# langster gearing



## gkerr4 (2 May 2008)

Hi folks - i have a 2007 langster in the much loved 'rust' colour (no laughing at the back - i like it - thats all that matters!)

it currently has standard gearing - which is the sugino 'comp' chainset with a cnc 'zen' 42 tooth chainset with a 16 tooth fixed cog at the back. 

ordinarily this would be fine - but i've buggered up my left knee and need arthroscopy on it to repair / remove a torn meniscus (cartilage injury). I've been advised by the consultant that I can continue cycling if it doesn't cause any pain - which so far seems to be ok - with the proviso that I "don't go daft with it.." i have a surgery date of the 10th of July which seems ages away and if I don't cycle I will turn into a fat bloater.

anyway - i've been avoiding the fixed due to the lack of gear changing since I found out about the injury bu I really miss it so I was thinking of lowering the gearing. I'm not sure though on the technicalities 

- is the sugino comp a 130BCD chainset or is it a 'proper' track 144BCD?

and also what would be the bet way of lowering it a little - increase the sprocket to an 18 or 19 tooth? - or go to a 40(ish) chainring?

Any help appreciated - even if you just think I should leave the fixed alone for a bit... :-(

thanks
graham


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## zimzum42 (2 May 2008)

[/sitting at back with Peejay]snicker snicker[sitting at back with Peejay]


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## gkerr4 (2 May 2008)

oh god - it's started already and i haven't even got an answer on the gearing..

:-)


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## zimzum42 (2 May 2008)

had you got a nice bike you would have been happier, therefore less susceptible to injury, and this would not have been a problem


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## Christopher (2 May 2008)

ZZ42 you really are a complete waste of space.

Right. Either way you'll need to add or remove links to the chain. Ribble sell track chains for a fiver. I have some 1/8" spare links (5 or 6) that you can have, but I'm off on 10 days hols this afternoon, back here 13th May.

To change the rear sprocket on a fixed, you will need a lockring spanner (like the Hozan one Planet-X sell - costs £18 but will last for ever) and a chainwhip. As it's an American bike, probably everything will be done up gorilla tight.

For the front, you do need the BCD, doubt it's 144mm as I don't think you can do a 42t chainring in 144mm. The BCD might be written in tiny letters on the chainring, have a look. Anyway Spa cycles do 1/8" chainrings in just about every BCD there is, so think about ordering from there. Hewitt in Leyland have a stack of rings on the wall, you might think about going there. Once you have the new chainring then all you need is an Allen key and possibly a spanner to stop the chainring bolt sleeve from rotating.

Formula for gear inches is (Chainring/sprocket)*26.4, roughly, so you are doing 69 inches currently. 39/16 is 64 inches etc. 

It would be cheaper to change the rear, but you need more tools. I have all the tools listed above, let me know if you can wait until I am back and I'll happily meet up and change the sprocket for you. You can have the links anyway...


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## gkerr4 (2 May 2008)

wow - how good is that - thanks for the info and offers of help / parts - very kind of you sir.

I don't mind getting the tools though - I have a fairly good toolset for my geared bikes - which I have both shimano and campag bikes - But other than change the bars and saddle i haven't done a lot of work on the langster yet so was unsure of what was required.

I'll check the chainring tonight when I get back from work.


Thanks again,

Graham


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## Landslide (2 May 2008)

Hi Graham, hope the surgery goes well and you're back in action soon.

Re: your injury, I suspect it might be worth getting some more specialist advice. Lowering your gear ratio will mean you're putting less force into getting moving (probably a good thing for your knee), but once you're up to speed, your cadence will be higher for a given speed. I'd wonder if having your legs spin round more for a given distance would be a good thing?
I'm no expert in these matters, but I suspect an expert opinion would be a good thing.


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## MrGrumpy (2 May 2008)

gkerr4

I`ve had the same operation done a few years back however if your still mobile your doing a damm sight better than me as I couldn`t straighten my leg  Anyway the cyling will really make a differance to your recovery but I think you would be better riding your geared bike on nice spinny gears, you don`t want to strain that knee joint


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## gkerr4 (2 May 2008)

you are probably right :-(

I am still mobile yes - it kind of locks up a bit and hurts coming down the stairs. I can't kneel down or bend my leg properly - but it actually feels good on the bike - it's the walking and standing about in between that hurts it.

