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My recent 29er purchase came with a 46/18 single speed gear combo. I'm willing to give the single speed thing a go - the advantages would be many over the winter period I'm sure. Question is, is that ratio ambitious or too easy in and around the Peak district area on a 29er?
Massively ambitious I think! That sounds like a road ratio*.
FWIW I run 32:16 on a 26", accepted wisdom is 2 teeth larger cog on a 29er, so equiv. to 32:18. If in the Peaks, perhaps still too hard so maybe 32:20 could be good.
(*...of course, I'm assuming you ARE meaning for MTB use)
Hehe, I am. I suppose I should have mentioned that it came with slicks installed on it which I am going to swap out for some Maxxis Ardents (2.25 back and 2.4 front). I may make it a 1x9'er till I figure out what's good for me.
that's what my road bike runs. difficult off road.
I used to run my Swift with a 38:20 combo and it was a bit ambitous on steep terrain. I actually run it as a 1X9 now and I still think I need to reduce the size of the chainring.
Well since I did my first mtb single speed 29er ride on Saturday I feel well qualified to answer 🙂
I run 48:18 on my road bike which is fine - I can grind up most things on it. My 29er is 32:16 which seemed fine on the loops that I used to do on my geared bike, I was able to get up stuff that I used the granny ring for
Sounds good - so a 32:18 should be a good one to start with and then maybe move to a 32:16 should I get any better.
Do you have any general things that I should consider when setting up a single speed for the first time? I hear that wide bars (presumably for standing and stomping) are a must? Any pointers to resources much appreciated.
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...but otherwise seems like good advice?