Single speed road bike -- what gear inches / ratio / combo are you running?

[Pastashop]

For those who are riding fixed or single speed on the road, what gears are you running? Is your terrain hilly or mostly flat or in between?

Also, any opinions on the use of singleator or similar widgets (with a freewheel / freehub) if the frame has vertical dropouts?

[p nut]

I typically ride 70-72GI. 48x18 or 47x17 (current). Fairly hilly here where a typical 50-60 mile ride has ~4,000ft gain. If it were flatter, I'd be in the mid-70's, probably.

Tensioner wise, if you can't do a White Industries Eno Ecc Hub, then Rohloff is probably one of your better ones. Other cheaper models break and/or don't hold tension very well. Paul might be another good one.

[Pastashop]

That's basically the gear that Musseuw was using, isn't it?.. :-)

[Vinci]

My commuter is single-speed and I am running a 48x15 gear.

My area is very flat (except overpasses and bridges), so it works fine. I doubt that gearing would fly anywhere with hills, though.

This setup is on a Cross-Check, so it has horizontal dropouts and doesn't need a tensioner.

[thirdgenbird]

Same boat here. 42x16 fixed. I do have an 18t freewheel as a bail out on the other side. Off-road, I used 39x18.

I use an eno hub for tension. The only "issue" is brake reach. With some chain length and gear ratio combos, tensioning the chain will take the wheel out of brake reach. You can fix this with drop brake pads (I did) but it adds to the cost.

[Bstone]

42 x 14 = 3:1
Gain Ratio=6.05
78.7 gear inches

Central Florida=Pancake flat

[regularguy412]

53 x 22 FW. I have a 16 fixed on the flip flop side, but usually use it with a 42. Track fork ends so no need for special hub or tensioner. Moderate hills around here, but lots of flat , too. Nothing too long to climb but some hills are in the 10% to 20% range. The bike is a Soma Delancey 2008 geometry.

Mike in AR:beer:

[Lewis Moon]

I'm running a 46x17 (73) on my Hodala SSCX. I'm pretty spun out a lot of the time but hills or wind (hills AND wind) have me feeling OK with the choice.

Since I'm planning on racing it this fall, I want to spend time on it.

There are a few aspects of single speed training that I've come to grips with: It's hard to train hard on a single speed, because rolling 120 RPM just to get your HR up is a tedious feat of concentration, to say the least. Really, it's not practical to change out sprockets for every occasion.

On the plus side, getting on top of a gear that's slightly too big for a particular hill is a great way to train muscle strength. It's also great for technique, as, at least for me, torso bobbing gear mashing is worthless. Pedaling "circles" in a big gear = fast.

Because I can't gear down for a steeper climb, I have to stand up...sometimes for a LOOOooong time. This trains different muscles and makes me clean up my "spastic stork on PCP...being electrocuted" out-of-the-saddle climbing style.

I love my Hodala. If I had to have only one bike it would be my Ridley X-Fire CX bike, but the Hodala is my first love.

[JAGI410]

Fixed: 46x17 with 19t "windy day" option.

[Jaq]

SS, running 43/16. Steep hills to the north, flats to the south, so a good mix. Some of the steeper climbs take a little willpower (and a willingness to get dropped like an ugly baby), but that's life.

[tigoat]

I am running a 46x18 single speed at the moment, which seems a little low, as I spin way too much when riding with the fast boys. On Wed, I rode 54 miles with 1,800 ft of climbing with an average around 18.1 mph. Last night, I rode 47 miles with 1,300 ft of climbing with an average of around 19.2 mph. All was done on my favorite single speed bike. I would like to try 47x18 next, which I think will be just right for the terrain that I ride, which has a lot of short 15% hills.

[jeffreyt]

I'm running my fixed gear with a 46 x 16 (~76 GI). We have a lot short semi-steep hills around here. I have to work hard going up hill, but I want a big enough gear for the down hills so that I'm not spinning out and bouncing around on my saddle.

[Joel]

48 x 18 fixed

Rolling hills

55 year old knees

All good :)

[ptourkin]

48 x 18 fixed

Rolling hills

55 year old knees

All good :)

Likewise. 48x18 fixed in San Diego with hills. It's a bit steep. I gear down for longer rides.

[Bstone]

The weird thing is that I often have my fastest segment times on my fixed gear. Doesn't really feel that fast at the time.

Once you get a FG spun up it always seems to maintain momentum easier. Don't really know if this is true.

