[Iridemtb]

I have 26" wheels. I'll be at the local bmx track, skate park, and some trails and some street. What do you guys use?
I'm setting up my bike for a LOT of things this summer. I got tired of breaking my derailer, and it will be a little bit of easier maintnence if I i keep it single speed.

Thanks a ton

 

[w00dy]

36:16 is what I run, the local BMX track is slightly downhill and quite fast. It's well suited for that.

 

[tgreathead]

I tried running 38/17 at a very flat BMX track over the weekend and it did well although I'm gonna try the 19t cog I have next time, I think it will feel a little better.

2:1 is a pretty standard ratio for all around, although you'll spin out if you're going downhill.

 

[cowman]

i run 28-12

 

[snaky69]

26/12 on 26'' tires.

 

[Iridemtb]

I have 36 teeth on the chainwheel I have. Any ideas that will work good with that????

To be honest, I don't want to go out and blow 30-60 bucks on a new chainwheel. What guy does? lol

Thanks for your other replies...

 

[tgreathead]

I have 36 teeth on the chainwheel I have. Any ideas that will work good with that????

To be honest, I don't want to go out and blow 30-60 bucks on a new chainwheel. What guy does? lol

Thanks for your other replies...

Its all about the ratios. 2:1 is a pretty standard ratio (for example, my 38/19) so if you wanted to run 2:1 with your 36t sprocket you'd get a 18t cog. If you want it to be a little easier to pedal, start adding teeth from the cog, and vice versa for making it harder to pedal. A standard mountain cassette will be about 2 teeth difference per gear. The best thing you could possibly do is ride a geared bike and find a gear you like. Then count the front and back teeth. Divide them (38 ÷ 19 for example gives 2, which means 2:1). Then divide the tooth count of your sprocket with the answer you got on the calculator. So if you wanted a 2:1 ratio for your bike you'd get an 18t cog (38 ÷ 2 = 16).

Hope this helps

 

[OGRipper]

^^^He meant ADD teeth to the rear cog to make it easier to pedal. So if you're running a 36 in front and an 18 tooth rear cog (a 2:1 ratio) is too hard for you, you'll want to find a 19 or 20 tooth rear cog. But I agree that if you currently run multiple gears, find the one you like and count the teeth.

 

[tgreathead]

^^^He meant ADD teeth to the rear cog to make it easier to pedal.

Oops, thanks for catching that, I edited my post. Proofreading helps

 

[Iridemtb]

I went outside, and I figured out I like it with 16 teeth. I guess I need to find something I like in between 16 and 20. If you have any other suggestions, just throw it out. Thanks a lot.

 

[OGRipper]

I went outside, and I figured out I like it with 16 teeth. I guess I need to find something I like in between 16 and 20. If you have any other suggestions, just throw it out. Thanks a lot.

Not sure I understand. If you like your 36:16, go with it.

There isn't really anything else to suggest, you just need to pick a gear. But whatever gear you choose, chances are pretty good that at some point you'll wish you chose something else...that's the curse of single speeds.

 

[tgreathead]

Not sure I understand. If you like your 36:16, go with it.

There isn't really anything else to suggest, you just need to pick a gear. But whatever gear you choose, chances are pretty good that at some point you'll wish you chose something else...that's the curse of single speeds.

Its true. I thought 2:1 was great until I rode around the city one night and spun out on every downhill. So I bought a smaller cog which is great for the city but is a little too hard for my liking at the BMX track. The good news is if you get a good spacer kit and the same brand of cogs you won't have to fix your chainline every time you switch. Chain tensioners will help too since you won't have to worry about getting the chain length exactly right for each cog.

 

[Iridemtb]

I hope the whole not being happy with 1 gear won't happen... But thanks a lot. Only if geared hubs were cheaper, lol.

 

[tgreathead]

I hope the whole not being happy with 1 gear won't happen... But thanks a lot. Only if geared hubs were cheaper, lol.

Its super easy to swap them if you have a cassette hub, all you need is a chainwhip and lockring tool, you'll be swapped and ready to roll in less than 2 minutes.

 

[mikeG]

I prefer a 38/17 at the BMX track and I still find it works well at the trails. I just got a Nemesis Project Secret Agent and had to go down to a 34 due to the spacing and shorter stays(I have 34/15). I have to say that I prefer a little larger front chainwheel for the BMX track. It feels like I have more torque but overall the performance of the SA frame outweights everything else.

 

[Squirreldh]

I'm running 32/16, a 2:1 ratio. I ride mostly street and dirt jumping on my SS. I like the smaller diameter on the chainwheel for more clearance on ledges and other obstacles. spinning out on the DH kinda sucks but you also gotta pedal up those hills too! Experimentation is the best thing, play around with a couple gearing choices, what works for one person doesn't always work for another. If you are riding more than one track, you may need to change it out anyways, some tracks are flatter than others, you know? Keep the rubber side down!