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Chainwheel size: is smaller better?

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Chainwheel size: is smaller better?

Old 09-29-19, 12:23 PM
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hectorial
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Chainwheel size: is smaller better?

Hi,

My first time posting here.

I was taking apart my bike today because it needs a new chain, then I noticed something: the chainwheel was smaller than my Daughter's bicycle.

It was a huh? moment for me because all this time thought they were all the same size.

So, for comfort riding around the neighborhood, which size is better?

I tried searching online but the results were more about multiple gear bicycles.

Thank you.
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Old 09-29-19, 12:52 PM
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Digger Goreman
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I recently went to a smaller front ring (triple). My bike is easier to pedal in all gears.... If I understand the mechanics right, I am trading upper potential power for overall increase in average power.

If everything else were equal (on a single speed cruiser) then your daughter's ride should be harder to start pedaling, but achieve greater (downhill, at least) speed, whereas your's will start with less necessary force....

Or I could be wrong....
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Old 09-29-19, 02:17 PM
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Gotta put the chainring tooth count, and the rear sprocket(s) tooth count, and outside tire diameter of the driven wheel all together to know how far your bike moves per 1 revolution of the pedals. Less distance per revolution is easier to pedal, but moves you at a slower speed than a gear ratio that covers more distance per revolution.

What size tires and sprockets are your bike and your daughter's bike?

A bike with a 42/20 set of sprockets with 20" wheels will be easier to pedal than a bike with a 38/20 set of sprockets with 26" wheels.
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Old 09-29-19, 02:24 PM
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As mentioned, look at either gear ratio (front and rear), or gear inches (including tire sizes).

"Better" depends on the person and use.

In general, a smaller ratio (front / rear) is easier to pedal.

In some cases the ratios could be exactly the same.

So, for example, 40/20 would be exactly the same as 22/11. But, one might find the larger parts are more expensive, but longer wearing.
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Old 09-29-19, 06:54 PM
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hectorial
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So, bigger chainwheel slow take off but once going is easier to pedal, and the smaller one for faster take off but requires more pedal power to continue.

Sorry, but I'm not good at math. I just want to know which size will be more comfortable on flat roads, no hills.

I have a beach cruiser by the way.

Thanks.
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Old 09-29-19, 08:31 PM
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Originally Posted by hectorial
So, bigger chainwheel slow take off but once going is easier to pedal, and the smaller one for faster take off but requires more pedal power to continue.

Sorry, but I'm not good at math. I just want to know which size will be more comfortable on flat roads, no hills.

I have a beach cruiser by the way.

Thanks.
The only real way to know what cruiser gearing is good for you is to ride your bike and ride other's bikes with different gearing. If your bike and your daughter's bikes are both the same size with the same size tires, ride them both and see which one's gearing you like best.

If you want to play with numbers between your bike and your daughter's bike, get the tire sizes and count the teeth on the front and rear sprockets. Then plug the info into the well known Sheldon Brown's gear calculator.

For fun, at the "Gear Units" selection choose MPH @ 60 rpm (pedal revolutions). Or MPH @ 80 rpm if you like to pedal a bit faster.

Fer instance:

- A cruiser with 26"x2.125" tires, with a 46 tooth chainring, and a 18 tooth rear sprocket would probably go 11.8 mph while the pedals are cranked at 60 rpm.

- A cruiser with 26"x2.125 tires, with a 40 tooth chainring, and a 18 tooth rear sprocket would probably go 10.3 mph while the pedals are cranked at 60 rpm.

That 1.5 mph difference in speed ain't much, but the 11.8 mph gearing at 60 rpm will take a noticeably stronger push from a standing start than the 10.3 mph gearing. I attribute that to the fact humans legs can't create "horsepower".
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Old 11-18-19, 07:30 PM
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Here is a way to get a meaningful comparison between bicycles:

COUNT THE NUMBER OF TEETH ON THE FRONT CRANK SPROCKET

COUNT THE NUMBER OF TEETH ON THE REAR WHEEL SPROCKET


--------------DIVIDE that number teeth of Front CRANK by the number teeth of REAR WHEEL Sprocket-----------------

(so the Front Crank number is the NUMERATOR and the REAR WHEEL sprocket is the DENOMINATOR)

Example:
45 teeth on front crank
15 teeth on rear wheel sprocket

45 divided by 15 = 3

Okay, so you take that result, and you MULTIPLY the result by the INCHES diameter of the rear wheel to get "GEAR NUMBER"

(***USE 26 INCHES for anything with 559mm, 571mm, 584mm, 590mm, or 597mm bead seat diameter***)

(***USE 27 INCHES for anything with 700C(622mm) or 27" (630mm)------------)


Okay now once you've computed the "GEAR NUMBER",
You take that "GEAR NUMBER" and you MULTIPLY it by pi
*******pi is Equal to 3.14 for these calculation purposes******
Multiplying the "GEAR NUMBER" times pi WILL GIVE YOU the DISTANCE IN INCHES the bike travels with each pedal revolution.
(so the "GEAR NUMBER" X 3.14 = Distance in Inches that the bike travels with each rotation of the pedal crank.)

You then take that distance in Inches and YOU DIVIDE BY 12 to Convert to FEET.

