On 17 Feb 2003 23:12:16 -0800,
[email protected] (ant) wrote:
>I wrote:
>> > each additional tooth, at .5" pitch, adds an additional .5" to the necessary chain, distributed
>> > over the top and bottom. perhaps that means that theoretically, you could add teeth to the rear
>> > cog for every 1/4" of dropout travel (apx.)?
>
>A much more knowing person wrote:
>
>> No, what you missed was the fact that the chain only wraps around half of the sprocket, so the
>> extra length of chain from top of sprocket to bottom is only 1/4" for each additional tooth, so
>> 1/8" difference in position on the dropout.
>
>
>Whoops. thanks. i think i confused two issues in my head at the same time. Even if you can get 6
>teeth difference in for the same dropout, is this practical? Wouldn't you have to add chain? i
>definitely resign from the math part of this as ive managed to humiliate myself once in this thread
>already, so help me understand..
>
>even with a quick link, adding a bit of chain to go from a a small gear to a big gear (or switching
>chains) is a hassle (if it is to be done trailside), especially if this mountain bike is actually
>to be ridden off road where dirt makes the quick link a slow link. IMveryHO.
>
>curious, and put in my place,
>
>anthony
All of the argument about how much difference you can have between the two sides of the flip-flop
presupposes that you're not going to start adding or subtracting links from your chain. That being
the case, you need 3/4" of usable axle movement to get 6 teeth difference, always assuming the
chainstay length is exactly right for your small cog option to sit at the back of the dropout with
correct chain tension. If it doesn't, you need to take two links or 1" out of the chain, which
brings your axle forward a full 1/2", thus using up most of your possible adjustment. You can get
around this by a lengthy process of either mathematics or experiment to optimise your chainring
choice. Lets say, for mountain biking, you want your high gear to be 2:1 For example, if 32x16 only
works with the axle halfway along the dropout, thus giving no useful adjustment, 34x17 with two
extra links will move the axle backward 1/8" and give the same gear. 36x18 and two more links gets
you back another 1/8", and so on. Once you've got the axle nearly to the back of the dropout for
your high gear, you should have about 1/2", maybe 5/8", of usable adjustment. Each extra tooth on
the sprocket will use 1/8" of adjustment. I've ignored the fact that the chain runs in converging
lines, slightly over halfway round the chainring and not quite halfway round the sprocket because
these factors make a trivial difference with longish chainstays and low gear ratios. Obviously, this
gets to be more fun on a road bike where your high gear is not a convenient 2:1 ratio and the
combination of short stays and bigger ratios might make a bit of trigonometry necessary for complete
precision, but it wouldn't be rocket science to knock up a quick spreadsheet to calculate the
effective chainstay length for any combination of chainring, sprocket and chain length.
Kinky Cowboy
*Your milage may vary Batteries not included May contain traces of nuts.