Ebrompton gear ratios

shemozzle999

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 28, 2009
2,826
686
I have been playing around with the gearing on my 2 Brompton M6R bikes, they both came with the standard SRAM hub with 13/15 sprockets and 50T chain wheels.

I found I could not keep my cadence up to match the extra assistance provided by the ebike conversions.

I upgraded one bike to the new BWR hub which came with a 13/16 sprocket set.
It slowed the cadence down in top gear but found the steps too great in the lower gears.
I replaced the 13T sprocket with a 12T which improved matters greatly.

On the second bike I decided to change from the 50T chain wheel to a 54T this also had the desired effect of lowering the cadence and maintained the closer step changes between gears although slightly increasing my lowest gear ratio.

I was helped by a link on another forum to a particularly good Brompton gear calculator which assisted me with my decisions.

Link:

Hub Gear Calculator

It can be used for any bike setup if you remove the Brompton specific tick mark.

I like the way you can change the output results to mph and then set a cadence figure.
 
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jerrysimon

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 27, 2009
3,292
112
Cambridge, UK
I find anything less than a 54T main and 12T rear i.e. 74" gear on my two speed Brompton too low at full assist speed.

That is the highest you can take a two speed Brompton up to with OEM parts.

With my after fit S2C or my preferred SRAM Automatix hubs I can get this up to 76".

I rarely exceed 20mph on my Brompton and most of the time am happy to cruise along at 16-17mph. If I want faster rides I take one of my 20" wheeled bikes out.

Regards

Jerry
 
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shemozzle999

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 28, 2009
2,826
686
Hi Jerry,

That is what I have found too.

It needs the increase in gear ratio for full assisted use.

I do not find the description of gear inches conveys much but if you change the units in the calculator to mph or kph it opens up a box for you to enter your preferred cadence and gives the output in the units chosen.

The calculator can be used for any bike if you uncheck the Brompton-compatible data only tick box.



p.s. Did you get the hotmail?
 
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