Lowest useable gear

[godivatrailrider]

Out of interest, what would (normal) folks ( I appreciate that may not account for many on here) consider the lowest useable gear, before it's just better to get off and walk.
On the Rooster I have a 2x setup with 26x42 with 29+ Chronicles, so a BIG rolling circumference. But I consider it a low gear .

The new Jones is 1x running 32x51 on 29x2.6 Maxxis Forecaster on the rear.

Using my non scientific method of simply dividing the rear cog by the front cog
for the Rooster 42/26= 1.61
for the Jones 51/32 = 1.59

so taking into account the presumably smaller diameter on the Jones I'd have thought the gearing was very similar.
I can get up a fair bit of stuff round here on the Jones but there's been a couple of times I've thought it's not as low as the Rooster. Add bikepacking gear into the equation and I suspect I'll be off and walking slightly sooner on the Jones.

I could get a smaller chainring maybe... I've seen some tiny ones on 1x but this'd be at the expense of cruising speed, which I'm fairly happy with on the Jones.

I quite like the cleanliness of the 1x ... no mud grabbing front derailleur.
Smaller chainring.... loss of cruising speed.
2x setup. With the setup on the Rooster, but on the Jones, I'd get 1.96, so significantly lower.... but is a ratio of nearly 2:1 simply too low to be rideable? That's a complete full rotation on the front moving the rear wheel halfway... is that just easier to get off and walk?

I'm tempted to just accept walking as part of my cycling experience.

[godivatrailrider]

And I know everyone is different... and I ride singlespeed so I'm used to 32x18 on a 29er as being a reasonable compromise.
But I'm 57, not getting any fitter or lighter.
If the gear is too low, balance becomes a factor.

[rudedog]

Unless I want a break from pedaling I'm quite happy to sit and spin in a gear even if it's no quicker than walking.

[Lazarus]

32 x 51 mtb ( 29+)
34 x 46 cross ( loaded)
Also depends if multiday or one day.
If one day 'happy' to red line at walking pace multi day I am off and walking to conserve energy.

Its all personal if you want lower get them as we are not all equally strong or indeed enjoy low cadence torque spinning ( as we SS often do)
Essential YMMV

[psling]

Like you say, everyone is different. One person's sit and spin is another person's get off and walk, depends how big your lungs and legs are.
Me, I like a bit of torque at the pedals rather than a high cadence (if that makes sense?)
I can remember once walking up a stupidly steep hill not far from BB Towers; several others in various groups were all walking too except for one visitor to this site who was comfortably riding up casually chatting to us as he passed. He wasn't riding a particularly lower gear than the rest of us....

[Hyppy]

Unless I want a break from pedaling I'm quite happy to sit and spin in a gear even if it's no quicker than walking.

Likewise. On group rides I often notice that we'll climb techy steep climbs at the near same pace when half the group is off and walking and the other still spinning.

[whitestone]

My lowest gear is 30/50 so 1.66 ratio.

I could go lower but I find I need a bit of resistance especially if the ground is rough and sometimes will actually be in a higher gear to give me momentum through rougher sections.

Everyone is different though and a lot depends on what you are used to.

[godivatrailrider]

My lowest gear is 30/50 so 1.66 ratio.

I could go lower but I find I need a bit of resistance especially if the ground is rough and sometimes will actually be in a higher gear to give me momentum through rougher sections.

Everyone is different though and a lot depends on what you are used to.

And 30/11 is acceptable for the flatter/slightly downhill sections still?

1.66 would defo be lower than the Rooster....

[godivatrailrider]

Thanks for all the replies. All totally valid and tbh expected.

I was looking at a Pinion c12 which I believe has very low gearing for this very reason. But the Jones was too good to ignore!

I used to ride with Steve Day, (I use that term loosely) singlespeeder extraordinaire! several time WEMBO singlespeed champion, and what he could ride SS was mindblowing. And keep doing it for 24hours straight

We're all different. Vive la difference !

[whitestone]

And 30/11 is acceptable for the flatter/slightly downhill sections still?

Yes. By the time I'm spinning out I'm going fast enough that it's not a problem. It doesn't happen that often anyway, makes more sense to have something usable at the lower end.

[ton]

i have 32/51 on my fatbike. sometimes i wish i had 22/51...................

my tourer has a 24/34 lowest gear which is not low enough for me. i need a 40 on the back.
i like to spin.

[fatbikephil]

I've got 26/46 on the fatty and it's good for grinding through deep snow plus for trying to get up silly steep climbs. In both cases it's quicker walking but I'm more into the challenge of trying to stay on the pedals on this bike, given the excess of walking I do when using SS....

In't good old days we used to run 20/34 (similar to 26/46) or even 20/36 which was silly low, just because... many said that such gearing was 'too low'' but it was useful at the end of a long day to allow you to twiddle up a hill.

