ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
I am thinking of converting my singlespeed bike to a double singlespeed (2 chainrings and 2 sprockets)***.
1 ring and 1 sprocket would be what I use now - 52/19. I have done thousands of kms in that ratio and it is great for flat rides, or undulating ones with no really steep climbs and only short ramps of around 10%.
The thing is, we have a lot of steep climbs around here. For the steepest ones I would always use my best bike, which has a triple chainset giving a very handy 28/30 bottom gear.
There are other routes which are too hard for my 52/19 ratio, but not so steep that I need the triple. Here are 3 example profiles...
If I set the singlespeed up with a 42 ring and a 29 sprocket then the total number of teeth would be the same as before, so maybe I could get away with using the same length chain? I could use the chain tensioner to take up a small amount of extra slack in the chain if need be.
Those intermediate routes are not particularly challenging on the triple but could be a REAL challenge (for me) but still rideable in a 42/29 gear. That's something I would like to try.
I have the 42 ring and some 29 sprockets so it won't take much work to give this a go, but perhaps I will try riding around on my best bike in the nearest equivalent ratio and see how I get on.
The plan would be to select the gear at home before setting out on the ride; no gear changing out on the road. I reckon I could move the chain and adjust the tensioner in a couple of minutes, including degreasing my hands afterwards!
The 52/19 gear suits me best at 20-30 kph, so the 42/29 would only be good for (say) 11-17 kph. That is too slow for riding far on the flat, but the routes I have in mind involve either a very short warm-up on the flat, or a long drag up a 2% gradient, so speed would not be an issue early in the ride. Those routes top out and then largely end downhill; I could just freewheel on the descents. I checked on some of the gentler descents today - I was spinning out in 52/19 anyway so a low ratio would make little difference on them either way.
Have any of you ever done anything like this?
*** If this idea is a success, I might eventually go for a second bike option - singlespeed bike #1 permanently 52/19; singlespeed bike #2 permanently 42 (or 39)/29 (or 30). The first bike was largely built from spare parts. I'd do the same for a second bike. It's not something I'd want to spend hundreds of pounds on.
1 ring and 1 sprocket would be what I use now - 52/19. I have done thousands of kms in that ratio and it is great for flat rides, or undulating ones with no really steep climbs and only short ramps of around 10%.
The thing is, we have a lot of steep climbs around here. For the steepest ones I would always use my best bike, which has a triple chainset giving a very handy 28/30 bottom gear.
There are other routes which are too hard for my 52/19 ratio, but not so steep that I need the triple. Here are 3 example profiles...
If I set the singlespeed up with a 42 ring and a 29 sprocket then the total number of teeth would be the same as before, so maybe I could get away with using the same length chain? I could use the chain tensioner to take up a small amount of extra slack in the chain if need be.
Those intermediate routes are not particularly challenging on the triple but could be a REAL challenge (for me) but still rideable in a 42/29 gear. That's something I would like to try.
I have the 42 ring and some 29 sprockets so it won't take much work to give this a go, but perhaps I will try riding around on my best bike in the nearest equivalent ratio and see how I get on.
The plan would be to select the gear at home before setting out on the ride; no gear changing out on the road. I reckon I could move the chain and adjust the tensioner in a couple of minutes, including degreasing my hands afterwards!
The 52/19 gear suits me best at 20-30 kph, so the 42/29 would only be good for (say) 11-17 kph. That is too slow for riding far on the flat, but the routes I have in mind involve either a very short warm-up on the flat, or a long drag up a 2% gradient, so speed would not be an issue early in the ride. Those routes top out and then largely end downhill; I could just freewheel on the descents. I checked on some of the gentler descents today - I was spinning out in 52/19 anyway so a low ratio would make little difference on them either way.
Have any of you ever done anything like this?
*** If this idea is a success, I might eventually go for a second bike option - singlespeed bike #1 permanently 52/19; singlespeed bike #2 permanently 42 (or 39)/29 (or 30). The first bike was largely built from spare parts. I'd do the same for a second bike. It's not something I'd want to spend hundreds of pounds on.
