Is it Me or is it the sprocket?
08-19-18, 08:37 PM
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Is it Me or is it the sprocket?
Let me start in the beginning. I had a single speed bike as a gift (SE DRAFT Bike). Later I bought 1977 miyata Americans 10 gears(off from offer up apps for $100). I never enjoyed that stem shifts. It wasnt my type shifting. So I brought the miyata to a LBS and told them I wanted that bike to a single speed. They did everything I asked them to do. When I rode that bike on the way home, I noticed this bike wasn't at the same speed like the se drafts. With this se draft, riding on single feels single speed. But with this 1977, it FEELS like I'm riding on a gear that you put it for going uphill. When I pedal, I'm pedaling faster than my draft bike. But moved kinda behind than the regular speed I did with draft bike. Its not the same as my draft bike. Do I modify the 1977 sprocket to speed up on a single gear it is it something else ? I counted 40 teeth on the 1977. And 42 on the draft bike. If I buy a new set of sprocket, with more teeth, will it make any different? I'm kinda new in this. When it comes to numbers, I'm trying to understand if it a big thing to pay attention to.
08-19-18, 08:46 PM
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Yes, it sounds like you are not liking the gearing, and describing the difference between spinning vs mashing. I'm assuming the cadence is off for you or you prefer the mashing which can be frustrating when you only have one gear.
If the gearing of the SE was at a nice cadence for you then you would want to replicate the setup from that. You would want to know the front chainring tooth count, the rear sprocket tooth count and, to a lesser degree, the crank arm length. Match those up and you should be good to go.
It begs the question though, why not just stick with the SE?
*edit* If you want to make it harder to pedal (i.e. require more mashing) then you will either want to increase the tooth count on the front and/or decrease the tooth count in the rear.
If you want to make it easier to pedal (i.e. require more spinning) then you will either want to decrease the tooth count in the front and/or increase the tooth count in the rear
If the gearing of the SE was at a nice cadence for you then you would want to replicate the setup from that. You would want to know the front chainring tooth count, the rear sprocket tooth count and, to a lesser degree, the crank arm length. Match those up and you should be good to go.
It begs the question though, why not just stick with the SE?
*edit* If you want to make it harder to pedal (i.e. require more mashing) then you will either want to increase the tooth count on the front and/or decrease the tooth count in the rear.
If you want to make it easier to pedal (i.e. require more spinning) then you will either want to decrease the tooth count in the front and/or increase the tooth count in the rear
Last edited by zze86; 08-19-18 at 08:55 PM.
08-19-18, 08:56 PM
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Yes, it sounds like you are not liking the gearing, and describing the difference between spinning vs mashing. I'm assuming the cadence is off for you or you prefer the mashing which can be frustrating when you only have one gear.
If the gearing of the SE was at a nice cadence for you then you would want to replicate the setup from that. You would want to know the front chainring tooth count, the rear sprocket tooth count and, to a lesser degree, the crank arm length. Match those up and you should be good to go.
It begs the question though, why not just stick with the SE?
If the gearing of the SE was at a nice cadence for you then you would want to replicate the setup from that. You would want to know the front chainring tooth count, the rear sprocket tooth count and, to a lesser degree, the crank arm length. Match those up and you should be good to go.
It begs the question though, why not just stick with the SE?
08-19-18, 09:54 PM
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There are a couple of reasons:
a) Without getting too technical about it, the crankarm's length has less impact on the overall system than the gearing. If you want to get geeky about it, I would suggest reading up on gain ratios first and then play with the [/url]gear calculator via the late great Sheldon Brown's website.
b) chainrings and sprockets are cheaper and easier to change out than a crankset
c) the selection of crank arm lengths are much more limited than chainrings/sprockets although selection for single speeds is much better than multi-speeds.
Also you may want to re-read my other post. I must have edited the post while you were replying.
a) Without getting too technical about it, the crankarm's length has less impact on the overall system than the gearing. If you want to get geeky about it, I would suggest reading up on gain ratios first and then play with the [/url]gear calculator via the late great Sheldon Brown's website.
b) chainrings and sprockets are cheaper and easier to change out than a crankset
c) the selection of crank arm lengths are much more limited than chainrings/sprockets although selection for single speeds is much better than multi-speeds.
Also you may want to re-read my other post. I must have edited the post while you were replying.
08-19-18, 10:13 PM
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There are a couple of reasons:
a) Without getting too technical about it, the crankarm's length has less impact on the overall system than the gearing. If you want to get geeky about it, I would suggest reading up on gain ratios first and then play with the
gear calculator via the late great Sheldon Brown's website.
b) chainrings and sprockets are cheaper and easier to change out than a crankset
c) the selection of crank arm lengths are much more limited than chainrings/sprockets although selection for single speeds is much better than multi-speeds.
Also you may want to re-read my other post. I must have edited the post while you were replying.
a) Without getting too technical about it, the crankarm's length has less impact on the overall system than the gearing. If you want to get geeky about it, I would suggest reading up on gain ratios first and then play with the
gear calculator via the late great Sheldon Brown's website.
b) chainrings and sprockets are cheaper and easier to change out than a crankset
c) the selection of crank arm lengths are much more limited than chainrings/sprockets although selection for single speeds is much better than multi-speeds.
Also you may want to re-read my other post. I must have edited the post while you were replying.
Best of luck in learning more and have fun!
08-20-18, 06:59 AM
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You have a 1977 Miyata.
It's impossible for me to tell what kind of condition it's in. Does everything spin smoothly with no load? I'd want to be sure that everything was working properly before I initiated any more changes.
It's impossible for me to tell what kind of condition it's in. Does everything spin smoothly with no load? I'd want to be sure that everything was working properly before I initiated any more changes.
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