Changing from Singlespeed 48T/17T to 44T/16T - Big difference in pedaling resistance?

[bernieUK]

Good evening all

I am thinking of changing my crankset to a very reasonable priced White Industries ENO Singlespeed Crankset.

At present I have a 48T crankset with a 17T freewheel. The largest ring on the White Industries is 44T. Would it be a huge difference in the pedaling resistance with 44T & either 17T or 16T? Forgive my ignorance as I am not sure if "resistance" is the right term.

As always I would appreciate any advice.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

www.sheldonbrown.com/gears


then plug in you numbers. you can either do speed, gear inches, meters development or gear ratios.

 

[bernieUK]

Many thanks for the link.

Well, I entered some numbers and got the following results:

48T X 17T (present setup) using gain ratio = 5.5

44T X 17T using gain ratio = 5.1

44T X 16T using gain ratio = 5.4

That is certainly a very clever little program but what does it actually mean? So, if I was to change to 44T X 16T I would hardly notice the difference compared to 48T X 17T?

 

[Deleted member 1258]

48x17=75.6 gear inches is your current set up
44x17=69.3 gear inches is a lower gear which will be easier to turn but will need slightly higher pedal revs
44x16=73.6 gear inches is a gear between the other two which will be slightly easier to turn than your current set and will need slightly higher pedal revs than your current set up.

I have done the calculations with a 170 crank and 700x28 wheel size

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

www.sheldonbrown.com

you will find short easily understood definitions

 

[jimboalee]

Singlespeeds are a law unto their own.

You have to match your 'comfortable' cadence with the power you can sustain and the power requirement of the speed determined by the ration you fit to the bike.

No-one except yourself can balance the three variable to arrive at a gear ratio that suits YOU.

 

[Crackle]

So currently, if you pedal at 90rpm, you do 19.8mph with 48x17
If you change it to a 44x16 and pedal at 90rpm you will do 19.3mph
If you change to a 44x17 and pedal at 90rpm you will do 18.2mph

 

[Tharg2007]

if you're used to 48x17 why not take it up a notch and test yourself with 48x16? if its not too hilly

 

[davidad]

If everything else is staying the same (e.g. wheel size, tyre size, crank length) then I find it much easier to divide the chainring by the sprocket to work out the gear ratio. So 48/17=2.82, 44/16=2.75, 44/17=2.59. A higher ratio means a greater distance travelled for each crank revolution making it harder to get up the hills but faster for a given cadence as already stated.

 

[jimboalee]

Gear length doesn't have to be accurate.

Ring/sprocket x tyre diam, Either 26 or 27".
27" for both 27 x 1 1/8 etc AND 700C.

If you go saying "My fixie has a 67.45 inch gear for a 44 x 17 on a 700x22 because the tyre is compressed slightly when I sit on the bike", you'll get laughed at when you've gone home.

You have a 70" gear.