Chain ring for Fuji track bike?

HomeBoyDeluxe

Hi all,

this might of been covered before, but i'll ask anyway, looking for a bigger chain ring for my track bike (2008) currently running a 16t free wheel and 48t (i think!) stock front ring.

Was looking at the a 50t or 52t Token TK140 from wiggle, at round 22 euro, my brother suggested the TA 135 as being a lot better, will i notice a difference, do you think? would the build quality of the stock chain ring be better then the Token?

Can do around 47km per hour on the current rig, would like to be able to crack 50

Thanks,

John.

it's mick

i'm pretty sure you need 130bcd so you can't get the TA135 since it's 135bcd. anyway. i have a ta ring and it's grand, but i've also had cheaper ones and they were fine too so i'd just get the cheaper one.

HomeBoyDeluxe

Thanks, I'll have a look out for the bcd 130 you suggest, any good chain ring suppliers, other then wiggle and chain reaction?

HomeBoyDeluxe

This looks like a good one:

http://www.velodromeshop.org.uk/index.php?p=product&id=282

Anyone order from them before?

Harrybelafonte

It depends on which Fuji Track you have. Mine is a 130bcd and I have bought the Stronglight chain rings from Ribble here.

Be sure you have a 48 in the front, again mine was a 46t.

Velodromeshop are fine, but the delivery costs can be high. It might be 7euro or so with Ribble.

HomeBoyDeluxe

Checked, and its actually the 2007 Model.

Spec:

Crank: RPM aluminum, 48 teeth chain ring.

Ribble looks good, will probably go with them, also will i need a new chain, or will i get away with the one i have?

Thanks for your help!

Beasty

Just ordered a load of stuff from velodromeshop, and the postage was less than £6

Always had great service from them

HomeBoyDeluxe

Good stuff!

Will i notice much off a difference, going up two teeth?

I like the resistance, more than fast peddling, would 51t or 52t be too much!

Beasty

Depends where you are using it - on the track I tend to have 48 on the front and 13 or 14 on the back. If you are going up hills it will be harder, but 1 extra tooth is effectively 2% extra effort for the same cadence. 2 extra teeth, 4%. Changing the back cog from 16 to 15 increases effort by 6.25%

Harrybelafonte

@Beasty: Thought it was a lot higher than that. Good news.

@HomeBoyDeluxe: Would there be any sense in dropping a tooth in the back before spending on a new front ring?

blorg

Personally I don't think it is a great idea for general road use. 48-16 is already a very high ratio. If you were fixed and wanted to avoid spinning out on descents there might be some justification but with a freewheel it makes no sense at all.

I think you would be better served working on your cadence. Slow cadence mashing ("the resistance") is inefficient, unsustainable and can ruin your knees. Track racing obviously you want higher ratios... the races only last a few minutes. But you are not racing.

If you were fixed you could drop teeth at the back but 16T is as low as it goes with standard freewheels (there are 15T ones but they are rare.)

HomeBoyDeluxe

Ok, thanks for the info, i only use it for 4-6km trips, maybe 10km this summer, very few hills, cycling around town etc.

I have 16t on the rear, so i might go 52t on the front then, do i need to worry about the Sheldon brown, gear inches ratio thing?

Seems hard to find 15t free wheels these days, would be a cheaper option i imagine.

HomeBoyDeluxe

Cheers blorg, only saw your message after posting mine.

blorg

The issue with a 15T freewheel is that there is no room left for the freewheel mechanism! Obviously this is not an issue with a simple sprocket.

HomeBoyDeluxe

So your saying, a smaller free wheel will equal smaller bearings etc, and a reduction in performance?

blorg

There was one made by a crowd called AC Racing- I think it moved the mechanism sideways to make room- but AFAIK it is no longer made, quite rare, and relatively expensive when one does pop up. And yes, I have also read of problems. Note that you can get a 15T and less freewheels but for a smaller thread size.

kumate_champ07

my advice is just pedal faster, dont see why you need to spend extra money when its just for short spins on the road

I liked high gears and grinding away a year ago, at first pedaling fast feels awkward but eventually it becomes very natural and you get into a nice rhythm, also much less wear and tear on your knee ligaments and joints

Beasty

@HomeBoyDeluxe - sorry didn't read your OP fully - thought you were talking fixie rather than freewheel, where your options for the rear, as already pointed by blorg, are much more limited

@Harry - the calculation of the impact of different ratios is quite simple - moving from a 48 to 47 or 49 on the front = 1/48 or about a 2% shift in effort to maintain cadence. Moving from a 16 to a 15 or 17 on the rear = 1/16 or a 6.25% shift.

amjon.

I have a spare fuji track chain ring lying about. Could try find it if you are still looking for one?

HomeBoyDeluxe

Amjon, thanks but i have ordered a 52t Ac chain ring and a new chain.

I use a exercise bike a couple of times a week too, where i keep my RPM at around 85, thats nice and smooth, the problem on the roads is, i find myself standing up quite regularly because of the poor conditions of the roads.

Hopefully the new chain ring will work out, thanks everyone for the advice!:)