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Want to change rear cog容asily done?

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Want to change rear cog容asily done?

Old 02-16-20, 04:03 PM
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wjjones
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Want to change rear cog容asily done?

I have a Shinola single speed with a 38 tooth chain wheel and an 18 tooth cog. I’d like a little higher gearing so I don’t “spin out” so easily. It’s geared for 57 gear inches and I want to bump that up to the mid-60s, so I’m thinking about changing to a 15T or 16T rear cog. Should it be an even number of teeth? If I do that, should I expect to remove links from the chain or even buy a new chain? Looking at the dropout, I can slide the hub back another half inch or so.

(I’d like to avoid getting a bigger chainwheel because it might mean eliminating the chain guard, but I’d do that if it was the best option.)

Opinions?


Last edited by wjjones; 02-16-20 at 04:22 PM.
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Old 02-16-20, 04:32 PM
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Just dropping the rear to 16T would get you to 64" by itself. But it looks like you have room to go up a couple teeth in front. 41/17 would get you up to 65", too.
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Old 02-17-20, 08:15 PM
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Number of teeth make no difference in this application, so you can just use whatever gets you to the gear ratio you want. You'll need a special tool to remove the freewheel (assuming your bike uses a singlespeed freewheel - judging by the picture I bet it does). If you go down in number of teeth, you can keep your chain and maybe remove a link, but if you go up you may need a longer chain.
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Old 02-23-20, 10:06 PM
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Okay. Thanks for the responses.
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Old 02-24-20, 08:41 AM
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Nice bike, btw. Having a chain guard and fenders is very practical. Keep in mind that you can also add half-links to a chain. And if you are lengthening a chain, you might want to incorporate a "master link" that will allow quick, easy chain removal for cleaning, etc.

The Part Tools website has a lot of good info on chains as well as all other bicycle maintenance issues.
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Old 02-24-20, 02:53 PM
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This is single speed rather than fixed? You need a freewheel removal tool for the right sort of freewheel. Take the axle nut off, put the tool in place, put the axle nut back on loosely but tight enough to stop the tool slipping, and then turn the tool with a big spanner. Easy. The tool is cheap and you will always find a use for it.

If it's fixed rather than single speed, you need a C spanner to remove the lock ring, and a chain whip to loosen the sprocket. Again, cheap and readily available tools that you will use time and again.

As the sprocket is smaller than the chainring, 1 tooth difference on the sprocket makes a bigger percentage change than 1 tooth difference on the chain ring.

For those who like to skid on fixed, there is all sorts of spooky magic about this number divided by that number to get the most skid patches to even out the tyre wear. If you ride a freewheel (or fixed with brakes) that stuff is irrelevant.
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Old 02-24-20, 08:40 PM
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I would go down to 17 teeth in the back and see how you like it. It will probably work with the existing chain. You may need to remove a link, possibly install a half link.

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Old 02-25-20, 05:35 AM
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Nice ride. I was looking hard at the Shinola. Very good price for a Waterford frameset and i would have got a military discount. If it had a second bottle cage mount on the downtube and a chainguard bracket that wasn't permanently welded on I may have bought one and converted to drops but it would be a killer city bike. $1000 would be a good price just for the frame.
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Old 02-28-20, 06:46 PM
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“Mikefule” and “bmwjoe”: It’s a single speed (freewheel) so I won’t have to think about any “spooky magic” haha. The LBS had a 16 tooth cog and swapped them for $8. It looks like it should work without dinking around with the chain. I won’t get to try the new cog until spring.

“Lazyass”: I felt the same way about getting the Waterford frameset. I’m not all that hot about the stock setup, but I got a really good deal on the bike (used, but like new) and figured I could sell it come spring if I didn't like it.

However, like you mentioned, I might convert the bike into something sportier: Maybe remove the fenders and chain guard, different bars, bigger tires... I don’t like the chain guard bracket either. If I decide to remove the chain guard, it shouldn’t be too difficult to grind it off.
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