# What´s your gear ratio?



## 362 (May 22, 2009)

Hi, I´m new here and I just built my first fixie. Where I live there are only shops for mountain bikes so I had to build it with what I could find and a tight budget, so I didn´t get anything fancy. However I´m loving my new bike, it´s the most fun thing in the world  

So my question really is what´s your gear ratio. Mine is 42/16 which feels just a bit hard to start pedalling but once you gain some speed it turns a bit too soft. But it feels good most of the time so I´m guessing it´ll take a while to get used to it and then maybe I can go higher, after all I´ve been riding a single speed bike only for a week.

But I´m still wondering what´s the gear ratio that more experienced have in their bikes? 

cheers!


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## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

I run a 46/16 fixed with a 17 free on the other side for when I have strayed too far from home.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

42 x 16, 45 x 17 and 50 x 19...all yield 70 gear inches....


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## ukiahb (Jan 26, 2003)

49 x 18, about 73 GI nearly all the time......occasionally use the 17 cog on the other side of the hub, 49 x 17 = 77 GI


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## seeborough (Feb 3, 2004)

I run 46x20 free /19 fixed on #1 (commuter), 49x18 free on #2 and 49x17 fixed on #3. Flat, windy and one overpass per day.


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## VaughnA (Jun 3, 2003)

Before I discovered that I had been riding the 44/16 for the last 8 months I used the following system. I thought I was running the 44/18 to take it easy for the fall and winter.

Hilly Centuries or lots of steep climbing = 44/18
General riding: 44/17
Flatter rides: 44/16


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## Nickel II (Jul 18, 2003)

I just started SS a few months back and started off at 42/18. It was comfy in the flats but tough on the hills. After a few months the flats got real easy and the hills pretty bearable. I just put a 17t cog on the back but haven't ridden more then a block around the neighborhood yet. Wife and I just had a new baby, so riding time has been limited! Back on it soon.


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## jmlapoint (Sep 4, 2008)

42x18 for 63 GI.
Old Guy - Flat Terrain - Love to Spin.
Works for me, but I never pass anyone.


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## kenpr (Jun 27, 2008)

42-16 mainly on rolling hills


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## roadfix (Jun 20, 2006)

I'm old so I like anywhere between 60 to 70 GI.


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## justsomeotherdude (Jun 1, 2004)

44/17 and 44/18


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## jasonwells4 (Aug 7, 2006)

47x19


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## Richard (Feb 17, 2006)

42x16 on the fixed and 48x18 on the SS commuter. Like Roadfix and John, I'm old.

I'll gladly give up some top end for the versatility of 70 gear inches. And despite having ridden road for pushing 40 years, the last couple of years on the fixed has actually improved my spin. I'm more comfortable at higher cadences.


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## gande_bike (Feb 28, 2006)

48x16 on moderately rolling hills (with some very short steep climbs).


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## jupiterrn (Sep 22, 2006)

I wanna say a 52 or 53- 20.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

*2.7857*

That's the ratio 39/14.

With a 700-23c tire, that gives me about 73.3 gear inches.


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## 362 (May 22, 2009)

Really interesting, I guess it also depends if there are a lot of hills around or if it´s mainly flat. 

So being a noob, what does 60 - 70 gear inches mean? :shocked: 

And let´s say if my 42/16 gets too easy would it be better to go up on the 42 or on the 16, maybe both? :blush2:

cheers!


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## jkaber (May 22, 2002)

*38x17....*

set up as a SS. Way too many hills out by my house. I spin out on the flats, but can ride up the hills!


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

362 said:


> Really interesting, I guess it also depends if there are a lot of hills around or if it´s mainly flat!


Depends on that, and on lots of other things: your condition, your riding style, what you carry, what cadences you prefer/tolerate.



> So being a noob, what does 60 - 70 gear inches mean?


