City bike gearing

[ericspin]

Curious about gearing from those of you that may have a similar rig. Bought a Rock Lobster Alfine from a forumite a few months ago and I think I am ready to build her up but I can't quit the mind numbing gear selection thoughts. Building it up SS and want to utilize a lot of the build kit from my SS mtb. So I would like to use my 29er wheelset that sports a WI disc hub with an 18 tooth cog. The big question is what size chainring. Probably built up with 2.0 or 2.1 city type tires (something Schwalbe most likely) rather than mtb knobbies. Crank is a WI also. Sooooooo, how many teeth on the chainring?

Thanks

[rice rocket]

You live in Florida, the flattest place in this universe. Run 54t if you can find one. :p

[ericspin]

Yeah, flat it is. What I am really looking for is that fine balance between easy going around town bike VS. the high speed spin. This is no performance machine.

[rugbysecondrow]

I would go 38 or 42 and have fun. WI makes a double crankset which sport an35/38 combo that might work too. Hard to say as so much is personal preference. Those lobsters are cool cruisers so I would opt for a smallish ring and a chill ride rather than an aggresive setup...especially since it is a SS.

[MarcusPless]

Use one of the many readily available gearing calculators to account for wheel and tire sizes and then pick a gear inch range you're comfortable with. I like somewhere around 75 gear inches for commuting but I have some hills to deal with. I'd think 80-85 gear inches might be decent if it was flat and you weren't always dealing with a lot of wind. 90 gear inches might be a bit much on the road, but only you can make that call.

--Marcus

[Joellogicman]

I had a 46/18 on my Retrotec triple for riding in Chicago - which presumably is nearly as flat as Florida.

I weigh around 160 and carried as much as 25 pounds or so on some errand runs.

Definitely stay away from mtb nobbies in the city. If you want to go real big, Schwalbe Big Apple lite skins are great tires. The 38 Marathon Racer or Kojak are also good choices for faster urban riding.

Sounds as though this will be a great bike.

[ericspin]

Thanks for the responses. As I know that this kind of choice is very personal I always like to hear others opinions.

Paul, thanks for the picture link. I see that you did your research in the classifieds to find the one that I bought. I think it has the opportunity to be a real fun ride.

[rugbysecondrow]

Normally I wouldn't notice these things, but this bike stuck in my head because it looked like it would be that much fun. I hope it is!

Enjoy