micro gearing

[priv]

when and why did the micro gearing appear?

i was looking through a dirt mag fro 2005 and the sprockets were getting smaller,but not micro small.

was there any one "pro" who ran them and the masses followed?

priv

[perry]

i think odyssey might be to blame 

people went from the traditional 44/16 to 39/14 with flip flops

then odyssey made the 13 tooth freewheel

in the cassette game i think they might have been the first to go from the 13t cog to a 10 tooth "driver"

it might have been profile though 

i do remember reading when odyssey did something for jim celincky ( speling on that lol ) that profile had made something smaller at the same time

reasons were because people were sick of bending chainrings , having to use fat chains that rubbed frames and everything getting tooo heavy and chunky they started getting smaller , it was definitly about the same time people were starting to care about saving weight as once the chainring was out of the way there was no need for fat chains anymore and they didnt need to be 10mm thick either

i do remember that the 36/13 on a cassette held out for at least a few years before a smaller driver got the rings getting tiny

dont forget that kids were using small chainrings while still having a large cog out back

edwin delarosa made the small rings trendy on street while the hardcore where hanging onto the chunky stuff

[nouseforaname]

I think it became the norm on aftermarket stuff maybe 4-5 years ago cos it means you can drop in straight on a vert without catching the front sprocket and it also keeps the drivetrain out of the way for grinds etc. it also saves weight (less chain plus smaller cogs) and cassette hubs are servicable whereas freewheels aren't. i don't know why more racers don't take the idea up to get the weight down on their bikes too

[perry]

ever broken a chain 

less teeth means more strain and wear per tooth

imagine the force of pedalling going through 44/16 . each link and tooth getting distributed strain

half it to 22/8 and the force doesnt change ( after all you dont pedal and lighter ) but each link and tooth has to take twice as much strain as there is now half as many of them

[nouseforaname]

Course I've never broken a chain, I've never even broken a sweat 

33 years old, unfit and with sparrow legs 

[perry]

 

ive probably explained it crap but george french did a better job years ago in his column for ride mag

[nouseforaname]

No, I know exactly what you mean but it hadn't even crossed my mind 

[snav69]

33 years old, unfit and with sparrow legs 

Or



    

You know i luvs ya' really Mark   

[nouseforaname]

Bugger off Warrington 

 

[snav69]

  

 

[nouseforaname]

Luv ya really Mr Atherton, I know you're from Wigan 

[snav69]

MR Atherton 



But then again it is my sunday name and it is sunday



 

[priv]

talk about thread hijacking?

all i need now is laz or performer to start a massage onslaught


priv

[HEYWOOD BMX]

  Referring to the point made by Nouseforaname-I run a 36/13 set up on my race bike,but mostly because I think that smaller sprockets look good.When I actually race I`ll either change to 44/16 or 39/14 as I keep snapping chains out of the gate.A lot of youngsters just run micro gearing because they see big name riders doing it.Not a dig at the kids-I know I copied what "the pros"had when I was that age..

[Dingobmxer]

The Quadangle tested in BMXA in the 80's had 39-15 gearing so micro gearing started way back 

  DINGO

[perry]

i forgot he put it up on his site , i also forgot e went on about elephants lol

http://gsport.kishmish.com/tech/super_small_gears.php

[ron burgundy]

Scary stuff... I'm running 47/17 from now on

[perry]

shouldnt be toooo much of a problem if we use decent chains and keep an eye on them , keep them lubed and clean

just gotta remember a chain takes all your weight so dont expect it to last forever , just make a mental note or even write it down how old the chain is and how much use its had and change it periodically

if you want to go smaller for aestetics go for a stronger/heavier chain

[Flying_fox]

I've been running 33/12 on my race bike for about 4 or 5 years now and I've never broken a chain, I do stretch them, but I replace them every few months. KMCs are all you need, better than that Shimano junk. I've bent and cracked a few chain rings though, my ti Profile one more or less exploded. I'd like to think I have fair bit of power out of the gate, so for normal weekend racers snapping chains shouldnt be a problem with that ratio.

When I look at my 99 Ripper I raced before my standard the 44/16 seems huge. I think this looks about right (I know the chain is loose in the picture). I can still drop into a ramp with it too.



The trend in racing now is getting much bigger up front. I think Betcher was running a 49 or something silly. I dont personally like the look of it though.

If anyone has seen my nephew Matt's race bike they'll know what a real micro gearing looks like, I think it runs a 23/9. it's too spinny for an adult, but he's only 7. He had the choise of micro or not, he wanted a micro as he thought it looked cool. If anyone's going to Burnham check it out, there's only a fag papers width between the chain and the bolt that holds the ring to the crank arm (it was an utter bitch to set up too).

[perry]

cool , i like the look of that 

are the bigger rings being used with road bike cranks ?

you have to ask yourself is £10 each 6 months worth of riding worth saving your balls 

i hate the look of modern racers , whats wrong with chromoly tubes !?

[Flying_fox]

Lots of people use DXR cranks and stuff like that on race bikes these days, mtb style more than road I'd say. I like Profile cranks, they look BMX for a start and they do the magic 177 length.

I'm with you on the look of most modern race bikes, I'm 100% cromo me. Mine's a race bike, but you don't look like a disco dancer in the skatepark on it.

Each to their own though...

[perry]

ah i only ask as i just read that way back brian foster used dura ace which are road , i thought they might be going back to that kinda set up

im waiting for all these kids to start realising their light street bikes are quick and they start racing each other to the rails lol

[lodge]

At what point does gearing become micro gearing?, 39 is mentioned in this thread, is this micro? I'm fairly sure that ultra and pro burners had 40 chain rings.

[jonpaul11]

I'm fairly sure that ultra and pro burners had 40 chain rings.

If I remember correctly burners up to the Cromo burner had 40t chain rings. the Cromo and AP had 44t...

My first BMX was a Cromo, please don't shoot me!

[perry]

id say anything smaller than what can be used properly on a freewhel so about 12/30ish

but even that isnt reallllly "micro" when there is 22/8

i dont think it was a case of profile turning up with a titanium 8tooth driver while the world was using 44/16 , it was a case of them getting smaller over a few years ( well i say few probably more like 5 as 36/13 was around in 2003 lol )  oh how time flies 

sadly what with gsports new ratchet hub and quality cheap chains the classic 44/16 might be nearly dead ( except for racing but those bikes are soo far removed from other styles of riding now they are going the way of the flatland bike ) it wont be long before the chain issues , zero maintainance needed on a freewheel and cheapness arnt decent excuses anymore and we only see the 44/16 on our old bikes

fret not though , profile are still used in mountainbikng so larger chainrings wont suddenly disappear and as long as there are people using single speeds there will be a demand for shimano/acs/white industries to make freewheels 

hubs im not too sure about , recently tried getting a flip flop hub