A Question About Cranks And, Erm, is it the Chainset?

[Boycey]

fair play cybertect- sorry just got a seriousness hangover from some of the dickery in the fixed gear thread, the tongue came over as a conceited one to my *slightly* jaded eyes...

None of this is a serious suggestion. It would probably be simpler to go with a Sturmey hub if you were really bent on putting gears on a Charge Plug (I dunno, what's the rear spacing on one of those?) but it's an entertaining mind-game and I've probably spent far too much time thinking about it.

the real trick is in converting a 3 speed sturmey into a 2 speed + neutral fixed hub. it is possible but i'm mortally frightened of what would happen to my knees changing from neutral at speed. i don't put too much thought into the "putting gears on a track frame" conundrum as i enjoy laughing at the muppets who buy a fixie because "all my mates have one" and then ask to fit gears.

mrs q- take some time to go to a velodrome, fixies are great fun on roads but on a track where it's actually necessary it becomes a different thing altogether. your nearest proper indoor wooden one may be manchester unfortunately but thanks to the olympics we should have one in east london next year. i can't tell you how much fun they are, just listening to the sound from underneath the beams as riders go round is something i'll never forget.

 

[Boycey]

Sugino, On-one and Phil Wood make 12T track cogs.

[awaits Boycey's correction... ]

can't see one on phil wood link but the other 2 show up

...fucking scary tbh

if you find a gear that suits before you start talking to engineering workshops about custom machining >60t rings then try and upsize the parts- greater contact area will result in a slightly more efficient system but with much less wear and tear.

 

[ymu]

a) a hilly hilly route

Your idea of hills might be very different from mine D), but you're in Cambridge so there aren't many to choose from ...

Head out from Cambridge through Newmarket and on to Kentford. There are two sensible routes. If you go straight up Newmarket High Street and straight on past the clock tower there is a route with a crocodile back (the B1506 IIRC) - several shortish but decently steep hills in a row. If you bear right at the clock tower and then immediately left, there is a much gentler but very long hill (IIRC it's only uphill on the way back) along Moulton Road.

 

[mrs quoad]

Your idea of hills might be very different from mine D), but you're in Cambridge so there aren't many to choose from ...

Head out from Cambridge through Newmarket and on to Kentford. There are two sensible routes. If you go straight up Newmarket High Street and straight on past the clock tower there is a route with a crocodile back (the B1506 IIRC) - several shortish but decently steep hills in a row. If you bear right at the clock tower and then immediately left, there is a much gentler but very long hill (IIRC it's only uphill on the way back) along Moulton Road.

Ooo! Interesting! I might try that over the weekend...

I did this this evening:

It's 29 miles along the x axis, 400 feet along the y axis.

I stopped five times to dick around with the pedals, and didn't stop the bike computer at traffic lights (or when dicking around with the pedals). And still averaged 18.6mph. And broke 30mph for the first time on t'fixie (33.9mph)

SO got home, and changed the gearing to 48:13 After eating a quick dinner, I'm off to play wi it

 

[Herbsman.]

QUOAD. GET A BMX CASSETTE HUB. AND LACE IT UP TO A 700C RIM. THEN YOU CAN ENJOY A 9 TOOTH SPROCKET. NINE TOOTH. lol

ok so it wont be fixed, but you seem hell bent on destroying your knees, so go for it!!!

 

[mrs quoad]

QUOAD. GET A BMX CASSETTE HUB. AND LACE IT UP TO A 700C RIM. THEN YOU CAN ENJOY A 9 TOOTH SPROCKET. NINE TOOTH. lol

ok so it wont be fixed, but you seem hell bent on destroying your knees, so go for it!!!

I was once propositioned by a no-tooth woman

Lasciviously

Fewer teeth is not necessarily a good thing

 

[Herbsman.]

but it give u a bigger gear ratio.

 

[mrs quoad]

but it give u a bigger gear ratio.

She gave my gear no bigger ratio whatsoever

 

[Herbsman.]

lol wtfq

 

[mrs quoad]

SO got home, and changed the gearing to 48:13. After eating a quick dinner, I'm off to play wi it

5 miles in 15 mins, on the button. (Well. And four seconds.)



Could be impresseder, but given the roads were tiny wee unlit country roads (past Jeffrey Archer's house ) and the mist was up something chronic, looks like it could be an interesting starter for ten

It's certainly grown added *chunk*

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

SO got home, and changed the gearing to 48:13

Thats a 97" ratio!

 

[Herbsman.]

5 miles in 15 mins, on the button.

20mph average? PUSSY.

 

[mrs quoad]

Thats a 97" ratio!

A wut?

20mph average? PUSSY.

I know

Hoping for improvements over the next day or three

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

a 97 inch gear.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gear_inches

A brisk rider at Herne Hill velodrome will ride high 80s to mid 90s. 97 for the road is insane.

 

[Herbsman.]

tell him to build a rear wheel with a bmx cassette hub, 9t driver. 53 chainring. INSTANT KNEE DEATH.

 

[Herbsman.]

that would be 159 gear inches lol

 

[weepiper]

we had a recumbent in the shop with a 70-tooth chainring the other day.

 

[ymu]

Put it on a 29er for 170gi.

 

[Boycey]

a 97 inch gear.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gear_inches

A brisk rider at Herne Hill velodrome will ride high 80s to mid 90s. 97 for the road is insane.

apparently he's spinning it out!

team UK must be told that chris hoy has a contender

 

[mrs quoad]

apparently he's spinning it out!

team UK must be told that chris hoy has a contender

Naw, I was spinning out 48:14. Couldn't get any faster than 34mph Which is probably more of an issue with my cadence, but ey! I'll see what 48:13'll give me later today, or tomorrow

Just back from a low UT2 50.0 mile ride [on the geared bike] in 2:39:58 - just under 19mph wi an average HR of 142... So if I can't crank the speed on the new fixie gearing somewhat higher than a 20mph avg in more favourable conditions, I'll notch it back down to a 48:14

 

[mrs quoad]

a 97 inch gear.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gear_inches

A brisk rider at Herne Hill velodrome will ride high 80s to mid 90s. 97 for the road is insane.

Hahaha!

So I'm riding a Penny Farthing with a 97" wheel?

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

Perhaps you should think about an assault on the world hour record?

 

[mrs quoad]

Perhaps you should think about an assault on the world hour record?

Maybe in a week or two?

I've only been cycling for a month or so, like

e2a:

p.s. I would never try this, but... It has struck me that a bike lock may be a bit superfluous. I'd imagine that a 48:13 fixed gear could be most opportunistic bike thieves' undoing. Just listen for the screams....

 

[mrs quoad]

48:13

+0.9mph over my previous p.b. for 20 miles... An average of 21.5mph And that's after aboot 3hrs on t'geared bike yesterday, so I'm guessing there's room for improvement

Which is pretty much inline with my rate of quickening so far... About 1mph / week. Can't see that going on for too much longer

And my p.b.s keep on being - rather confusingly - set with alternate bikes. So I've just broken a geared p.b. on the fixie, and the geared p.b. broke a fixie p.b. which broke a geared p.b.

I'm quietly amazed by how close my fixed gear / geared times / speeds are.

 

[mrs quoad]

Just hit 37.2mph on the fixie

With a headwind

(And downhill, admittedly).

With a wee way to go before completely spinning out...

 

[mattie]

My knees hurt just reading this.

Although I'd love to see how quickly you could do it on a BMX.