Regulatori

This is primarily for street use but I give permission to the track riders to respond too.

I've done a lot of searching and read most of the "What gears are you using" threads..yes, I know that question has been done to death. I'm more interested in your transition over time...what type of gearing you started off with, changes you made/why, and how you arrived at your current setup.

Did you start with a lower gear ratio for spinning and then move to a higher gear ratio later? (or vise versa). Was your gearing changes due to where you're riding (SF vs somewhere flat), riding style, or changes in your health/leg strength?

I'm just curious at the transition everyone went through with gearing, what specific combos they used/why, and what made you arrive at your setup today. It's all about how you got where you are now.


I'm current using a 42x15 but live with a lot of hills...I'm thinking of going with a 42x17 so I can spin faster and most likely move to the 15 rear again as my legs get stronger. I have a bum knee from the military so I'm thinking a 65-70" gear inches might be better for me.

Spoonrobot 

Started with 46/18 in the winter my first year. Switched to 46/17 in the summer once the winds died down. I've kept pretty much the same rotation since then.

Made a few forays into different combinations to achieve the same ratio but nothing stuck and I went back to one of the two above after a few weeks.

Bandera

Road & Track use, not surprisingly, are totally different requirements so I'll leave it to the current generation of trackies to respond to what they ride for various events on their velodromes.

I've stayed with the traditional ~70 gear inches for FG riding on the road for >40 years, now 48X18 70GI. Works for me in my terrain at my level fitness.
This FG riding on the road thing has been pretty well thought out for the last century or so, traditional set-ups work for club cyclists putting in base miles or just riding FG as a preference.

PS: Using Gear Inch along w/ actual gear ratios in discussion is a clear concise short cut to what your relative gearing actually is without going to Sheldon Brown's calculator.

Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Gear Calculator

-Bandera

hardboiled718

Started on 46/16 set up. experimented with a few different ratios and bumped it up to 49/14, was fun for going fast but not really a proper street ratio. at the time I had a long, flat, and fairly low traffic commute. anyway, for the past year and a half been on 46/17, faster starts and easier to slow down, the lower gearing also helped me learn to spin properly.

franswa

Only been riding SS for a year and started off with 46x16 for about 6 month before going to 48x16. It's fairly hilly in my region, averaging 6000 to 8000 ft in elevation gained per week on my rides. 95% of my riding is done on SS. Sometimes I feel like going bigger on the chainring, but I'm not sure my knees would appreciate it if I did. I've considered going back to 46x16 so I can do more climbing but I'm feeling really comfortable with current gearing and like being able to truck along on the flats.

TenSpeedV2

Started with one bike 46:16. Sold that and have been 49:15 ever since. Probably not the best ratio for street and commute but it is what I have and what I am used to now. Stopping is harder and the take offs are more work but I enjoy the cruising speed. Flat as a board terrain here for the most part.

bwilli88 

Started riding SS just last year, started with a 42x16 69.9gi and as an ancient Masher did not like it. So I switched to a 52x20 70.6gi and that was about the same so changed to a 52x16 88.2gi. I recently upgraded the crank to a nice Suguino with a 49t chainring and a 16/17 rear freewheel, running 49/17 76.8gi and loving it.
Headed back to the States in a few weeks and plan on building up an old Raleigh Grand Prix into a riser bar SS with a 46x17 72.1gi. More hills in Eastern PA than the middle of Cambodia

Andersper

I started out very recently with a 46 chainring and 18 freewheel/cog. I'm still riding the freewheel side, but I'd like to try the fixed side as soon. There are some hills around here, but none of them are very big or very steep. I find myself coasting more than I'd like to, which takes a bit of the fun out the ride.

Switching to the fixed side I'll be doing a whole lot less coasting (obviously), but will the gearing feel a bit too light? As I understand it fixed gearing matters not just when climbing hills, but also going down hills.

jlafitte 

Mostly been riding my Big Block which came as a complete at about 72gi. I soon bumped it down to about 59gi and spent a couple months there to develop technique and confidence, then brought it back up to about 65gi. Couple years later that bike is now dedicated to street use and is staying at 65gi. The new Mondial is dedicated to road/rando and is at 72gi, probably will add a cog on the flipside at 65gi for just in case. The Kilo is my commuter and has always been about 65gi.

seau grateau

First bike was 52-16 because I was dumb. Switched that to 52-19 after about a day. Next bike was a more reasonable 48-18, briefly 19 when I busted a wheel. After a while, switched to 48-17 because I wanted a little more go-fast. Now I ride a 42-16 freewheel and I don't go fast.

