Segwaying (tm) along this thread, rather than starting a new one, I just came back from a relatively major grocery and mail run, using the '03 Converted Curt Fixed. 17/19 Dingle with 48 t ring and almost-25" tires (559X1.35" Kojaks). The cruising 48/17 gives me about a 70" gear (taking into account the "almost") while the 19 gives me a roughly 63" gear.
I installed the Dingle last summer but never used the 19 until very recently, and I used it again today as the load was heavier (38 lb per my cheap hanging scale, not legal for trade -- I scrupulously enter these figures into my notebook in a tight, cramped hand): was heavier, I say, than I normally carry on the '03, (and about 8 lb more than its preferred maximum. While sitting you have to keep the front wheel under control at low speeds; standing, the rear will wag for a second or two until it syncs with your cadence. The Ram handles 40lb+ loads much better). (I daresay a Long Haul Trucker or good Porteur would handle even heavier loads even better, but the point of the Ram and the Curt is that they are lightish, fast road bikes that handle wonderfully unladen, and that yet handle a useful range of rear weight acceptably.) Anyway, I am very pleased to find that the 19, chosen instead of the (17/) 20 because my stay/dropout/preferred ring/preferred cog combos do not comfortably accept a 3 tooth spread, gives a low gear that is really better for this sort of loaded riding than the 60" from a 20. Yes, I do like a very tight spread. It would be nice to have one more lower gear, say a 55" or so, for very long climbs, but then a S3X, despite its 2 lb weight, looks better. I may yet build a second rear wheel around one of these -- tho' I've also thought of one of the new kickbacks. Regarding the Dingle in particular: I've certainly found that swapping cogs, even with panniers attached, is far, far easier with the Dingle than with a flip-flop system, particularly when your panniers are loaded and you are holding up a bike, of which the front wheel is flopping all over the place, with your head as you manipulate the chain. A sturdy, steel, inside-cam QR is essential, of course. (I use one of those old XTs with the rubber lever cover.) Segway again: the pathology of insisting on fixed in varying terrain, wind, and load conditions, is an odd and perverse one, but one that I happen to love a great deal, the main reason being the challenge of *not* having "enough" gears, closely spaced or otherwise. The fun comes from forcing yourself to adapt -- in effort, in pedaling style, in strategy, in anticipation or planning (not "planing") -- to the conditions instead of shifting or coasting to overcome them. I tend to ride the 2X7 Ram in the (44X) 16-17-18 "95% of the time" (that's a quantitative metaphor and not a measurement) and in the 44X17 = 70" 85-90% of the time. On the long hills that riding fixed I stand and struggle on, or bail on and walk, I will use lower ones, even bailing to the 30 (but never, ever using the 30X23 granny!) and very occasionally, on a slope with a tailwind, I'll get to the 14 t small (85"), but those occasions are rare. But for a non-pavement-dedicated all rounder, I think Philip's (and the QB's) system is very good, since in effect you have a road and a lower dirt range. I'm tempted to use a half link and find the Fargo's optimum ss total tooth mix, and try to find a drivetrain that gives me a ~65"/55" on- and off-road range (or ~65/47). On Tue, Nov 26, 2013 at 1:46 PM, Philip Williamson < [email protected]> wrote: > Yes to both of you; I did mean change cog and ring together for a bigger > gear change overall. And yes, embiggening the cog by one tooth will make > about twice the gearing change as embiggening the ring by one tooth. > Sorry if I wasn't clear. > > Philip > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
