ternst wrote:
> Enjoyed your fixed gear post.
> How about sharing what gear ratio or front and rear tooth combo you're
> using along with average geography or terrain you normally ride on.
> That would help a lot of riders / list members who are not familiar
> with riding a fixed gear what to expect and whether to try it or not.
I ride in flat to rolling terrain with short steep river valley type type hills added as attention getters. At 207 Ibs I am no "hill specialist" at least not on the up side.
My downtown bike (Unknown Brand) 52 x 18 on 25 x 700c clinchers Fast < 60 km rides 1981 Bianchi Pista 51 x 16 on 21 x 700 sew-ups Longer rides 1982 Bianchi (Japan) road bike usually 52 x 17 on 23 x 700c clinchers Peugeot 1981 carbolite frame (winter on clear roads) 42 x 15 on 27 x 1 1/4"
My gear selection theory goes like this. Pick the steepest hill you want to climb. If you can, grunt, gasp and wheez your way to the top while standing and you don't fall over, then you have the right gear.
In the end it is pretty much a matter of choice there are a lot of people who gear their fixed gear bikes like circus clown bikes and love it. I like to work a bit as I ride and am willing to give up on the circus tricks for in my opinion better all round performance. If I lived in SF my tune would be different but my theory the same. ;-)
Marcus Coles
London, Ontario, Canada.