Bluechip

The first time I ever rode fixed gear was a 52/18. It wasn't too bad considering it was on an old frame with a broken non replaceable derailleur hanger. It is what worked for that frame until it was replaced. I've been riding fixed gear on and off for the last 15 years now and have stuck with the 70 inch gear. It's a 48/18 and works perfect for me. 20 mph is 100 rpm. Again, perfect.

thedapperest

I started out on my bike's stock 44/16, later I went down to 44/17 temporarily as I got a new rear and once I got a new chainring I went up to 48/17. Then I sold that bike and got a new once which was geared to 46/16, then once I got my Omniums I'm now on 48/16, I think I want to go up to 49 though for the skid patches, as for how they felt:
44/16 - Not really sure since it was my first ratio, nothing to compare it to
44/17 - Spinny, good sscx ratio
48/17 - Light but still allows you to pretty fast, a lot of people call it their favorite ratio
46/16 - Only one or two GI of difference, so not too much of a change from 46/16
48/16 - Great ratio, only thing is it's 1 skid patch, not really a problem if you have (and use) a brake though

If I had a brake I'd probably go up to 50/16 or something a bit heavier but I have to think about ̶b̶r̶a̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ slowing down, of course I live in Chicago which is relatively flat so things might be different given your situation

SCK

Started with 44-16 on a cheap bike (since that's what it came with).
Did 48-16 on the super pista, but then swapped the cog for a 17. I find this to be my favorite.

Night_shift

Started 46x18. Found it VERY good for stopping/starting and medium hills. Not so great on the flats which is 95% of what I ride since I moved. Now running 48x16 free 48x17 fixed and it's much better for my current situation. Kept the old rings just in case, however.

Surly2698

48x16 at first
48x15 for a long time which was hard on the knees
48x17 super happy for my 38 mile round trip
Daily commute

Huffandstuff

Think I started 48x17, then went to 48x19 during winter months when I'm doing less open road rides. Now I'm running 47x18 and it's a bit too small for me but if I go bigger my knees hurt.

49x15 for track mass start races, bigger things for sprints.

Regulatori

Yeah, I'll think going from a current 42x15 to a 42x17 will be a good move for me. I feel like I need to get my cardio up and spinning faster will definitely be beneficial. Soon as I get stronger/more fit, I can always go back to my 15. I plan on upgrading my crankset in the next 6 months and will most likely run a 48 in the front....so if I go to a 48 in the future, I can always stick with the 17 which will give me a very similar gearing to my original 42x15.

Plus a 17 will help with the skidz.

EnzoRWD

Started at 65gi. Way too low, hated it. Rode 72~74gi for a long time. Now at 82gi which is fine for flat MKE. Still think 74gi is the perfect city ratio.

Building a SSCX bike now and have nfclue what to use.

Phil_gretz

I started fixed gear riding much later in life, so began at 46 x 17T after reading recommendations on this site and others. Sold that bike and bought another that came stock at 46 x 16T, and tried to ride it as I had my other one. But the gearing just felt too high for everyday use. So, I went back to 46 x 17T and couldn't be happier. I think that it's ~19 mph at 90 rpms, which is comfortable for flat riding, as well as practical for the types of hills that I encounter.

rreahard

Started out at 70gi. That felt too low, so I went up to 75gi and it's been pretty much perfect for me and the type of riding I do (mostly city, some road and all very flat)

ThermionicScott 

My story certainly isn't very exciting.

A few years ago, I used my road bike to figure out what kind of gear might work best for all-around riding while building up my FG, and liked 63" (38/16). So I used 38/16 at first, which worked out to more like 60" on the 26"x1.5" tires (it's a converted mountain bike). That turned out to be too much work in the winter with studded tires, so I dropped it to about 58" (38/17). Once spring rolled around and I was in my strongest riding shape to date, I gradually bumped up my summer gearing to 71", where it has stayed to this day. I'm now using larger sprockets to help with efficiency and chain wear, but I can't say how much of a real difference it has made in those areas. Currently 45/16 in the spring/summer/fall and 42/18 in the winter, which allows me to keep using the same chain.

50voltphantom

70 GI for general road riding. Pretty fast cruising speeds and not too hard on the hills.
63-67 GI for for gravel/cross country, or road riding with lots of hills.
60 GI and lower in difficult/soft terrain.

My 2 cents.