hey there folks, new guy here...riding the gary fisher rig, 29'er as my commute hog. question for all the gear ratio geeks, I'm curious as I've modified the bike a bit to run a 36/14 tooth combo which runs me at a ratio of 74.6ish, I believe... Anywho, I'm wondering if this is causing me any inefficiencies with the crank arm lengths or even due to the size of the tires...any thoughts?? loving the single speed life...seems to be gaining in popularity.
That's a big gear! Well............its your kness, not mine! Anywho.......keeping in mind that there is conventional wisdom on the subject at hand, but no one has a definitive answer. I'd say go with at least 180mm crank arms, but the trackies push tall gears with 165's out of necessity, so who am I to say? Otherwise, have at 'er. If you can mash that gear on your commute, more power to ya.
For commuting that gear ratio should be ok. Crank length is more a function of how tall (leg length) you are than anything else when talking about fit on a "regular" bike.
thanks for the replies! The 21" rig has 175mm crank arms so pretty close to the 180mm, i'll see what 180's I can find in my old tool bag. I moved towards 29'ers because of my height/weight, i needed the bigger bike and it's paid off, the chicks totally dig a big bike, I can't even get it in my lady's trunk anymore...