What's your top gear?

[NHAero]

I realized that when I sold the Casati that it was the last bike I owned that had a 50T chainring or larger. Looking at the Bob Jackson (3x10) and Firefly, Strong, and Litespeed 26er dropbar conversion, all 2x11, the top gears are 48-12, 46-12, 44-11, and 42-11. With the wheel/tire sizes each bike runs, a pedal cadence of 100 rpm yields top speeds of 30-32 mph. Since I live in a place without any long downhills, this is plenty. If I were back in NH, where I lived for 35 years with similar gearing, I'd experience longer downhills but would still tend to coast if I'm going over 30 mph. I'm not a racer. One of the aspects of having a top gear of about 100 gear-inches is that I actually do hit top gear on most rides. On the Firefly, I changed the small cog on the 11-34 cassette from 11T to 12T so the jump at the top of my speed range is a one tooth jump instead of going from a 13T to 11T - I use the 12T more than I would use the 11T.

[BRad704]

Originally Posted by NHAero

I realized that when I sold the Casati that it was the last bike I owned that had a 50T chainring or larger. Looking at the Bob Jackson (3x10) and Firefly, Strong, and Litespeed 26er dropbar conversion, all 2x11, the top gears are 48-12, 46-12, 44-11, and 42-11. With the wheel/tire sizes each bike runs, a pedal cadence of 100 rpm yields top speeds of 30-32 mph. Since I live in a place without any long downhills, this is plenty. If I were back in NH, where I lived for 35 years with similar gearing, I'd experience longer downhills but would still tend to coast if I'm going over 30 mph. I'm not a racer. One of the aspects of having a top gear of about 100 gear-inches is that I actually do hit top gear on most rides. On the Firefly, I changed the small cog on the 11-34 cassette from 11T to 12T so the jump at the top of my speed range is a one tooth jump instead of going from a 13T to 11T - I use the 12T more than I would use the 11T.

Let's see... I've got bikes setup right now with:
53-11 Bianchi steel frame kinda-vintage-ish overall, so I like the big ring.
52-11 Trek Madone that does get raced
40-11 Trek Boone.. because it's a CX bike... but I'm still good for 30+mph when necessary. I actually enjoy this gearing since I'm rarely out for a ride when I NEED to go faster. I could totally see myself building a sub-compact bike in the future for regular group rides.

[redir]

53x11 on my Moots. It's nice to have here in the mountains but a bit overkill really. I also use a 53x12. At my weight I can coast real fast

[Likes2ridefar]

42x10. 650bx47-50. I’m very rarely in it.

[witcombusa]

Don't need more than 100 inches EVER!. A build I just finished up with Half-Step plus granny spans 93 gear inches down to 27. (3 x 5)
I want gears where I actually use them. Another recent build (2 x 7) goes from 97 inches to 34.
The day of 53/42 w 13-23 are reserved for folks in billiard table flat country.

[NHAero]

We agree, for what is likely similar riding styles. I must note that our 53-13 is equal to a 45-11, so I'm still close to that on my bikes. It's the 53-11 I marvel at - I'd be close to 40 mph in that gear. But I get that in pack riding and sprinting.

Originally Posted by witcombusa

Don't need more than 100 inches EVER!. A build I just finished up with Half-Step plus granny spans 93 gear inches down to 27. (3 x 5)
I want gears where I actually use them. Another recent build (2 x 7) goes from 97 inches to 34.
The day of 53/42 w 13-23 are reserved for folks in billiard table flat country.

[Mark McM]

I find the biggest gear I need is often lower than most people think they need.

A rider's biggest gear typically isn't used the majority of the time, but instead is used for special situations. Those situations are usually things like downhills and sprints.

I develop maximum power at about 120 rpm. On flat ground my maximum sprint speed is about 35 mph (pathetic, I know), which I can do at about 120 rpm in a 52/14. For long downhills, at speeds above 40mph I can go faster in tight tuck then by pedaling. With a 52/12, I can pedal at 40 mph with a cadence of 110 rpm. But most of the time, I don't pedal when I can descend in a tuck faster than about 35 mph, and I can get up to 35mm in a 52/13 at 104 rpm. When descending in a group where riders are going faster than 40 mph I might need to do a short "sprint" burst at 50 mph or so to catch the wheel of another rider (and once on their wheel I no longer need to pedal). Since I can do 150 rpm in sort bursts, I can even manage that with a 52/13.

So, for most of my rides, a 52/13 is high enough. For racing, where I might need to put down some power on downhills, a 52/12 is the biggest I've ever really wanted.

[GregL]

Top gears:

52x11 or 12 on the road racing bikes.
50x11 on the all-road bike.
46x11 on the gravel bike.

Top gear really isn't too important to me. Reasonably close gear ratios and bottom gear are much more important.

Bottom gears:

36x28 on the road racing bikes.
34x32 on the all-road bike.
34x34 on the gravel bike.

Greg

[NHAero]

That's what keeps my top gears low - wanting the gearing in the range where I normally ride, and low enough to get up whatever I encounter. I know from previous posts that you're stronger than I am, so my 30x34 low gear on the Strong, my D2R2 and similar bike, is "equal" for me to your low of 34x34.

Originally Posted by GregL

Snip

Top gear really isn't too important to me. Reasonably close gear ratios and bottom gear are much more important.

Bottom gears:

36x28 on the road racing bikes.
34x32 on the all-road bike.
34x34 on the gravel bike.

Greg

[mhespenheide]

I've got a 53x11 on a bike that's mostly on the trainer, but 50x11 is really the answer of the bikes that I actually use outside.

That said, I honestly think I'd be fine with 48x12 or 44x11 as a top gear. If I were building up a road drivetrain from scratch, I'd want to try 44-30 in the front and 11-30 in the rear. Plenty low, plenty high, reasonable jumps, might work with a short cage rear derailleur. Almost a 1x in operation, but also with a low-gear front chainring as a backup for big or long hills.

[TheseGoTo11]

Even with long descents, I find the following top gearing about spot on for me on the road (non-racer):

700x28mm tires: 48x11
700x38mm tires: 46x11

[Bob Ross]

I have (3) road bikes with a 50x11 top gear, and it gets used all the time.
I also have (1) dirt/gravel/'cross/all-road bike with a 48x11 top gear, and it gets used often enough.

[bigbill]

My favorite setup when I was racing on campy stuff was a 39/53 and a 13-26, the greatest 10S cassette ever made. In VA Beach, I ran an 11-23 for the group rides and would be in the 11 several times each ride. Pancake flat with a 50 person pack meant some high sprint speeds.

Now I'm a fan of the 36/52 setup with a 12-27 campy or 11-28 shimano. My gravel bike is 36/46 with an 11-32 for the gravel wheels and 11-28 for the road wheels. I'm getting older, I haven't spun out the 46-11 in years.

[RonW87]

A 53/11 also means a usable 39/12. It's not always about the combo itself. It's also about using the small cog as a spacer sometimes.

[weaponsgrade]

50/11 on the road bike
48/11 on the gravel bike