[RyanH]

I like 70-72 GI as well since it's more pleasant with stop lights and it's enough that I can do most minor climbs. Mind, this is coming from someone that will big ring (53-23) our weekend hill climb race that averages 6%.

[mg2ride]

Don't recall exactly but 3:1 range on my road SS and a bit less on my Urban Assault Bike.

Pancake flat.

[thirdgenbird]

SS, running 43/16. Steep hills to the north, flats to the south, so a good mix. Some of the steeper climbs take a little willpower (and a willingness to get dropped like an ugly baby), but that's life.

Running 42x16, I find I have to sprint ahead on the up hills to keep my cadence up and then I get smoked while trying to keep my legs from exploding on the way back down.

The weird thing is that I often have my fastest segment times on my fixed gear. Doesn't really feel that fast at the time.

Once you get a FG spun up it always seems to maintain momentum easier. Don't really know if this is true.

Seems that way here too. One year, I rode mostly fixed and my averages were noticeably faster. It's probably because you can't grab an easier cog and slow down at the same cadence. You spin up to your perfered cadence and pretty much stay there outside of hills. Like mentioned above, I usually attack hills harder when riding fixed so I can keep my cadence at a comfortable level.

Theoretically, you could probably ride at the same rate on a geared bike, your mind just gives in before your body.

[Joel]

Hey Bstone,

Please PM me when you have a chance. Not many of us in Central FL riding fixed gears.

Might be fun to spin a few miles!

Joel

[Ken Robb]

If you have access to a bike with gears why not do some rides using one different gear each time to see what ratios work best for you and set up your single speed accordingly?

[yarg]

Running 45 x 16 on the fixed gear. Rides around here always combine some hills and rolling flats. Wouldn't want to go with too much more for up the hills nor to much less for going down.

[thirdgenbird]

If you have access to a bike with gears why not do some rides using one different gear each time to see what ratios work best for you and set up your single speed accordingly?

This works fine for single speed but not as well for fixed gear.

[Martygarrison]

I run a 46/16 here in Washington DC. I started out with a 46/17 but found myself spinning too often.

[Zoodles]

42x17 here but that bike is for slow rides or trail-a-bike duty in my hilly area. By myself I'd go 46x16 even with the hills.

[JAllen]

Portland isn't that hilly, but it does have its spots. My ss is 48x20 which adds up to be around 65 gear inches. That seems to be a good ratio for decent speed on the flats but you can climb most everything.

[oldpotatoe]

For those who are riding fixed or single speed on the road, what gears are you running? Is your terrain hilly or mostly flat or in between?

Also, any opinions on the use of singleator or similar widgets (with a freewheel / freehub) if the frame has vertical dropouts?

There is no answer to your question, IMHO. Depends on you and where you are riding. Take a geared bike, find a gear that suits you, don't shift, figure out those gear-inches or whatever and start there with a SS bike.

I used 42/16 when I had a fixie..Boulder,CO, old fart, rolling hill type stuff. I had a flipflop hub with a 17t SS freewheel on the other side in case I got toasted, way out. Front brake only.

Chain tensioner..this one works well, sold many. Alfine

[Pastashop]

Thank you all for the suggestions!

Back 15 years ago, I ran 42x16 fixed with a 17t fw on the other side... But I was young, and this was for tooling around town on a beater steel bike.

This time around I'm thinking of what to run for 1-3 hr rides on a lighter racier bike... But the legs are older. :-/

[Miller76]

https://vimeo.com/125022841

[oliver1850]

I'm old and slow, so need gearing on the low side to get over the short but sometimes steep hills at the end of a 2-3 hour ride. I have 44 x 18 FW now, but could imagine liking 42 x 18 better. 44 x 18 is good for 19+ mph at 100 rpm or 21+ at 110. Some downhills around here can hit 35 mph or more coasting, hence the FW.

[RFC]

The tensioners work fine and, in my experience, the cheaper ones (Performance kit) hold up fine.

However, you may not need a tensioner if you get a half link. That usually works for me with vertical dropouts.

[bcroslin]

Hey Bstone,

Please PM me when you have a chance. Not many of us in Central FL riding fixed gears.

Might be fun to spin a few miles!

Joel

You should look up Paul who runs the Central FL randonneurs site (http://floridarandonneurs.com/wordpress/). He rides fixed almost exclusively and over long distances.

And, when I was riding fixed I'd push a 50x15 which was stupid but now I'd probably opt for a 48x15.