A single speed question

I am building a single speed MTB at the moment, it's a first for me as single speed and wanted to know what is the best suitable gearing to aim for, I am looking to buy a Middleburn chainring to make it last and make the changes on the rear cog if needed, at the moment I am looking for 36 x 14 which it will be mostly ridden on tarmac and a little light off road.

Would these gearing have the same effect/strength? 36x14 and 32x18 they both add up to 50 (36+14=50 ~ 32+18=50)

Any tips from single speed MTB riders will be great and helpful

Cheers Guy

Hope this helps a bit ,but youll get conflicting answers
I had the same dilemma ,i wanted to go ss but theres too many hills,so i now use a 48T front with an 8 speed cassette
LBS owner was a road champ[or is it chump[haha sorry craig]
he recommends a gear inch of about 70",the ss set ups ive seen seem to be 38/18 which only 55"
on my 8 speed i seem to stay in 20T with the 48T front giving 62"gear

you could do what iv done.
Run an 8 on the back/ single on the front ,try to stay in 1 gear only ,work out that gear inch then go about 5" below that
depends on how fit you are and how hard you want to pedal
Im unfit and dont like hard work and ive only 1 bike at the moment

Once upon a time you could build your own cassettes ,to the ratios that best suit your riding conditions

Same answer as always

Ride your geared bike, on your terrain, and find the gear that works best for you in most situations. Work out the gear inches of that particular combination and replicate it on the SS.

Would these gearing have the same effect/strength? 36x14 and 32x18 they both add up to 50 (36+14=50 ~ 32+18=50)

Click to expand...

These are two very different gears. Gear inches = front ring/rear cog x wheel size (26").

36/14 is approx 67"

32/18 is approx 46"

Most off-roaders go for something like 32/16, 36/18 both of which are 52" but this is too low for road use.

Anyway, refer to first paragraph!

Sound advice from Max P, you need to ride and find your own ratio, but IMHO 32/18 or 36/14 would both be too low for any decent road use, unless its really hilly where you live.

The above is good advice,off road the rule of thumb is 2-1,so 32x16,38x19 etc but this is way too low for the road and may need tweaking up or down depending on your local terrain,fitness etc.Got to remember with a single speed its NEVER the right gear,good fun though!

Thanks to dyna-ti, Max P, Russell and MJN for your tips, today I went for a ride on my geared Cannondale with a mixture flats and some hills to work out which gearing is comfy for me, I liked the 32x17 and 32x15 gearing, can you tell me what these gearing work out please below? maybe a gearing between 17 and 15?

32x17
32x15

I have attached a photo below of a 34T chainring on Middleburn cranks, the teeth of chainring seem to be too close on the spider which the chain will touch it when fitted on so I am looking for 36T onwards to keep the chain away from the spider, what gearing I should have to match the gearing above?

Thanks

Guy if you go to sheldons website theres a great gear inch calculator

Cheers, I will work out gear ratios from your tips here and Sheldon Brown's (thanks kaiser), so far it's I am looking at 36x18 gearing.

To work out gear ratios, It's:

Chainring * Wheelsize / Sprocket size = Gear Inches.
So: 32 * 26 / 16 = 52

Easy as Pi, LOL, sorry had to get that one in!

Guy, I've tried 34:14 on the roads around here (Rotheram/Sheffield) and it was manageble, maybe just need a slightly higher gear for the flats but not by much as the hills would be impossible.

Trevor.