# 46x18 or 42x16 gear combo for occassional steep hills?



## mangotreat0808

hi - got a se lagar and currently have a 46x17 gear combo & was wondering if this might be a tad too much for steep hills (i'm coming from roadie background & fairly new to fixed). Would a 46x18, 46x19 help or should i consider going 42x16? thanks for any feedback. Or should I just work it for a few months till i can climb em hills on my current setup?


----------



## Dave Hickey

mangotreat0808 said:


> hi - got a se lagar and currently have a 46x17 gear combo & was wondering if this might be a tad too much for steep hills (i'm coming from roadie background & fairly new to fixed). Would a 46x18, 46x19 help or should i consider going 42x16? thanks for any feedback. Or should I just work it for a few months till i can climb em hills on my current setup?


According to my handy dandy iPod Touch gear calculator, you are looking at:

46 x 17= 71.4 gear inches- current setup

46 x 18= 67.4 gear inches
46 x 19= 63.9 gear inches
42 x 16= 69.7 gear inches

In my opinion, 46 x 19 is pretty low..

You'll probably be fine with either 46 x 18 or 42 x 16 although 42 x 16 is very close to what you have now..


----------



## David Loving

It's cheaper to change out the cog, unless you have a 42 chainring laying around. I find 42x16 works good - it is a little under 70 gear inches - the ideal in my stable. My commute to the office/gym singlespeed - with vert dropouts will take a 42x16 or 42x18, and in this wind I have been wussing out with the 18 which is too low at 61.6.


----------



## JCavilia

Try it. It all depends on your condition and riding style. Be careful of your knees when you're grinding. If it seems like too much, try something a little smaller (as David noted, it's cheaper to get a few cogs than to change the rings).

Your current gearing is right about what most guys choose for all-around fixed road riding -- low enough to manage the climbs, high enough to get a reasonable speed on the descents before you're spun out. I run a 39x14, which is just a tad (3%) higher than you've got, and it works for what I ride. There are routes I avoid on the fixie, because the hills are too long and/or steep (the road bike is a better tool for those). 

Paradoxically, I find I want a slightly _larger_ gear because of the hills. I picked the tallest gear that I could safely grind up the climbs, to allow more freedom on the descents. That turns out to be a little bigger gear than I'd want if all my rides were dead flat. I ride mostly solo, and I can't sustain much beyond 20 mph for very long, and my gearing puts me at about 100 rpm for 20 mph. That works, but if I only rode on the flat I'd probably want a gear that puts me at 110 or so for that speed, so I'd be in the high 90's for my usual cruising speed of 17-18 mph.

So it depends. Try it for a while and see how it works.


----------



## Tig

I've been running a 39x15 (which is very close to 42x16) for years now. While most of my riding is flat, it handles the few semi-steep bridges we have here.









So, it depends on two things... how steep and long are your climbs, and what kind of rider you are, a spinner or a diesel grinder? I'm a spinner, so I like my setup for most conditions. My 45 year old knees aren't great, but there's no serious damage (yet) either. If I went with a higher gear, I'd blow up my heart and knees on a climb, thanks to my less than optimum fitness lately. I've rarely felt _comfortable_ at the top of a climb, regardless of my fitness of gearing.

Remember that longer descents can be a real pain with a lighter gear. None of that matters if we are in too difficult a gear to get up the climb in the first place. Same goes with high head or tail winds... I'd hate to get caught out 20 miles from home facing a 30 MPH cold front headwind in a 46x16 or higher. A 39x16 in a strong tailwind sure won't hurt us, but it would be a bit lame, especially if you are trying to stay with a group that is in their 53 chain ring.


----------



## mangotreat0808

*thanks for the feedback guys..*

i'll give the 46x17 a whirl for a couple of weeks & see if i can grind up them steep hills i gave up on a couple of days ago...my commute includes an occasional 15 to 20 percent pitch...the 46x17 is definitely nice on flat or rolling hills but wen it comes to the higher-end grades that i mentioned, it i either bail out (quick u-turn back down) or walk up. 

p.s. if someone out there does the occasional 15 - 20% grades, what specific gear-combo do you ride on...just fyi, my roadbike's lowest gear is the standard 39-27 climbing gear, and this is sufficient for those steep grades. it is a matter of compromise since with a fixed, we only gots to use one gear so balancing out speed on the flats, and climbing that occasional wall is what i'm trying to figure out. thanks..


----------



## Bocephus Jones II

How steep? I run a 32x20 on my 29er SS. Spins out easy on downhills and even flats so probably too small of a gear for fixed, but I need the gear for the kind of hills I ride offroad.


----------



## mangotreat0808

Bocephus Jones II said:


> How steep? I run a 32x20 on my 29er SS. Spins out easy on downhills and even flats so probably too small of a gear for fixed, but I need the gear for the kind of hills I ride offroad.


15-20% on the occasional steep side..on your 32x20, do you find yourself spinning like mad on the downhill? oops i take that back you are running SS so that's a moot point.


----------



## Bocephus Jones II

mangotreat0808 said:


> 15-20% on the occasional steep side..on your 32x20, do you find yourself spinning like mad on the downhill? oops i take that back you are running SS so that's a moot point.


