5 mph

I'm okay with 44/16 (74) on hills after riding my single speed 60 days straight now .
First few days were bad but now I'm used to hills.
I'd like to bump it up but I don't want to overdo it.
I'm contemplating 46/16 (77.625) 47 16 (79) or 48/16 (81)
I don't know much about these ratios
Can anyone comment on what gear ratio to go to?

caloso

44x15?

(In my experience, it's easier to swap cogs than chain rings)

5 mph

16T is the smallest freewheel cog they carry for 1.3 inch SAE hubs on bike tires.
You can go to 14 or 13 T if you have a smaller metric hub on your tire which is usually rare(?)
BTW I don't know this from experience, I learned it here. Learned a lot from this forum

caloso

Sorry I missed that you were on a freewheel.

seau grateau

I'd try a 46. You're getting into kinda mashy territory after that.

5 mph

i think you're right/. I did some searches on Google.
Also I'm going to be in my late 50' soon and I guess this level will fade away, just like my hair.

Afcyclestx

I rode a 44 16 and had 175Mm DK BMX cranks on my fixie and crank arms were too long and I couldn’t pick up speed on downhills. I also had a problem with my shoe getting in the way of the tire on turns. I switched to a 53 19 and I now have 165mm cranks arms and I love it.
Ive been considering 160mm crank arms but I’m not sure how that would affect momentum. Does anyone ride 160mm crank arms?

Altimis

Really depends on hill, more bigger gears may not be yield better result unless you want to push for it.

46 is it. Don't afraid of overdo it, you will adapted. On first try you will feels overwhelming of 'heavy' but you will feels normal a couple days later.

But if asks me, I probably go 48. I want to play on flat too.

5 mph

I have been 3 weeks at 46 16. I'm using the stock Pista cranks.
I doubt I would go to 48.
I go up and also down 1000 feet in elevation spread out over 19 miles a day. Rolling hills . 44 16 was relaxing but 46 16 can be tough especially if you haven't slept well..
Haven't tried to see how fast the bike is and probably won't ever.. Just try to get a nice bit of exercise. and enjoy the scenery
I went to fixed gear and 44 16 so I could get the best exercise without having to ride 40 miles day like you have to on a Geared Bike.
PS I'm getting up there in age, so I hang on to all my 38- 44 chain rings. What goes up must come down. Its all temporary. Heck in a few years, I might be using my cog as a chain ring.

c_m_shooter

I used to ride 80 gear inches to keep up on group road rides. I prefer 70 or 75 when on my own.

pbass

Dunno about where you live, but I just turned 60, riding in SoCal right around the San Gabriels, so serious climbing is unavoidable. I'm down in the low 60s gear inches, there's times when I could see going lower. That's on my ss cross bike. I used to ride a ss 29'r mtb and was down in the 40's gear inches for singletrack in the mountains. I'm one of those "gear for the climbs" people. I'll take the spinning out at this point in my life

5 mph

I hear you. Also I am sure it gets pretty hot down there. Out of curiosity, how bad are those hills? We have hills up here outside Seattle but they are gentle rolling hills. Sometimes I think descending is worse than ascending because I have one brake and it doesn't do much on rainy days.

pbass

I live in a canyon right near the mountains--in the upper Glendale/La Canada/Altadena area. It's steep! I start climbing right out my front door. 10-20% grades feature into pretty much all my regular routes.

Sonofamechanic 

Is it primarily the (down) hills that have you both riding freewheel vs fixie? (I’m over here in flat Minneapolis).