junker Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 Is there a drastic change in the bike's behavior if you get a sprocket with just 1 extra tooth in the rear, or 1 less in the front, or vice-versa? I know the bigger sprocket in the rear means acceleration and wheelies, and smaller means higher top end band, and blazing top speeds. Anything else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Cynic Posted June 21, 2009 Moderator Share Posted June 21, 2009 Is there a drastic change in the bike's behavior if you get a sprocket with just 1 extra tooth in the rear, or 1 less in the front, or vice-versa? I know the bigger sprocket in the rear means acceleration and wheelies, and smaller means higher top end band, and blazing top speeds. Anything else? Changes to the front sprocket make a pretty big difference depending on type of bike and horsepower. Bigger sprocket more speed smaller more acceleration. Works in reverse on the rear sprocket. The thing is there are a lot of other things affecting the final drive ratio. The spacing of the normal gears may be too wide to pull larger sprockets. There are implied ratio's between the rear wheel and the sprocket too. At the end of the day 1 maybe 2 teeth on the front sprocket up or down is about all you want to be messing with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTGordo Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 I think most bikes are set up with optimum ratios across whatever the bike is intended for. I messed around a bit with the sprocket sizes on the first bike I had (250 4 stroke) and I'm thinking about doing the same again now. I guess it all depends on what you want to do. Off-road I sometimes feel like I need a lower range to get up some steep and rough tracks. That's probably my main reason for the change on a small bike. The compromise though is that the top end speed is lower which can be a pain (maybe even dangerous on a highway) on a bike that get has limited top speed anyways. I'm also thinking about a bike trailer for transport to/from but I also like to generally ride to where-ever. On road I want to be geared harder so I can go faster but old 250's don't have the grunt to manage that anyway so I'm back to the original sprockets. A bigger bike is really the answer for that. If you like tinkering and can get the sprockets, give it a go. Gordo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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