Yeah I think it'd be too small of a gear for a fixed, but I do need the gear for getting up some of the hills I ride here in CO.


----------



## mangotreat0808

CO's definitely got those monster climbs..so i don't blame yeah...and coming down those mountains, i aint gonna do them on fixed mode, prolly switch over to the SS side..thnx!


----------



## roadfix

Since you're already running a 46t chain ring the practical thing to do is to experiment with 18t & 19t cogs and you decide. No one here can tell you which gear ratio is the right one for you.


----------



## JCavilia

*15-20%?*

That's way steep for a fixed, in my book. I've done a couple of those just to see if (and to say that) I could, but I generally avoid them when riding fixed. If I had pitches like that on my regular commute I'd ride a multi-geared bike. If you're in shape you may be able to manage it, but it doesn't seem ideal to me. Be careful of your knees.


----------



## roadfix

I live in hilly terrain, and even with my "compromise" gear (about 67-70 GI) I still end up walking my bike up some of the steeper portions to get home.


----------



## FatTireFred

most people over-estimate grade


----------



## Bocephus Jones II

FatTireFred said:


> most people over-estimate grade


Yup...15-20% is off-road kind of steep. I've ridden very few climbs here in CO that are much over 8%. There are a few areas that have 16-18%, but that's only for a short distance and you have to go looking for them. Most are unpaved.


----------



## Pablo

FatTireFred said:


> most people over-estimate grade


That's true. Even in Boulder County, Colorado, very few roads are actually above 15%, even in the switchbacks.


----------



## slowrider

I have 3 singlespeed bikes. 44x18 was my gear of choice for the past 4 years. No hills to climb, but wind is always a factor. In fact, the wind got so bad last October that I changed gears. I switched my mtb to 44x20. It's now Rain/Wind/Recovery Bike. My main commuter (Old Road Bike), I switched to 44x17. My knees don't seem to like the change. Hybrid, I left at 44x18. I'm a spinner, so 44x17 might not work for me. 

Finding the right gear for your fitness, and commute depends on your knees. Don't let the numbers or what gear other guys are using dictate your choice.


----------



## Fixed

*really steep*



mangotreat0808 said:


> i'll give the 46x17 a whirl for a couple of weeks & see if i can grind up them steep hills i gave up on a couple of days ago...my commute includes an occasional 15 to 20 percent pitch...the 46x17 is definitely nice on flat or rolling hills but wen it comes to the higher-end grades that i mentioned, it i either bail out (quick u-turn back down) or walk up.
> 
> p.s. if someone out there does the occasional 15 - 20% grades, what specific gear-combo do you ride on...just fyi, my roadbike's lowest gear is the standard 39-27 climbing gear, and this is sufficient for those steep grades. it is a matter of compromise since with a fixed, we only gots to use one gear so balancing out speed on the flats, and climbing that occasional wall is what i'm trying to figure out. thanks..


When I did the Climb to Kaiser Fixed, which includes 18% grades that go on for miles, I used a 47x19. I normally run a 47x18, but 155 miles, 13,500' climbing and18% grades forced me down one gear. 

I usually try to run the tallest gear I can, and still get up the steepest hill. Too low a gear can really cost you on the descents.

http://www.midcalracing.com/kaiser2004.htm


----------



## Cygnus

i'd suggest just starting somewhere, and assume that you'll get stronger and go to a bigger ratio with time. 

for cruising and hilly terrain, i like 44x16. 

but a couple of years ago, i moved to a house on a mile-long, very steep hill, forcing me into 2x2 configuration: one combo is for that climb, the other iis still the sweet spot for all other riding...44x16.


----------



## Mambeu

I run 46x19 in pretty hilly country (well, hilly for the east coast) and love it. It's low enough that I can commute home (seven miles uphill) and still tall enough that the commute downhill to work doesn't kill my legs.


----------



## jely1990

I'm running a 48x16 (79in) right now and I live on a hill. It's kind of a pain going up it so I might go to a 48x17 (74in) soon.


----------



## Wookiebiker

I have no problems running 46x17 gearing on sustained hills of 4% - 6% grades. This past weekend my team did hill repeats with parts of the hill in the 8% range and since I only have a singlespeed right now (waiting for my team bike to come in) I used what I had...and it wasn't that bad actually...I was able to stay up front during the entire ride.

It's a nice overall gear that seems to be best in the 20-23 mph range...but I've gone up grades as steep as 18% on it cranking along at a whopping 6.5 mph and have gone downhill at over 36 mph...so it gives me quite a range for speed.


----------



## mangotreat0808

thanks all for sharing the nuggets of fixie gearing wisdom & experience...i just switched out my 17 cog to a 19, so now my gear combo is a "46x19"...i'll find out how it, and my legs fair up those short steep hills.


----------



## David Loving

The wind abated so I am back to 42x16 on the SS; and I rode the fixed to work at 48x18. Does not hurt to mix them up on occasion.


----------



## bigrider

I run a 46/18 and live in an area of rolling hills. It is good for stuff that is 8 to 10 percent and not real long climbs (less than 500 ft. elevation gain).


----------

