thinktubes 

I'm really liking a 48T on my Superior. I have it paired with a 12-23 8sp on the back.

Seems like this combo is really good for headwinds as well and I find myself using all the gears on the cassette.

I was considering moving up to a 50T, but I think I'll stay put.

delbiker1 

One road bike, steel frame, has a 50 T with 14/25 cassette and another, titanium frame, has a 48 T with 12/27. I no longer have a need for 52/53 rings. They have plenty of high and enough low for my bicycle needs.

rando_couche

46. With an 11t cog, that's higher than the old 53/13 top. And I've hit 50mph descending in the Oregon Cascades with a 46/13 top.

due ruote 

Very similar to OP: on my Ross I have 39/48 x 13-23. A good 75% of the time I use the 48-17 or 48-19.

ThermionicScott 

On my rando bike, 45T and shrinking. In 2014/2015, I had a 50/13 top gear that I never used but once in a blue moon. From 2016 'til a week ago, I've had a 48/13 that I rarely shift to, its only use is to soft-pedal on downhills and begin pedalling a bit sooner when the hill points up again. But even then, it's not long before I'm shifting down again, so it hasn't proved to be a valuable gear to have with me all the time. A 45/13 top gear splits the difference between that and my former next lowest gear, a 48/15. As someone who also rides a fixed-gear a lot, it's not a big deal to spin up a 72" gear to 25+ if the situation calls for it, so my plan is to eventually settle on a 44/30 crank for this bike.

My "go-fast" Bianchi is set up with a 49/42 crank and 13-21 cassette. I bought the 49T so that I could satisfy some OCD and have a perfect 100" top gear. But I never spun out the 48/13 it had before, and here again, I could probably go a lot smaller. Heck, the 42T would be sufficient on its own.

The '88 Bianchi which I haven't ridden in a couple years is set up with an old 52/42 crankset, and I was running a 15-24 freewheel on it last. The 92" top gear seemed totally adequate. I feel like I'm starting to repeat myself, so I'll stop there.

sheddle

realistically, I should swap out my 53-42 for easier climbing, but those fluted Record cranks just look so nice...


what's everyone's preferred option for a 48/39 (or something similar) on a vintage frame?

Phil_gretz

Now at 60 years old, but still strong and fit, I'm comfortable with a top gear of 100-106 inches. I don't need anything higher, because I appreciate the ability to coast sometimes.

ThermionicScott 

Early Shimano (130BCD) would get you there, easy. For a brief period, I ran 48/39 on an RX100 crank and 13-23 cassette. Not bad.




(Images pilfered from VeloBase!)

bikemig 

If running 5, 6, or 7 on the back, there are always trade offs. I like a 48 on the outside as I can spin it with the lower 5 of 7 but there is no doubt that you will spin out from time to time. As far as I know there are no freewheels currently being made that go as low as even 12 on the outside so the highest gear I can get is a 48 running on a 13 which gives me a 99.7 inch high gear. That works for me.

sheddle

Well, I'm currently going to swap for a 7-speed 13-28 to see if I can get up longer hills easier on the 53-42 but if that doesn't work, yeah, it's probably one of those Shimano cranks for me.


either that or spread the frame and put a brand new Potenza 11-speed set on it...

Spaghetti Legs 

I still like going AFAP down hills and I have some long ones around here so I find that 52 or 53 - 12 comes in handy for that. 50 tooth + 11 also works but I have to go modern for that. If I lived on flatter roads I wouldn’t need more than a 48-13.

@sheddle - 42-28 gets me up most of my hills, even the 15% stuff as long as they’re not too long and I’m not trying to ride over too many of ‘em.

Salamandrine 

Doesn't matter much to me. It's the final gear ratios that matter.

I like the current compact 50/34 with an 11-28 in the back. I was and still am also fine with the old standard 52/42 or 53/42 on old bikes with 5 or 6 speeds.

It is nice to have the increased range options of modern gearing. I almost never use my two lowest or two highest gears, but it's good to have them if needed. BITD with 6 speeds every gear had to be chosen carefully. No room for rarely used gears.

seypat

52/42/30 triple except for SOTR ride. I put on a 50/36/28 for that one.

ThermionicScott 

There are options in between a $120 C&V crank and a new $1200 group, too.

seypat

Like a 110/74 or 86BCD crank.

sheddle

hah, well, true, but it's more like doing that as an alternative to N+1ing a newer bike. I'm a big fan of modern groups on old frames, anyway.

non-fixie 

I have set up many of my bikes for L'Eroica-type rides, which means hills, gravel and vintage racing gear.

I can't handle the 49-21 low gear Fausto Coppi supposedly rode in the Alps, but do stick to the format of a short cage rear derailleur and a double chain ring. To get the desired gear range with those (max cog size and max chain wrap usually no more than 28T) and a 14-28 freewheel, I want either a 48/34 or a 50/36 up front.

When out riding with mrs non-fixie, I often find myself pedaling around all day in the 50-20 combo on those bikes, as long as it's not too hilly.

stardognine

I have a 28-38-48 setup, but the 38 is plenty big enough for me. Primarily because of bad knees, but I also like coasting on the downhills, when possible. 😉 Still, the 48 could prove useful coming down a mountain, so I'll leave it on.

JohnDThompson 

The largest ring I currently run is 50T, on my Trek 720 touring bike. I have several 48T rings, one on my S3X-equipped fixed gear, and two other road bikes. And 46T on my other fixed gear bike.

Slightspeed

I love my 52s. I have them on 4 vintage bikes, two have Megarange 34-14 6 speeds, and two are 28t-13 (I think) 6 speeds. I've tried 50s, but I like the 52t extended flat road cruising speed, while the 34t takes care of the hills. Of the two with 34t Megarange, one is a 52/40/32 triple, and the other is a 52/42 double. One of the 28t freewheels has a 52/42 the other is a 52/40. My modern bikes are 50t, one a compact 50/34, the other a 50/39/30 triple. Both modern bikes have 30-13 10 speed cassettes. For some reason, I feel the need for 52s when riding vintage, but don't miss them on the modern bikes. Back in the olden days I used to race on a 53/45 crank, and have never owned a bike with less than a 50t big ring.

John E

On a road bike, I like a top gear in the mid-90s:

50/14 (Bianchi), 46/13 (1959 Capo), 49/14 (the "keep it original" Sieger), TBD (the "restomod" Sieger project), 45/13 (Peugeot)

I do run a 104 on the mountain bike: 48/12

P!N20

50/12 here. I believe I have the only pre-10 speed era Campy 50T 135 BCD chainring...at least I can't find any others.

thinktubes 

I'm running 48/39 on a vintage Shimano Tri-color.

BradH

As long as I have a hundred gear inches, give or take a few, I'm happy. Once I have that I'd rather add tight spacing than more top end I won't use. 53 or 52 up front with 13 or 14 out back is fine. 48 or 50 x 13 works too. I don't know why so many cassettes start with 11.

Loose Chain

My road bikes are all either 53T/39T or 52T/48T. I try to stay on the big wheel. My new Pista SS is a 48T with a 16 rear cog.