[Velokid1]

Howdy folks. Long time off-roader, first time single speeder. :thumbsup:

I'm in the final week of building up a Spot 29" and I need to decide on the gearing.

The seasoned SS cats around here ride a 30x20 (about 39 gear inches) offroad. I'm guessing I'm going to be in a world of hurt for the first couple months, so I'd like to end up with something a little shorter, maybe 37-38 inch range.

I haven't found any gear inch charts specific to 29" wheels. Of course, the rims are 700c, but a 2.3 tire is going to be a lot different from a 700x23 road tire.

The cranks I'm putting on the bike (Truvativ SS) come with a 32T c-ring but I'm leaning towards tossing a 30T on there just because a 32 x 23 is going to be a tad heavier than a 30-22 or so. So maybe a 30x22, which is 36.8 gear inches dressed with a road tire and maybe ends up around 38.5 with a 2.3 on there??? Just guessing... hoping someone here knows for sure.

Hope that makes sense. Thanks in advance, good peeps.

Greg

 

[gearless]

You threw too many numbers at Me but gearing does revlove around which state You are in. I started with 2 easier than 2-1. (34-19) and just switched to 36-18. that is a stout gear for out west but I can push it now, (here in Michigan) this late in the season.

 

[Velokid1]

Thanks, man. That's a tall gear! Yowser.

In this area, the climbs are either short, loose and steep or long, loose and steep. I did some reading (imagine that) and decided to go with a 30x22. Basically took my buddies' 30x20 and decreased the gear inches by 10-12%.

Hope that wasn't too many numbers. Heh heh.

Alright now... bring on the pain, SS Gods.

 

[The Avenger]

Can you put a 30 on the Truvativ cranks?

Rule of thumb is to go two teeth more on the cog when going from a 26" wheel to a 29" wheel.

 

[29Colossus]

I would think 30/22 would be pretty dang low for anything other than climbing trees. Are you riding in Arizona? If you have hills that go straight up for half a mile, then 30/22 would be a gear to try, but for anything else I just don't know.

 

[FoShizzle]

too many variables to say what gear is best for you....

for what it is worth, I ride in Southern California on lots of technical steep stuff, as well as 8 mile fireroad climbs with 4500' elevation gain and have found that now that I am somewhat used to single speeding, the 32/20 gearing is good for 95% of my riding.

I would personally recommend starting with 32x22 (or as you are leaning towards, 30x22...who cares, it should only matter to you. cant have too many cogs/rings anyway ).....perhaps you will find over time, or right away, that 32x20 is good. I keep a 22 cog around for select rides.

bottom line is that it does not matter and it is better to start to easy than too hard.

cheers and good luck!

 

[Velokid1]

To be honest with ya, I don't know, either. These guys are old-school mtn bikers like me and have been riding SS for 4-5 years now. They're pretty darn fit and like I said, they're running 30x20 on their 26"ers.

 

[Velokid1]

Thanks, FoSh. I wasn't really asking for a gear inch recommendation, but was wondering, when looking at a gear inch chart for 700c wheels, how much do 2.3 mtn bike tires skew the gear inches given for a particular chainring/cog/rim size figure.

I'll keep your 32x22 rec in mind. Maybe just stick with the stock 32T c-ring and go that route.

Thanks, everypeeps. :thumbsup:

 

[FoShizzle]

Thanks, FoSh. I wasn't really asking for a gear inch recommendation, but was wondering, when looking at a gear inch chart for 700c wheels, how much do 2.3 mtn bike tires skew the gear inches given for a particular chainring/cog/rim size figure.

I'll keep your 32x22 rec in mind. Maybe just stick with the stock 32T c-ring and go that route.

Thanks, everypeeps. :thumbsup:

whoops....sorry. i did not read carefully to see the specific question.

Personally, I would ignore the subtleties with the tire size (I assume Exiwolfs?) and just use the 32t up front that you already have and play around with the back cog to see what works. I highly doubt changing tires is gonna make much of a difference on the same bike....at least it has not for me.

cheers

 

[Velokid1]

I'm going to be running the Ignitor 2.3s. I'll just not sweat the tire size so much and hop into a 32-22 and see how it goes, like you said. I'm using a White Industries Eno freewheel, so I probably won't be doing much back and forth experimenting with different gear ratios, due to lack of funds.

 

[FoShizzle]

I'm going to be running the Ignitor 2.3s. I'll just not sweat the tire size so much and hop into a 32-22 and see how it goes, like you said. I'm using a White Industries Eno freewheel, so I probably won't be doing much back and forth experimenting with different gear ratios, due to lack of funds.

i did not know there was such a thing as Ignitor 2.3s in 29er......I have Ignitors and while they are pretty decent volume, they are 2.1 tires.