[whitestone]

26/46 on the fatty here as well though TBH fatties are a bit different and their traction/stiction create their own effects. At the top end the angular momentum of the tyres lets you keep a higher speed than you'd otherwise imagine.

[godivatrailrider]

And 30/11 is acceptable for the flatter/slightly downhill sections still?

Yes. By the time I'm spinning out I'm going fast enough that it's not a problem. It doesn't happen that often anyway, makes more sense to have something usable at the lower end.

30T ordered

[BridlewayBimbler]

I've got a 46/30 and that seems to do me....and I'm not exactly a lithe athlete, so there's that!

[Alpinum]

Also depends if multiday or one day.
If one day 'happy' to red line at walking pace multi day I am off and walking to conserve energy.

same here

Like you say, everyone is different. One person's sit and spin is another person's get off and walk, depends how big your lungs and legs are.
Me, I like a bit of torque at the pedals rather than a high cadence (if that makes sense?)
I can remember once walking up a stupidly steep hill not far from BB Towers; several others in various groups were all walking too except for one visitor to this site who was comfortably riding up casually chatting to us as he passed. He wasn't riding a particularly lower gear than the rest of us....

WRT 2022?
I remember riding up a steep grassy slope not long after leaving the Towers, passing a couple of groups, regrouping and chatting at the gate near the top. If it was me you met, let's say I was doing well to hide the effort if you think I was casually chatting to you.

To the original question, I ride 32/52 on my geared 29" bikes. I believe 32/52 being the smallest gear requires me to stay on top of a certain fitness to be able to ride steep stuff where I live, which is, well, full of steep stuff and quite similar to the mentioned slope in Wales.
Of course I could ride more if I had a smaller gear, but riding becomes so slow, I prefer to get off and hike-a-bike for the sake of efficiency. Also happy to use different muscles. Steep, tech climbs are fun and I could do more with a smaller gear, but then too happy about the spread of gears on the other side of the cassette.

Gravel bike is 42/52.
Ssp anything from 32/16 (everyday/offroad touring bike) to 28/17 (trail bike)
Fatbike 28/52 or 26/52. Goes to show what a different beast this is.
Penny farthing has a 52" wheel, which equates to a 32/16, just like my everyday bike - lovely coincidence.

I guess if the time comes where I'm spending less time on the bikes, I'll have to adapt and run smaller chain rings to be able to ride what I can ride today.

30T ordered

Good choice.

[Mark E]

28-42 for me. Find that if that is too high, I can walk almost as quickly!

[psling]

WRT 2022?
I remember riding up a steep grassy slope not long after leaving the Towers, passing a couple of groups, regrouping and chatting at the gate near the top. If it was me you met, let's say I was doing well to hide the effort if you think I was casually chatting to you.

It was indeed you Gian, you were hiding it well!

[godivatrailrider]

WRT 2022?
I remember riding up a steep grassy slope not long after leaving the Towers, passing a couple of groups, regrouping and chatting at the gate near the top. If it was me you met, let's say I was doing well to hide the effort if you think I was casually chatting to you.

It was indeed you Gian, you were hiding it well!

Possibly up the Dylife valley... I usually head up the track out the back of BBTowers but have come down the Dylife descent... I'd definitely be walking up that.
Or it could be the grassy climb heading out the back of the Towers then up towards NYA..
Or pretty much any other direction from the Towers

[Jebb72]

22 / 40 here

[godivatrailrider]

22 / 40 here

That is low ! nearly 2:1 !

[Jebb72]

22/36 front chainrings

11-40 cassette

16 gear inches

I'm only human.

I feel its necessary (for me anyway) for cycling in hills/mountains, not just for loaded touring in hills.

I can actually walk faster uphill in top gear.

[Alpinum]

Possibly up the Dylife valley... I usually head up the track out the back of BBTowers but have come down the Dylife descent... I'd definitely be walking up that.
Or it could be the grassy climb heading out the back of the Towers then up towards NYA..
Or pretty much any other direction from the Towers

This one:

Screenshot_20240208_204211_Samsung Internet.jpg (135.62 KiB) Viewed 542 times

(Much easier for me to lazily upload a screenshot instead of trying to write Welsh place names )

We came up the dotted line from the Towers (East off the map) and went where ever Karl's finger pointed. Sometimes he'd point a finger before, sometimes after consulting good old paper maps (well, guess they're Tyvek).

[Alpinum]

I really like to be able to read out my speed at a given cadence (I just tend to count revolutions per a certain time frame - only a rough estimate, but works well in practise) to figure how slow/fast I can go with certain gears.

https://www.bikecalc.com/archives/speed ... dence.html

For those who don't know it, have a look around, it does all sorts of gear related calculations.

[HUX]

30-36 on the camino and 22-34 on the 29er. Could do with a bit lower on the camino at times