I did a search, but didn’t find what I was looking for…
I’m currently running 46x17 and it is starting to feel a bit low. I can get started easily and the hills I typically run into around here are easily climbed. My speed on long flat stretches is limited by my gearing more than my power.
How big of a jump would going to a 15t or 16t cog be? I know what the numbers are, but what is it like subjectively? If I find the 17t cog “easy” would a 15t cog be orders of magnitude harder or just a little harder?
It will make a pretty big difference going down to 15. About 80 gi vs. about 71 with your current set up. The last big jump I made was a while back going from about 71 to about 77. It took me a good month or so to feel as strong on the hills at 77 as I had at 71.
are you brakeless? cog size can mean a lot if you skid to stop what with skid patches and all.
a one or two tooth jump isn’t too bad, you’ll get used to it and get stronger.
I run punk rock 15t cog on a flip flop, with a 17t on the fixed side. (I have two brakes, so spare me the lecture) It’s fun to flip it at the top of a hill and bomb down. But I definitely notice that the two tooth difference is a lot harder.
If you’ve got a lock ring tool, there’s not much committment to go between cogs, and it could be nice to have some options around.
By “punk rock 15t…”, do you mean run a suicide type set up?
That might be a way to go as well. I don’t do skip stops, I only use the rear wheel for minor speed changes or stopping from very slow speeds. I use the front brake for major velocity corrections. I would only use the 15t in “controlled” environments (local bike paths for example) and switch to the FG/17t side for riding on the street. Once I got strong enough to use the 15t all around, I could switch it to the fixed side and run nothing on the FW side again. Maybe not ideal, but it would give me a bailout if the 15 was too much on a long ride.
A one tooth difference will feel fairly substantial. Two teeth difference is a pretty big change. When it’s your only gear you really notice these things. I’d lose one first, then try two.
I can crunch the numbers all day long. I asked for people’s subjective opinion of such a change because a subjective evaluation casts the numbers in a different light.
Mander and everyone else gave the sort of answer I was looking for (and thanks for the insights). Good job being a fucktard though.
