I'm sorry if this has been asked 100 times.
I love riding SS, it's the main reason I bought a Pivot Les.
I've not used it without gears for bikepacking yet though, just racing and general riding.
Normally I gear for the flat. From memory that's 38/18. I hate spinning out and as a decent climber, can get up a pretty steep incline.
However that is in a race situation, with a light bike. Could you suggest a sensible ratio for bikepacking? Or more importantly, could you tell me what kind of incline I would be wise to gear for if you know what I mean? I realise I'd have to get off and push from time to time and I'm OK with that, I like the change of pace. It's more what is the sweetspot between a flat ground and climbing ratio. Ie. What's the stiffest gear you'd think advisable for UK based adventures?

Just back from 4 days gravel touring SS....
I'd say you need a gear that allows easy twiddling on the flat as this enables you to recover and also makes for very leisurely riding. In this case I was on 2:1 on 700x40's. This can get me up a fair range of gravel type climbs and allows for very easy cruising.

On the Mountain bikes I'm gearing for my fav trails - nadgery rocky stuff. This allows for getting up some biggish hills and through the mud but leads to crazy mad spinning on a flat road or easy trails - 32/21 on 29+

Best thing is to try it but I think that within a range of gears it doesn't matter much as you will be riding some stuff, pushing some stuff, spinning like mad or riding at your perfect cadence whatever gear you run.

Sean?

I think it kind of depends where in the UK you're riding. I recall Sean having a 'special' mid-Wales ratio

I think my next adventure might be up the Penine way (I think there's a route on bikepacking.com) From Derby to Edinburgh.
I visited Northumberland (Kielder) on my way to Edinburgh this summer with my family and I'd like to ride through this landscape as part of a bigger adventure. It was so silent and remote.

I never change the ratio*, figured that some times it will be right and other times it won’t be on the same ride

*Ive probably singlespeeded for ~15 years

I've only ss on a 26r so 32-18,19 when loaded up 32-17 normally
Not much help i know

I guess I could take a range of sprockets and do a mini test trip. The swinger system on the Les allows me to change from 18 -22t on the same chain.
32t chainring seems the normal starting point.

I’d say, as a starting point, go a couple of teeth bigger at the rear than you would for unloaded riding. But these things are personal, so you’ll have to experiment, I reckon.

My 'Wales' ratio is 34/20, also used for Devon/ West Country.

Scotland, Yorkshire Dales is 32/18.

Normal here is 34/18 as I'm generally unloaded. I use an oval chainring. I try to base the ratio around a 34 chainring as they are usually cheaper than a 32 and as the rear cogs are all the same price I can get the same ratio for less.

I gear for the climbs but I do tend to use a slightly higher ratio than the average as spinning on the flat bits just isn't my thing.

Thank you Sean. That's very comprehensive.

sean_iow wrote: ↑Wed Sep 22, 2021 8:45 am My 'Wales' ratio is 34/20, also used for Devon/ West Country.

Scotland, Yorkshire Dales is 32/18.

Normal here is 34/18 as I'm generally unloaded. I use an oval chainring. I try to base the ratio around a 34 chainring as they are usually cheaper than a 32 and as the rear cogs are all the same price I can get the same ratio for less.

I gear for the climbs but I do tend to use a slightly higher ratio than the average as spinning on the flat bits just isn't my thing.

I do wonder why 34t are cheaper than 32t any ideas ?
Just because 32t more popular?

In my SS days, I generally ran 32 / 19 loaded on a 29er. If I felt crapper than usual I'd throw a 20t on there

jay91 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 22, 2021 10:15 am I do wonder why 34t are cheaper than 32t any ideas ?
Just because 32t more popular?

I think that's probably why, they just sell more of them.

Everyone with a geared bike seems to want a 32. They're worried that with a 34 and 'only' a 50t max on the rear they won't have a low enough gear for the hills

30t front for proper enduro

Have finished fettling.
38/22 ratio which is roughly the same as 32/18. Sorted using what I already had in the spares box.
Need some rain now to create the mud.

Back from a test run.
Just tolerable on flat tarmac with fast rolling tyres and an unladen bike, so should be bob on with full payload and off-road.
Thanks for your help.

Id gear for the hills. You could always pop 2 sprockets on and switch to the smaller one if you know you have a fair distance on flat.

32/20 living in Calderdale and riding out of Hebden Bridge a lot. Normally ride 32/18.

Hopefully by Pennine Way you mean Pennine Bridleway.... not saying it's not ridable, but a lot of the Way is rather stile and farming land intense. The PBW, no bother.... still gates galore.

I've not researched the route yet. Just want an excuse to ride through Northumberland tbh.

Been out again with mph showing on my Garmin.
My natural cadence sits nicely around 10mph in 38/22 (32/18), which seems like a nice round number and as an average speed makes for easy maths.
This makes me happy but the utter silence of a freshly oiled SS drivetrain makes me even happier.

rollindoughnut wrote: ↑Wed Sep 29, 2021 7:57 pm Been out again with mph showing on my Garmin.
My natural cadence sits nicely around 10mph in 38/22 (32/18), which seems like a nice round number and as an average speed makes for easy maths.
This makes me happy but the utter silence of a freshly oiled SS drivetrain makes me even happier.

That's about what I'm doing with 32/21 and 29+
You don't realise how quiet the drivetrain is until you go back to a geared bike, particularly when it gets muddy.

fatbikephil wrote: ↑Wed Sep 29, 2021 8:20 pm

rollindoughnut wrote: ↑Wed Sep 29, 2021 7:57 pm Been out again with mph showing on my Garmin.
My natural cadence sits nicely around 10mph in 38/22 (32/18), which seems like a nice round number and as an average speed makes for easy maths.
This makes me happy but the utter silence of a freshly oiled SS drivetrain makes me even happier.

That's about what I'm doing with 32/21 and 29+
You don't realise how quiet the drivetrain is until you go back to a geared bike, particularly when it gets muddy.

I hear very little over the sound of my laboured panting and my hearbeat pounding, irrespective of gearing

32/16 for flattish everyday riding here abouts (Emmental/pre-Alps), but often too big for our hills. I get away with 32/18 for biking, but enjoy getting of for a hike-a-bike/carry-a-bike.
For UK riding I'd most likely run 32/18, since it always felt like the right choice on my trips across Iceland. For the HT550 in 2016 I nearly had to take my ssp (due to cracked rear end on my short travel trail bike) and would've gone with 32/18 too.
Ssp'ing clipped in makes climbing much, much easier and so one might get away with a larger gear.