Some stuff for you to read:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gain.html
http://www.sheldonb.rowncom/fixed.html
"Gear inches" is a relic of history: the diameter of a direct-drive (high-wheel) bike that would give you the same gain or drive ratio (the same distance traveled with each turn of the pedals -- the actual distance is the gear-inch number times pi).



> And let´s say if my 42/16 gets too easy would it be better to go up on the 42 or on the 16, maybe both?


Some apparent confusion here. If you enlarged both by the same proportional amount, you wouldn't change the gear; e.g., 50/19 would be nearly the same gear you have now.
If you want to make the gear "harder" (higher, really, is the right term), you'd get either a bigger chainring or a smaller cog. People change cogs most of the time, because it's easier and cheaper.

But the gear you have is probably fine. The way you describe it is about right for what most people want in a fixie. Most people seem to settle around 70 gear inches for fixed road riding. On my rain commuter, which has a rack and fenders and is a little bit heavy, I use a little lower gear than that (about 66 inches), while on my lighter, stripped-down fixie, I go a little higher -- about 73.


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## Guest (May 27, 2009)

42x16 is my cruzin' gear in the foothills of NC. Sometimes 42x14 if the terrain is real flat. My flip-flop hub had a freewheel on it, but after a year of riding it I had yet to ever flip it, so my 14t is ghetto-fixed to the other side. On my new tt fixie I've got a 46x16 and 15.


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## 362 (May 22, 2009)

Thanks JCavilia, very useful information things are clearer now.


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## JaeP (Mar 12, 2002)

42x14 for my fixed commuter
48x14 for the velodrome


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## wil (Aug 23, 2004)

43 x 16 
AKA: 72.6 Gear inches


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## the_don (Mar 23, 2008)

48x15 street use


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## PdxMark (Feb 3, 2004)

44x17 for my in-town commuter and for my recreational ride bike for any terrain...


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## dookie (Oct 1, 2007)

78gi.

i'm fairly fit and it's a great gear for my purposes...fast group rides. i can hang to ~30mph spinning like crazy, and i can tough it up the hills usually. did a century w/5500ft of climb and suffered a bit, but made it.

i don't like to refer to my fixed as a 'fixed gear', rather a 'wrong gear'. uphill? to high. downhill? too low. that's the beauty/travesty of it.

for a novice, i think 70gi is a pretty good rule of thumb (42x16 is 69gi). if you're finding it easy to spin out go a touch higher, but remember you've gotta go up sometimes!

as has also been said, cogs are cheaper than rings, so keep a few on hand (i have 15/16/17). also know that a tooth in the rear makes a lot more difference than a tooth in the front (eg: 43x16=70.6gi, 42x15=73.6gi).

my favorite calculator (yes, better than sheldon's) is here.


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## 362 (May 22, 2009)

> also know that a tooth in the rear makes a lot more difference than a tooth in the front (eg: 43x16=70.6gi, 42x15=73.6gi).


thanks, I´ll keep that in mind :thumbsup:


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## jtompilot (Mar 31, 2002)

The Raleigh Rush Hour comes with a 46x16. At 120 rpm It would be 27 mph and that would work out good for some fast group rides. Most of the time we're doing at least 20. The hills might hurt though.


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## Balderick (Jul 11, 2006)

I rode my track bike (brakes fitted) on an extended commute (2 hours in total) to and from work earlier this week. Terrain is generally flat but I have to cross a sizable hill between work and home, so I have a very hard climb followed by a fast descent down the other side each way. I run a 48-15, which is a 84 inch gear. It is pretty tough up the climbs, but then that is great strength training. However, it is pretty right for a sit on 30 - 45 kph along the flats.

Most fun I have had on that commute in 14+ years - the trackie is now part of my weekly training schedule! I had very sore legs and sore core muscles. I am still feathering the brakes on the steeper descents but I think that will pass with time and confidence.


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## m_s (Nov 20, 2007)

42 x 16 with 700 x 23 tires. Freewheel. Good for around town (it's flat) but I want to put a 15t cog on I think.


