freestyle2

I have a sugino crankset, and its attached to a chaingaurd... The chain ring has 52t and I wanna switch to a 42T because im having troubles skidding. So can you guys give me some advice? Can I switch the Chain ring? If so, how can I do it. Because the chain ring on it right now seems un-removable. Thanks.

Nagrom_

just change your rear cog.......... or HTFU...... youre choice.

freestyle2

Well, my rear cog, is 16t, so its fine... I'm trying to have the gear ratio: 42;16

Nagrom_

52x19 is roughly equivalent in gear inches, and you would get 19 skid patches, which would be good for you, because thats what you want to do with it.

trust me. twenty bucks for a cog. do it.

freestyle2

I also want it to be easier for tricking, and lower gear is better for that... would 52*19 do as well? (as 42*16)

Nagrom_

yeah, 42x16 is 69.2 Gear Inches, with 8 skid patches, and 52x19 is 72.2 GI's with 19 skid patches. Its slightly higher, compared to your current gear, its nothing.

Your current gear i ran for a while. its pretty damn high for the street. for comparison, its 85.7 GI's.

You can gear down a little more, it will make it easier to trick, but you will sacrifice skid patches. 52x20 would give you 68.6 GI's and 5 skid patches, 10 if your ambidextrous. You wont notice too much of a difference between a few GI's.

Id go 52x19.

freestyle2

Thank you. I'll probably go 52x19, like you recommend. But im kinda new to the fixie... well, cycling in general. Would you mind telling me what gear inches affect?

Nagrom_

Higher gear inches, means harder to pedal, but more distance traveled per revolution of the crankset. You used the term Gear Ratio, which doesnt really mean anything, its just a ratio.

Play with this a little:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/

and browse the site a little too.

freestyle2

Oh I see.. So, lower gear inches, is easier for tricks?

Nagrom_

Generally; you don't want to go too low though.

GMJ

Sure.

You'll be slower too though.

freestyle2

Okay, lets say I went with my original plan, switching to a 42T chain ring. How would I replace the chain ring thats on it now.

Nagrom_

No clue, I don't see any chainring bolts on that crankset. It looks like the chainring is riveted on. Just swap the cog, it will accomplish the exact same thing at a fraction of the cost and effort.

freestyle2

Oh wait up... Can I still use the same chain?
Okay thanks! You're a really big help. Do you have an Aim? Maybe you can help me later on... But if you don't want to, its fine. (:

Nagrom_

Yeah, just make sure to get the same size cog, be it 3/32 or 1/8.

My AIM username is on my profile.

Kayce

Ratio is a totally usefull measure.

It is not as exact as gear inches, or gain ratio. But it is very quick to calculate, and has meaning. Reducing it down to x/1(often somewhere between 2 and 3 in most bikes) shows a basic difference between two set ups.

IthaDan 

If youre clamping the wheel near the front pf the dropout, you'll probably need a link or a half link to go from 16t to 19t. If you're clamping near the end (away from the crankset) you should be fine.

As far an changing chain rings, look into new cranks, finding a chainring for those cranks (if you can even change the chainrings) will be a long search and most likely expensive. You have a bog standard square taper bottom bracket, go nuts.

freestyle2

Um... I have no idea what you just said about the clamping.... mind explaining?

IthaDan 

Chan length. Where you clamp he wheel in the dropout holds the chain tight. You MIGHT need to lengthen your chain to accommodate the change from a 16t cog to a 19t cog. You might not depending on how much room for adjustment you have left in your dropout.

freestyle2

Is this enough room?