Fixie gear ratio Q.

[Anonymous]

Im building my first Fixie from a '72 Schwinn Varsity 27".

I'll be using a 39t chainring with a 6 1/2" crank.

What rear sprocket tooth count would be good for street/flatland?

Thanks.

 

[deorman]

How hard do you wanna ride? I'd get 16t or smaller if possible to be able to make time, but if you want easier pedaling for some close-in action or stunt you could run like 20 max. After that your gonna be on a busy little clown bike if you actually try to go somewhere. Run a front brake.

DISCLAIMER:your results may vary :mrgreen:

 

[Wildcat]

If you still have the Varsity stock, the smaller chainring is 39 teeth, at least that's what my 71 Varsity came with. Take a ride and see what rear cog is the best ratio for your needs, count the teeth and there you are.

 

[stretch]

i built mine with a comfortable cruiser ratio, 44T to 18T, with the stock varsity crank. mine was a 73 varsity. what color is yours? oh and a tip, paint the wheels all black and put gumwalls on it. looks BA. :wink:

 

[bicycleguy]

The general gear ratio for fixies usally is around 70 gear inches depending on where you live. You don't want to have too low of a gear or you'll spin out going downhill and too high will be a pain to ride up hill, I would use a 15 or 16 tooth cog.

 

[sensor]

8 tooth in the back and 26 tooth in the front with a 7" crank(so itd be 16 rear/52front if you run a 1/2" pitch)....but i like tall gearing

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies guys.YES I will be running a front brake.

The bike wasnt rideable when I got it so I cant use the easy way to determin a good ratio.The 39t chainring is the original small ring for the bike.

Id prefer low end torque and good midrange cruising.Im not going for top end speed on this.

 

[stephen]

For the riding you said i'd have 16.

 

[gowjobs]

Back in the day, I used to race a 26" BMX cruiser (Mongoose Kos Kruiser) running 39/13 gears and 175mm crank arms. I also used to be able to leg-press over 800 lbs. repeatedly. Now I'm out of shape, and periodically race a single-speed bomber off-road, running 33t in the front, and from 16t - 20t in the rear, depending on what kind of course we're racing that weekend. On a fixie, where you can't coast to rest between climbs, I'd probably go a little higher... 16t sounds about right with your 39t front ring.

EDIT: You probably wouldn't have as many hills in town as I do here... maybe 15t would be worth a shot. Heck, cogs are cheap... buy a spread.

 

[stephen]

With the bike i'm working on it will be 38x14, virtually the same as 46x17, i've outgrown 46x18.