It sounds like you have an ENO already.....they are very cool (i used to run one). As far as playing with gears, if you do have an ENO but do want to check other gears before buying another ENO, i would recommend you pick up a cheap ACS Claw in whatever gearing interests you to see if you like it....and then perhaps buy another ENO in that size once you confirm you like it. On the bright side, the 22t will come in handy either all the time or for certain rides for sure.

cheers

 

[Velokid1]

You're right, my fault. I thought they were 2.3s. But alas, they are not.

Thanks for all the tips... I'm stoked to get on a single speed after five years of poo-pooing them.

 

[FoShizzle]

You're right, my fault. I thought they were 2.3s. But alas, they are not.

Thanks for all the tips... I'm stoked to get on a single speed after five years of poo-pooing them.

LOL....yeah, I started a tiny bit over a year ago and now they are all I like. Keep me posted on how you like it....and GREAT choice on the Spot. Let us know if you have any other questions......we LOVE to help people spend their hard earned money

 

[Velokid1]

Yeah, it's funny that all my SS evangelist friends and customers were exactly the thing that KEPT me from trying a SS all this time. So many just seem kind of elitist about it, like it's the only "pure" form of cycling, which I think is a load of crap. It can be your favorite, but don't go around telling everyone else how silly they are for riding multi-speed bikes, ya know? But I finally got over that and, honestly, married with a kid now and I just don't have time to maintain all of me and my wife's bikes anymore.

For me, it was all about simplifying my life.

Plus, my new rig is gonna be badass. Spot/Reba/Truvativ. Going back to Avid mechanical discs. King headset. Should be slick.

I haven't been this excited about a new bike in a few years!

Peace.

Greg

 

[mrsalty]

does this help?

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/

Thanks, FoSh. I wasn't really asking for a gear inch recommendation, but was wondering, when looking at a gear inch chart for 700c wheels, how much do 2.3 mtn bike tires skew the gear inches given for a particular chainring/cog/rim size figure.

I'll keep your 32x22 rec in mind. Maybe just stick with the stock 32T c-ring and go that route.

Thanks, everypeeps. :thumbsup:

 

[Velokid1]

It still doesn't take into consideration the tire size (OD). I'm either going to have to just guess or, once the wheels are built, mount the tires and do a rollout test.

 

[mrsalty]

confused by your assertion.

Vkd1,
Are you sure the dropdown for tire size on the calculator cannot give you a 'relative' estimate??
What tires are you plannng on using??

C.

It still doesn't take into consideration the tire size (OD). I'm either going to have to just guess or, once the wheels are built, mount the tires and do a rollout test.

 

[PeanutButterBreath]

The seasoned SS cats around here ride a 30x20 (about 39 gear inches) offroad. I'm guessing I'm going to be in a world of hurt for the first couple months. . .

I'm guessing you are right, but that's singlespeeding for you.

If 32:20 is what experienced riders in your area choose for the terrain, I'd roll with that and pay my dues.

 

[pacman]

To be honest with ya, I don't know, either. These guys are old-school mtn bikers like me and have been riding SS for 4-5 years now. They're pretty darn fit and like I said, they're running 30x20 on their 26"ers.

I would have expected 32x20 to be a typical 26" gearing, with old-school types even sporting 32x18.

Anyway I don't believe in sticking with one setup for an SS so I use a freehub with cogs. There's a time and place for each setup from epic rides to anaerobic intervals, from guaranteed to make every climb (social rides ) or guaranteed to red-line somewhere..

 

[Velokid1]

I'm guessing you are right, but that's singlespeeding for you.

If 32:20 is what experienced riders in your area choose for the terrain, I'd roll with that and pay my dues.

LOL, I must be horrible at explaining myself. Seriously, I'm sure it's not your fault, but mine.

Everyone else runs a 30x20. My cranks come with a 32T chainring, so I'm going to need to choose a 32x? ratio. If I was running 26" wheels like the others in this area, I would just figure out what 32x? combo equates to 39 gear inches... but I'm running 29" wheels so I was trying to figure out how to accurately determine true gear inches (which are affected not only by chainring/cog combination, but also by size of wheel and, more importantly, size of tire). All the gear inch charts I have found list 29" rims (which are simply 700C rims), but do not take into account a 2.1 mtn bike tire. All the calculators only compensate for 700c road tires.