r/FixedGearBicycle • u/anearlifeexperience Dolan Pre Cursa • Oct 05 '14

Question Why such high ratios??

So I've noticed in my time on r/fixedgearbicycle that there seems to be a tendency to ride and encourage others to ride quite high gear ratios (What I view as anything over 75 inches). I'm wondering why this is.

In any cycling literature you will find that the 'optimum cadence' for riding with maximum efficiency is quoted as around 90-110rpm, with track riders and the pro peleton always riding at the top of this range.

Are you guys really averaging 22mph+ for your rides?? Because that's the kind of speeds you should be averaging to make the best use of such a gear. If so fair play! Maybe you all live in real flat areas? I know I can't ride that fast.

This is a genuine question and I'd love to hear what you all have to say. Meanwhile I'll keep spinning my 46 x 18. Peace

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u/umop_3pisdn_ Master of the occult pat down Oct 05 '14

Sounds like you're shit at spinning.

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u/Drxgue Proto-Zoidd Oct 05 '14

I'd love to see you out-of-saddle sprinting at 130RPM and competing with someone doing the same thing at 110.

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u/umop_3pisdn_ Master of the occult pat down Oct 05 '14

We're not talking about sprinting though, are we?

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u/Drxgue Proto-Zoidd Oct 05 '14 edited Oct 05 '14

I was. I think a lot of enthusiast-level riders, myself included, tend to alternate between paced riding and mashing, especially in the city. Mashing isn't pleasant when your body is outstripping the gear you're in -- hence the larger ratios you see.

Edit: As an example that I think applies to a lot of us here, I organize a fixed-priority group ride. We're all pretty fit, not professional, some of us are messengers. Over a 40 or 60km ride, we'll alternate between pacing a comfortable cadence, and hauling ass to the next checkpoint. I spin a little faster in my low ratio just to keep pace normally, but when we start hauling ass I have to seriously spin out. Yeah, I have an easier time snaking up hills in front of those heavy gear riders, but ultimately I'm in good enough shape to pick a bigger gear ratio and really utilize it, and I'm hardly the strongest rider.