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gearing help

2K views 6 replies 7 participants last post by  aj2four0 
#1 ·
hey im new to stock bike stuff so don't get pissed at my ignorance. i was wondering wat cog i should have on the front 16 or 18tooth and wat gears should i hav in the back in your opinion.

thanks
-Adrian
 
#2 ·
I believe most stock bike riders run a 22 front, 18 rear. This results in a gear ratio of 1.22 to 1. I'd recommend sticking close to this, as a 22 tooth front sprocket is standard on most mountain bikes, so they are easy to purchase. Many stock bikes use a road bike rear cassette. These are typically lighter than a standard mountain bike cassette, but more importantly, the gears are closer together, ie: 11 to 24 tooth versus 11 to 32 tooth for most mountain bikes. Try to get a cassette with a 17, 18 and 19 tooth gears, so you have some versatility of gear selections that are right around the commonly used 18 tooth sprocket.
 
#4 ·
I run a 20/17 on my stock bike. I think the 22/18 gear is the most popular for urban trials, but lower gearing is popular for natural. 22/19 used to be my favourite, but king kogs aren't available in steel in 19t, so I changed. Mine is good and I can still do rolling stuff fine. If you're using thread on cranks and using a freewheel or fixed cog though, an 18/15 or 18/16 will be OK. 16/14 is pretty close to 22/19 as well if you want to save more weight and gain more clearance.

road cassettes are the best for trials if you want gears. I'm sure you can get a shimano sora, tiagra or 105 in a 12-21 ratio, which should have 17/18/19/21t rear cogs, all you need.

- Joel
 
#7 · (Edited)
tomac said:
king kogs aren't available in steel in 19t
i just bought a 19t... weird.

also, i just went from 22-18 to 22-19 and a longer bike. I liked the 22-18 a lot on the shorter bike, but it was so much effort to get the front up on the longer bike. 22-19 helped out, made some moves more effortless, but i do miss half-pedals with the 22-18. 22-19 causes me trouble and i cant' up quite as high. of course, i can't up very high anyways, so its probably more technique than gearing ;)
 
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