Originally Posted by
FiftySix
With all the starting and stopping I seem to do because of vehicle traffic, stop signs, and traffic lights . . . 66 gear inches works well for me in middle age.
*single speed freewheel
EDIT: changing attribution!
Oddly enough, H.H. England’s
Cycling Manual (1st ed. 1917, 23rd ed. 1954) recommended a 65-in gear for gentlemen and a 60-in gear for ladies. I am assuming he was writing about single-speed as opposed to what he would have called fixed-wheel.
F.J. Camm’s
Every Cyclist’s Handbook repeatedly references a 65-in gear as if it were the norm.