I'l stick with the geared bike i think - as you say, it'll allow me to keep the cadence at a sensible rate.

thanks guys!


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## zimzum42 (3 May 2008)

Frustruck said:


> ZZ42 you really are a complete waste of space.



If you'd been on the forum for longer than ten minutes you might know the background, but never mind.......


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## MrGrumpy (3 May 2008)

speaking of which, wheres your sidekick the other infamous langster lover


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## zimzum42 (3 May 2008)

I reckon Peejay bought an extra rusty langster and got lost riding round Hoxton


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## gkerr4 (3 May 2008)

yeah - he'll be far too busy trying to get a good part-ex on his collection of rusty-steel things against a london-langster to read this

:-)


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## zimzum42 (4 May 2008)

i think i saw him locking up outside that pub off grays inn road


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## peejay78 (4 May 2008)

frustruck got real cross and pious there for a minute.

i have a sugino 75, i know it's not a 42 or whatever, but for what it's worth the bcd is 144. 

i'm fairly sure yours is a 130 bcd. 

i would strongly recommend you change the back, it's much much cheaper. you can even go as big as 22. 

PLUS changing the back has a more significant effect than the front. 

speaking of rusty steel, here's one i shelled out for earlier:


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## gkerr4 (4 May 2008)

when you say "shelled out for" - do you actually mean "retrieved from a skip"??

:-)

thanks for the advice though - changing the back is the way to go - but actually, given my current situation, I think I will stick to gears for a little while - so I can keep my cadence manageable at all times.

thanks again,

Graham


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## peejay78 (4 May 2008)

well, i think the souplesse of fixed gear using a low, spinny gear will actually be better for your knee than the stop start of gears. for what it's worth.


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## gkerr4 (4 May 2008)

i can see your point of view - but I think the variability of low RPM 'push' when setting off + start / top traffic rides + the (too) high RPM of any descending .

I dunno - i'd rather not chance it..


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## peejay78 (4 May 2008)

er - brakes are good for controlling descents. 

with a gear in the mid 60s it should be ok, but i understand why you don't want to chance it.


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## MrGrumpy (5 May 2008)

I suppose a really low gear would do, just with a geared bike you can at least change gear if you feel your pushing it too much. I`m more thinking of your recovery from the op, be a couple of weeks possibly before your back on the bike but maybe not for you as your knee doesnt seem to be as bad as mine. How did you do it anyway ? Mine was done playing football.


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## gkerr4 (5 May 2008)

everyone says this - I'm not an acute case of knee injury. It prevents bending the knee fully though - I can't kneel down or anything - it kills trying to get back up and usually just locks the knee up! I have got the saddle as far up as I can at the moment to prevent the amount of bend when pedals are at 12 'o' clock. it feels quite strong on the bike - it's day to day stuff that is difficult - like bathing my daughters and walking up the stairs!!

don't know how I did really - twisting injury I believe - football is a major culprit - which I don't play. could have been indoor tennis with my 4yr old daughter just after Xmas on a very grippy surface (at centre parcs!)

For recovery I'll be looking at very light spinning on the turbo I think - then build back up and hopefully get back on the fixed as soon as I can!

It'll have a few new bits by then. New brake calipers are on the cards (yes - it does have brakes!) to replace the unbranded tat that have not stood up well to the winter. The wheels are going to be changed too - again the std langster wheels were never great to start and they too have suffered over winter so they will go - not sure what will replace them - thinking CXP33's on 32h hubs - but not sure what hubs...


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## BentMikey (7 May 2008)

peejay78 said:


> well, i think the souplesse of fixed gear using a low, spinny gear will actually be better for your knee than the stop start of gears. for what it's worth.



+1

The consensus from a series of fixed audaxers was that fixed is either neutral or good for your knees anyway. I'm into spinny gears myself, I'm on 48x19 and 66". No idea what effect it'll have on your knee injury though. Personally I'd take it easy and slow, because knee injuries tend to be serious and not to be trifled with.


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## skwerl (7 May 2008)

so whose dad can run fastest?


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