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## Cygnus (Nov 26, 2004)

44x16 SS works for me in all but the steepest terrain.


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## CleavesF (Dec 31, 2007)

42x14 for fixed. 

Can do most hills, unless they're really really steep which are not found unless you get off the Madison campus.


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## nOOky (Mar 20, 2009)

44 x 17 will get me up most hills up to a steady 13-15% grade, but it hurts. 44 x 16 for flat and rolling stuff and group rides where the speed is above 20 average.


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## old_tattoo_guy (Feb 24, 2009)

dookie said:


> 7
> my favorite calculator (yes, better than sheldon's) is here.


Many thanks for that calculator. :thumbsup:


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## Fredke (Dec 10, 2004)

44x18 = 64 gear inches. 

I guess I'm a wimp because with that ratio I can barely make it up the 12% grade to my house at the end of my commute and it sounds like lots of the rest of you are comfortable with much stiffer ratios on steeper slopes. Y'all gonna shoot your knees out!


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## Spinfinity (Feb 3, 2004)

42x15 for commuter and recreational bike. 60 yrs old, stubbornn and stay off the biggest hills.


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

Forty eight by eighteen. I ride all over Colorado's Front Range on the flats, rollers and up and down hills.


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## kiwisimon (Oct 30, 2002)

snap 48 x 18 with fat rubber 700C 38 and 48 x 16 with skinny 700C 23s. Not too hilly here.


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## zriggle (Apr 16, 2008)

Currently running a 38x16  nice for spinning and taking it easy. Also don't have to swap out for the winter.


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## BianchiJoe (Jul 22, 2005)

Richard said:


> I'll gladly give up some top end for the versatility of 70 gear inches.


I concur. 70" for fixed, something smaller for freewheel. I think my 29" cruiser is 61.2 or something like that. A little light, but I like to climb!


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## shibaman (May 2, 2008)

I have the stock 42x16 on my Langster. That is perfect for me for a after work hammer bike. 20-23 mi/hr and hunting geared bikes:thumbsup:


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## BianchiJoe (Jul 22, 2005)

dookie said:


> my favorite calculator (yes, better than sheldon's) is here.



That one is simpler, but I still use Sheldon's in memoriam.


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## Stogaguy (Feb 11, 2006)

*39x16*

I have a 39x16 on my 80s Univega Fixie conversion. I originally went with this setup as it was the easiest way to do the conversion using the Shimano 600 cranks that were on the bike.

Calculated with my actual tire size, it is 64.6 inches and equates to about 20 MPH at 100 rpm. This is just fine for me on rolling terrain but it feels a touch low if I am having a good day. If I move up, I will go to 42x16 just because this is the least hassle.


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## David Loving (Jun 13, 2008)

42x17 or 42x16 on the single speed only cannondale; 48x18 fixed and ss on the gios.


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## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

*depends*

Depends:

Bianchi Pista commuter, used for hard training: 47x15 (83").

Mondonico Pista, used for double centuries: 46x17 (72"), 46x18 (68") or 44x18 (65"), depending on whether the hills go over 10% or 15%.

Bianchi conversion road bike commuter: 44x17 (69").

No name bad weather (heavy) commuter: 42x17 (66").


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## DIRT BOY (Aug 22, 2002)

My Madison is 46/18T right now and I like it!

My Kilo TT SS/FG is 46/16T


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## Zampano (Aug 7, 2005)

45x18 = 67.5 on my steel Spectrum


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## jldickerson3 (Mar 9, 2006)

46x16 (75.8 GI) with 700x23 tires and 165mm cranks in Pittsburgh...Yes, lots of grinding and mashing to get up the hills here. 

On my commute, I take a route that has a couple extended 12-15% climbs (Stanton Ave and up 44th st from Butler). Two things: First, even though I haven't weighed the brand new fixie, its gotta weigh in around 14 or 15 lbs. Riding a bike 5 lbs lighter than I'm used to, is really something amazing, even if the gear is way huge. Second, once I get the gear up to speed on the hills, keeping it going seems lot easier than on my geared bike. 

