16 tooth cog...bike setup question, need help!
03-21-12, 07:42 PM
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16 tooth cog...bike setup question, need help!
so, i was wondering if anyone could help me with my dilemma here..
i have a 16 tooth fixed gear on my rear wheel, and im trying to figure out which chainwheel upfront i should go with.
yeah, i know theres obviously ways to figure this out, but i dont know, so your help is greatly appreciated! its mostly going to be used in a city/suburb area.
thanks.
i have a 16 tooth fixed gear on my rear wheel, and im trying to figure out which chainwheel upfront i should go with.
yeah, i know theres obviously ways to figure this out, but i dont know, so your help is greatly appreciated! its mostly going to be used in a city/suburb area.
thanks.
03-21-12, 07:48 PM
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44:16 = 72.33 gear inches, or 43:16 = 70.68 gear inches. i think a 44t is easier to find.
Last edited by Dcv; 03-22-12 at 06:59 PM. Reason: does that make you feel better mihlbach?
03-21-12, 07:51 PM
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44 or 46 should be good for your area. I'd go with a 46(will give you about 76 gear inches) if you're don't mind puffing a little bit up the hills. A 42 will give you 69GI and a 44 will give you 72GI, which is will be nicer for climbing hills but you'll be spinning on flat ground. I guess it really depends what suburbs you're riding in. Garden City/Westland, I'd gear higher(46 or 48T) because most of it is fairly flat. If you're trying to ride Hines park or something, go with a smaller chainring.
03-21-12, 08:05 PM
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oh thank god, someone from my area..yeah i actually live right above the hill on hines, and i ride my world sport through it. im more in the dearborn heights/detroit area. so a 46?
03-21-12, 08:17 PM
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So you're riding your geared bike through Hines, and want to ride your fixed gear on mostly flat land? I'd go with a 46 then. I was really happy with my eighth inch chainring, and at $15, you can't go wrong(assuming it's the right BCD for your crankset).
edit: I shouldn't act like 46/16 is going to be impossible to ride Hines with, you certainly can. I run about that many gear inches and ride Hines from time to time, but I definitely enjoy less hilly routes more. It's a very reasonable all around gear ratio.
edit: I shouldn't act like 46/16 is going to be impossible to ride Hines with, you certainly can. I run about that many gear inches and ride Hines from time to time, but I definitely enjoy less hilly routes more. It's a very reasonable all around gear ratio.
03-21-12, 08:36 PM
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03-21-12, 11:24 PM
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Depending on how new you are to FG and how fast you need to go, you might want to start with a smaller chainring. A lower gear ratio makes it easier to get going from a stoplight. I commute on a 41x16 with 25.4" tires (65 GI), and it seems about right for me.
03-21-12, 11:28 PM
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If you are light/strong go with the 46, if you are heavy or go loaded, 44 or less.
03-21-12, 11:57 PM
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I ride 48x16 on some decent hills so anything below that will be fine. Anything giving you 70-80 gear inches should be good on mostly flat stuff.
03-22-12, 01:38 AM
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[I ride 44/16 around Chicago. Took it to the hills of Austin and was fine. 44/16 is a great ratio for me.
Last edited by jimmytango; 03-22-12 at 08:22 AM.
03-22-12, 04:47 AM
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03-22-12, 06:38 AM
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Your cog is slipping.
03-22-12, 09:21 AM
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03-22-12, 10:44 AM
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I've seen it pretty frequently expressed with an "x." I thought it was a matter of preference, since gear inches are calculated neither by straight division (i.e., they're not precisely a ratio) nor multiplication.
Last edited by 4rcticFlowers; 03-22-12 at 02:09 PM.
03-22-12, 11:11 AM
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TBH you shouldn't base your decision primarily on the cog. I would find a crankset that fits your budget and needs and then buy a cog (I would buy at least 2) that would give you the G.I. that you were looking for.
I'm saying this because it's much cheaper and versatile to just buy a cog than to find a crankset with the tooth count you are looking for (that is if you don't have a crank yet...).
I'm saying this because it's much cheaper and versatile to just buy a cog than to find a crankset with the tooth count you are looking for (that is if you don't have a crank yet...).
03-22-12, 12:11 PM
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03-22-12, 12:48 PM
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Common expression is xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. Where x = 1 tooth.
03-22-12, 04:37 PM
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratio
Gear inches, btw, is not a ratio. However it is calculated with the gear ratio, which is nothing more than a simple ratio with a numerator and a denominator. Writing like this (34 x 17) is simply incorrect and shows a lack of understanding what a gear ratio is. 34x17 does not equal 32x16. However the gear ratios 34/17 and 32/16 (or 34:17 and 32:16, if you prefer) are exactly the same and will yield the identical number of gear inches on a given bicycle.
03-22-12, 06:08 PM
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Gear inches are extremely simple and calculated as the gear ratio (chainring/cog) x wheel diameter in inches. The resulting number is equivalent to the wheel size you would need to achieve the same distance per pedal rotation on a penny farthing (or a bicycle with a 1:1 gear ratio). In other words a bicycle with 71 gear inches goes as far in 1 pedal rotation as one rotation of a 71" diameter wheel.
There is a similar method, know as metric development, that measures the distance traveled by the bike in one revolution of the pedals. You can convert gear inches to metric development, by converting inches to meters and multiplying by pi.
Gear inches and metric development are incomplete calculations of mechanical advantage because they ignore crank length. A newer method, "gain ratio", invented by Sheldon Brown, includes wheel size, gear ratio, and crank length and is more complete means of comparing mechanical advantage of different bicycle configurations. Gain ratio refers to the distance moved by the bicycle/the distance moved by the pedal. Since ratios are dimensionless, the unit of distance (miles, meters, inches) is irrelevant to the calculation of the gain ratio. You could calculate it in microns or light years and still get the same gain ratio.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gear_inches
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gain.html
Last edited by mihlbach; 03-22-12 at 06:24 PM.
03-22-12, 08:12 PM
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I could be wrong, but I doubt many people are trying to imply multiplication when they use the "x". It indicates that the two numbers are part of a pair. Just like you're not expecting to have 16 somethings on a 4x4 vehicle, or 8 somethings on a 2x4 board. Or at least I wouldn't. 