What size chainwheel & rear cog?

[Billy Bueno]

What size chainwheel & rear cog do you guys/gals run??

All my bikes are 44t & 19t.

The reason that ask is that have some billet chainwheels made & I am trying to get an idea of what be a good idea of sizes to make.

 

[deorman]

Wheel size? Tire size/style? Riding conditions? Crouched ergos or laid back?

Ok, ok, 44-48 front range, 16-22 rear. I've gone with a 52 front before, but you don't see them much anymore. Most of my current stuff has either same as yours, or 48-18 or 19. My build off bomber has a 36 up front, but it's pretty low for anything besides the dirt or a parade.

 

[Bicycle808]

I'd say that 44 is a safe size if you're making a run of OPC sprockets. Bigger may look cooler, but then it's harder to find rears big enough to satisfy the low-gear folks. Smaller than 44t just looks wrong, to my eye.

 

[dougfisk]

26/10 or 52/20 is the standard for 10 year old boys since the 30's. I myself am a little stronger than a 10 year old and prefer 26/9 or 52/18.

 

[B607]

My prewar Schwinn wouldn't look right with anything but a 52t up front. 18t rear...with a Nexus 7 hub. Flat ground around here so it's no problem having tall gears. Gary

 

[mikeeebikey]

I am a small ring guy, I run 40 to 36 with a 15 to 17 out back... Am I the only one?

 

[outsider13]

Well I'm a very large ring guy I like the 65 [or whatever the stationary bike ring is] and 28 or 30 on the back I'd love to see a 70!! made...or Bigger!! :shock: ..so I can run a schwine stingray front sprocket on the back :lol: :lol: If you want an EYE Catcher bike "Go big or Go home" :lol: :lol:
I'm gonna have to look into that. Find me a shop that will make big rings.....HHhhmmmm :idea: :idea:

 

[Tychevelle]

I agree with gary I love the look of the phantom 52 tooth sprockets on my schwinns. But as for my electras and some of my old balloon tire bikes I like the 44/22 set up as there is hills around here and I ain't tryig to set no land speed records. Just cruuuiiise

 

[onex29er]

Well I have leggs like tree trunks , they can move really heavy objects but they don't move very fast at all . So I prefer big sprockets backed up by small cogs . My current Onex 29er has a 52t front and the original 17t cog , my previous Onex 29er that was stolen had a 48t up front with a 16t cog in the rear . My first onex came with a 18t cog in the rear , both had 36t fronts as stock .It seems as far as the onex bikes are concearned they simply slap on whatever cog they hsve at the time on the hubs but fronts seem to be much more regular .

 

[Bicycle808]

Updated to 65T & 20T on my Genesis Super 32 cruiser

That's like, close to 100 gear inches. Hope you don't need your knees too much longer... :shock: :mrgreen:

 

[mikeeebikey]

Updated to 65T & 20T on my Genesis Super 32 cruiser

That's like, close to 100 gear inches. Hope you don't need your knees too much longer... :shock: :mrgreen:

My head calculator says it is near 52/16, or 44/14, pretty tall if you are not ready for it!
My best friend spins 52/16 in hilly California, Napa valley.
I am working on increasing my rpms, 120 seems to be my limit! with my current gear that equals 25 mph...push that for 8.5 miles!
Remember, more chain is more places to break!
I run high quality bmx chains and can feel them stretch when I bear down on the pedals.

 

[Bicycle808]

Yeah, Mikee, except that you need to take wheelsize into account when calculating gear inches.... 52/16 is 84"--- stupid-big for a cruiser, but it's a human gear. (BTW, depending on you define "spinning", if your friend is truly spinning a 52/16, he's superhuman. I think it's more likely that he's mashing it...)

With a 32" wheel, a 52/16 (or a 65/20--same ratio) is over 100 gear inches. I'm thinking it's close to 105". That's an inhuman gear, on a cruiser. I can't imagine it's much fun to ride it.

FWIW, road bikes don't exceed 105" until you get to the highest couple of gears. By then, you're already moving at 20mph or more. Trying to push a gear like that from a standstill or up a hill on singlespeed will definitely take a toll on the knees.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

I am a small ring guy, I run 40 to 36 with a 15 to 17 out back... Am I the only one?

36/16 on my BigBoy 26" BMX... Ran 42/16 on the "50 years" muscle bike with 26" o.d. rear tire, perfect for me but a bit too high for most...

Luke.

 

[outsider13]

I use 65T on 4 of my bikes. The key is the rear I run 28T or30T on the back and they cruise very nicely...and they look cool too :shock: :idea: :arrow: 8)

 

[CCR]

I think a 44 or 46 would be ideal if you were having some chainwheels made as most of us play with the gearing anyway. 44/20 works for a neighborhood cruiser for me. Tallest geared bike I ride has a 52t with a 18t bendix yellow band. I use low gear a lot on that thing though :lol:

Anymore I'm liking the chainring/spider combo up front more and more...