Originally Posted by bassJAM

Hi all, looking for some guidance as I'm a newb on modifying bicycles.


I have two 26" beach cruisers, a Firmstrong and Sixthreezero, both with shimano Nexus 3-speeds. My wife and I use them on the local paved trails, one bike with a kid seat and the other tows a 2-kid trailer. Yeah, we have 3 small kids though the 5 year old just did a 4.5 mile ride yesterday on a Strider pedal bike so her days in the trailer might be behind us once I upgrade her to something better. Anyway, we both use 1st gear 95% of the time, have never gone up into 3rd gear, and there's plenty times I'd love to have lower gearing for hills, sometimes even going flat I'd like lower gearing. We aren't commuting or trying to make great time, these bikes are just used for a leisurely day of riding with the family. My wife used to teach spinning classes and I used to mountain bike so we're used to a much faster cadence than the beach cruiser can offer especially when the trailer has 2 kids, water and maybe a picnic lunch. Sprockets are 40 tooth front and 18 tooth rear right now. I'd like to go down on the front sprocket, but I don't know how much is "enough" to make better use of the 3 speed without going too far.


So looking for guidance on the right tooth count to make a noticeable difference.


Second, how universal are these drive sprockets? What do I need to know to make sure what I buy fits my bikes (understanding I'll have to shorten the chain).