John planet x Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 Hello. Im used to running 20:17 gear ratio. But recently changed me wheel so it has a 16t on the back. At first it feel so dung, and was gonna go buy a 17t cog (but noone has any atm ). So i go out back and try gapping around and it's starting to feel alright.Was wondering how many people ride with a similar ratio like 20:16. And if you think its too heavy and adds too much extra stress on hub/chain etc, would i be in for more snaps and screw ups 0_o. Thinking more of my health here than anything.Probably paranoid Any advice or knowledge would be handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davetrials Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 I use 20:19 20:16 is way to hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John planet x Posted December 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 20:19 ? is that not like stupidly light? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spode@thinkbikes Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 I've been using 20:19 for years.So far, the only benefit I've found for stiffer gears is doing rolling moves. So you can pick up some speed and still have oomph left in the gears to give it a kick.I'm running 20:18 at the moment because I wanted to give it a chance as everyone seems to think I need to run a stiffer gear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 20:19 is the way foward for you your current gear settings are way out and sound like they are proper heavy.Clarky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John planet x Posted December 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 (edited) I really dont understand. 20:19... i thought 20:17 was light ish/medium, 20:18 would be even lighter. but 20:19? isnt that the equivalent of running 22:21?You guys sure you aint getting confused with running 22 on the front.... Edited December 19, 2005 by John planet x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punkrider Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 (edited) I really dont understand. 20:19... i thought 20:17 was light ish/medium, 20:18 would be even lighter. but 20:19? isnt that the equivalent of running 22:21?Yeah thats what i thought, i run 22:18, which is equal to 20:16Does everyone run super light gearing now?Adam Edited December 19, 2005 by Punkrider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich4130 Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 Spinny gears rule, I run 20/18 usually on 24", about 20/19 on 26", much better for everything, I'm stuck with 20/16 and I don't like it, ok for rolling stuff but I can't gap.Spinny is goooood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John planet x Posted December 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 (edited) Anyone wanna give some proper answers lol.Edit:Punk rider, ever get any problems riding the gear you do? snaps or anything 0_o. Edited December 19, 2005 by John planet x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash-Kennard Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 i was on 22:19, now on 20:17, they feel nice, good power and still easy to pedal. but 20:19 is shockingly easy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josephine Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 Yeah thats what i thought, i run 22:18, which is equal to 20:16Does everyone run super light gearing now?Adam 22:18 and 20:16 are nothing alike, 22:18 is far lighter. Just so you guys can appreciate this, you've gotta work out the gear ratio (how many times you turn the wheel per full crank turn). Do this by dividing the number of teeth on the driving sprocket by the number of teeth on the cassette. soooo 22:18 = 1.2222222... and 20:16 = 1.25 so the wheel does 0.028888888... turns more per rotation of the cranks than in 22:18, meaning it feels "harder". Somebody (Fatmike?) has a ratio calculator in their sig, if you can't be arsed to work it out yourself. Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impacted. Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 Bah! I run 18:17 and I like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Burrows Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 20:16 is a bit hard and will probably hold back your static gapping distance. 20:17 is great though, a good all round gear ratio. I'm really not a fan of spinny gears, they are rubbish for pedal ups and gaps and it feels like there is just no force for static moves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 Just wanted to add my 2p I used to run 22:14, and it felt OK. Upping and stuff was nice. However, for some reason (can't remember why...) I changed to 22:15 and everything got better. It just meant you could get more instant sorta power, so you could just sail up stuff. All good But yeah, try a bit lighter... (I'm running 18:12 now with 175mm cranks, and it feels awesome. Still has power, but the longer cranks give more leverage so you can rip through it. Works out as a nice compromise.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesb Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 I run 18:15It is what many pros run...20:16 is a bit heavy--heavier than 22:18 which was the max a year ago. I think it still is the max that pros use.20:19 = not for a big move rider in my opinion. There is not enough speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Concussion Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 A real eye opener for me! As of tonight I was running 20:16, I thought it seemed a tad heavy.Gonna try a few light / (appropriate) gears, to see if it makes a difference. Although I only have 18 and 21 to choose from Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 No worries, 20/18 should be spot on for most people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John planet x Posted December 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 Meh proper gay. Anyone got 17t single speed cogs for sale heh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spode@thinkbikes Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 I'm more of a static rider and for static stuff, you don't want too heavy a gear. It's a just a different style.I see there are some Mod and Stock riders replying to this. You CANNOT compare the ratios in the same way. Instead you have to convert to inches. Personally, I'm not going any lower than 20:18. But at the same time, I'm not going back to 20:19 purely because getting that gusset single speed kit on involved a hammer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flipkickbs Posted December 20, 2005 Report Share Posted December 20, 2005 I used to run 22-16 which felt awesome (only because i'd not ridden anything better before). Then i started hanging round with fat mike, steve a, matt b etc who all ran lower gearing, so i made the change to 22-18, and golly gosh did it help. My gaps on the first day of running the new ratio improved by about a foot and my bike started to feel so much more responsive. I've stuck with 22-18 ever since and don't think i'm going to be changing any time soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.