I'll post pics as soon as I can get a weigh-in.


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## micah356 (Jul 7, 2009)

Am I the only one who likes to go fast? I have a Kona Paddy Wagon. It comes stock with 42x16, but when I bought it it had a 46 up front. I rode that for a couple of months but couldn't stand the fact that I couldn't go really fast when I wanted to. Now I switched the chainring out to a 50. I did a huge group ride recently, where a double-four lane highway was closed off for event. I was pleased that I could easily keep up with any of the hardcore guys on bikes costing thousands more than mine, and had lots of fun drafting behind them! I used the freewheel for that ride, but the rest of the time I ride fixed.

So I use a 50x16, which on 700x23 tires is 82.1 gear inches. I see the tight pants type riding around downtown on bikes that seem to have something like 38x18 on it, and I laugh at them. What's the point of a bike if you can walk almost as fast?


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## Stogaguy (Feb 11, 2006)

*Polishing the spin*

micah356, I see this is your first post. Welcome to RBR.

In defense of those who choose to ride pretty low gears fixed, this is a traditional method for learning to spin smoothly at a high cadence. Having a big gear defeats the purpose of this training technique. Granted this is a technique that has fallen out of favor in many circles, but some still consider valid.


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## David Loving (Jun 13, 2008)

42x16, and 48x18 = both about 70 gear inches


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## micah356 (Jul 7, 2009)

Stogaguy said:


> micah356, I see this is your first post. Welcome to RBR.
> 
> In defense of those who choose to ride pretty low gears fixed, this is a traditional method for learning to spin smoothly at a high cadence. Having a big gear defeats the purpose of this training technique. Granted this is a technique that has fallen out of favor in many circles, but some still consider valid.



I guess that makes sense, but I still spin really fast when I want to go quickly. The big gear allows me to do 30k/h without even thinking about it.


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## johnlh (Sep 12, 2008)

micah356 said:


> I guess that makes sense, but I still spin really fast when I want to go quickly. The big gear allows me to do 30k/h without even thinking about it.


Obviously you spend too much time thinking about it.

Don't confuse gear inches with penile inches. You have major insecurity issues if you feel the need to out-do every trendy person on an expensive bike.


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## micah356 (Jul 7, 2009)

johnlh said:


> Obviously you spend too much time thinking about it.
> 
> Don't confuse gear inches with penile inches. You have major insecurity issues if you feel the need to out-do every trendy person on an expensive bike.


Sorry, but when did I say that I ride fast because I'm trying to out do anyone? I had a lower gear ratio before and I was spinning way too fast all the time, and would arrive somewhere 10 minutes away drenched in sweat. If wanting to change that somehow means I have a small dick, then maybe you're right. But really I think you're just up past your bed time.


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## johnlh (Sep 12, 2008)

micah356 said:


> ...I think you're just up past your bed time.


You are correct, and I am a lesser man. I don't even believe I was drunk when I posted that. Sorry.


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## micah356 (Jul 7, 2009)

johnlh said:


> You are correct, and I am a lesser man. I don't even believe I was drunk when I posted that. Sorry.


No worries, as I am now trying to get to sleep, having crashed my fixed gear on the way home...


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## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

*come on*



johnlh said:


> Obviously you spend too much time thinking about it.
> 
> Don't confuse gear inches with penile inches. You have major insecurity issues if you feel the need to out-do every trendy person on an expensive bike.


Everyone needs to lighten up here. 

Don't know about you all, but my gear inches certainly exceed my penile inches. I don't feel the need to out-do _every_ trendy person on an expensive bike, just most of them.


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## Glynis27 (Oct 26, 2007)

I've got 36x14 on 26x1.5 tires. Looks like that is 64GI and 100RPM at 19mph. Feels good to me.


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