Rob3rt
Man or Moose!
- Location
- Manchester
As redjdi says its to spread the wear around the tyre if you skid a lot. Basically your gear ratio will always cause the wheel to be in the same few possitons relative to the cranks when you lock your wheels up with your legs. This happens because people tend to lock their legs at the same possition each time they skid, rather than random possitions, much like people track stand with the same leg forward. If you choose a ratio with many skid patches the tyre will have more possitions in which it stops in relation to the cranks when the pedals reach the skid possition.
Since I cant explain very well, an example is best, say you skid with your left foot forward, cranks horizontal. The wheel will always be in certain possitions relative to the crank, as dependant on the your gear ratio. If you have 3 skid patches (as defined by gear ratio), this means every time your left foot is forward, crank horizontal, 1 of 3 regions of tyre will be in contact with the road. If you have 6 skid patches, 1 of 6 regions will be in contact with the ground. If you are locking up, these regions will wear faster than the rest of the tyre. So with 6 skid patches vs 3, you will have a more distributed wear pattern and longer tyre life.
Unless you regularly skid, dont worry about that AT ALL. A skid here or there when called for isnt likely to cause excessive wear, but if you are a hipster fixie skidder, pay heed and get a ratio with many skid patches.
