not too low. I ride in SF sometimes but i dont have to climb massive hills on the daily

Wow. You must be stong.

Thanks for the input everyone. I really appreciate it.

i started with a 48x20 to a 42x16 now i'm riding a 45x16 and very comfortable with it

My housemate's on about 68" for hilly Devon, same as me. That seems to work, more or less. At the end of the day, cogs are cheap if you get it wrong