Here is our complete EXAMPLE:
45 front crank sprocket DIVIDED BY 15 rear sprocket = 3
3 x 26" (for 26 inch wheel) = 78 Gear Number
78 X 3.14 (pi) = INCHES TRAVELLED FOR EVERY PEDAL CRANK REVOLUTION
........THEN YOU CONVERT THE AMOUNT IN INCHES to FEET so you get a more useful number for comparison.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As you can see, it is super-simple math and it does give you a meaningful number to use to compare.
Not everyone rides the same in the way that they spin the pedals.
Some folks are MASHERS and others are SPINNERS.
Even more important than that is that casual, normal bicycle riders tend to vary things up a great deal, especially
when they are riding a single-speed Beach Cruiser. The Lyrica-Spandex, Leg and Arm Shaved, Riding The Drops,
Carbon Crazy, Road Warriors forget that riding a thirty-something pound or heavier, single speed Beach Cruiser
is still bicycling, but the way it is done is totally different than the even cadence of the clipped in , carbon freaks.

As for what, you will find that you like the best, as others have mentioned, you will have to experiment and Ride
at least Several bikes belonging to friends, family and neighbors to get the proper perspective of how it actually
works for your style/strength/ability.
This, your own select choice "sweet-spot" real world gearing may differ from that of your neighbor, your spouse,
or your friend. Don't give a hoot about that. Just worry about what works best for you and choose accordingly.
Have fun. It shouldn't cost much to swap front chainwheel -or- the rear sprocket.
As you now know, the Gearing (gear ratio) that you ultimately have IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE
FRONT CHAINWHEEL and The REAR SPROCKET.
****Making either the FRONT CHAINWHEEL smaller -OR- making the REAR SPROCKET larger (WITHOUT ANY OTHER CHANGES)
will make the bicycle Easier to Pedal, and climb hills, but as you see it comes at the expense of speed potential---more accurately INCHES or FEET
that the bicycle would travel per each turn of the pedals. Now, you assume correctly if you are thinking that You CANNOT carry this going bigger
or smaller BEYOND some practical LIMIT because that practical limit is the HUMAN FACTOR, or the capability of the human being that is pedalling
the bicycle. This is really not nearly as complicated as my perhaps poor explanation has been.
You'll see how the gear relationship works.
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Old 11-18-19, 07:46 PM
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Quote
Carbon Crazy, Road Warriors forget that riding a thirty-something pound or heavier, single speed Beach Cruiser
is still bicycling, but the way it is done is totally different than the even cadence of the clipped in , carbon freaks.”
X2 .....
If it has two wheels and it’s people powered , its bicycling . The way one chooses to do it is their own personal way to enjoy the sport .
Whether we choose to ride 8mph or 18 .


My Electra Cruiser 1 came with a 44 tooth chainring and a 22 tooth cog on the rear hub . I recently ( yesterday) switched out my rear cog with a 24 tooth one . Cost me $10 . It made Climbing hills a lot easier . I now spin out around 10mph where it was around 12mph before . Easier to change out the rear cog than it is to change out the front chainring on a one piece crank .

Last edited by OldCruiser; 11-18-19 at 07:51 PM.
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Old 12-06-19, 10:11 AM
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I am running 48/22 on a heavy Schwinn single speed w/ 26" wheels. Pretty much perfect for flat pavement and 62 yr old male legs.
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Old 09-11-21, 02:59 PM
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Originally Posted by hectorial
So, bigger chainwheel slow take off but once going is easier to pedal, and the smaller one for faster take off but requires more pedal power to continue.

Sorry, but I'm not good at math. I just want to know which size will be more comfortable on flat roads, no hills.

I have a beach cruiser by the way.

Thanks.
I have messed around with a lot of bikes over the years, and one thing was always common sense to me and a good tip for people who don't know, the easiest gear you can get on an 18-speed bike for example, you put the chain on the smallest cog in the front and the largest cog in the back. That would be your absolute easiest gear, then it simply the reverse for more speed which means your chain should be on the largest gear in the front and the smallest gear in the back. When it comes down to it though, it's all about the rider, so if you're looking for a happy medium I guess it just depends if you like cruising at a comfortable speed or going fast on those flat roads. For the cruising speed I would recommend a 40 to a 44 tooth chain ring in the front and maybe a 20 or 22 tooth sprocket in the rear. If you really want to figure out what works for you the quickest and easiest way is to get on a mountain bike, something with at least 18 years and just pay attention to where your chain is on the chainring, going to pick the front chain ring that's the closest size to your chain ring, and then just start going through the gears in the rear and see which one is most comfortable for you!
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Old 09-11-21, 06:02 PM
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Meanwhile…. 2 years later…
and 15 years after sheldon’s gear calculator.
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Old 10-11-21, 12:25 PM
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Originally Posted by hectorial
So, bigger chainwheel slow take off but once going is easier to pedal, and the smaller one for faster take off but requires more pedal power to continue.

Sorry, but I'm not good at math. I just want to know which size will be more comfortable on flat roads, no hills.

I have a beach cruiser by the way.

Thanks.
You wanted a general idea and of course got technical info.

You said it was smaller but didn’t say how many teeth.

You also didn’t say why you didn’t like your current set-up so it’s difficult to get helpful answers for someone new.



Most cruisers seem to have a 44 tooth on the front and between 18 and 20 on the rear.



If you want easier, then change the rear cog to a bigger tooth. Like another commenter said, it’s much easier to change the rear than the front.

If you go bigger in the back, you may need a longer chain.



If you want it harder and to go faster, get a smaller cog for the rear wheel. In this case you may need to shorten your chain.



Gearing is a personal thing. You said flat terrain so the normal cruiser gearing is usually perfect for that and whatever you have is probably good enough.



I run 44/17 because I like to ride about 16+ mph. Most don’t want to go that fast because “it’s a cruiser”. LOL
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