Gearing - 13/50 vs 13/52

[MixinGasKickinAss]

I currently have 13/48 on a XC 300. I ride a lot of single track and a few hare scrambles a year and a desert 100. But mostly just a weekend warrior riding single track for fun. Looking to make the bike lug a little better. I’m not worried about the top speed loss from the higher gear ratio but I don’t want to lose the ability to bring the front wheel up when opening the throttle. I also don’t want to drop a size on the front. Has anybody tried 13/48,50 and 52 to compare ?

[piltoyougram]

I had a KTM 300 EXC and tried the 13 tooth deal, It was hard on the drive chain so I went with a 14/50 and it worked fine for tight woods and steep mountain incline's. Plus there was no problem in lofting the front wheel over logs or boulders.

[jufberg]

I’m at 13/52 on a 2012 350 excf and love it, don’t really need higher for where I ride. Picking up 300 tpi in a few days have that changing rear to 52 stock is 13 upfront. Will let you know how I like it

[dittohead]

I rarely use 1st on my 17 250xc with 14/50 gearing. The bike can get going from a dead stop on a steep hill in 2nd no problem. 1st gear being so slow makes the bike prone to breaking traction, which is exactly what you don’t want. Momentum is your friend in the woods and low gears make for too much rpm that causes wheelspin.

[jufberg]

I rarely use 1st on my 17 250xc with 14/50 gearing. The bike can get going from a dead stop on a steep hill in 2nd no problem. 1st gear being so slow makes the bike prone to breaking traction, which is exactly what you don’t want. Momentum is your friend in the woods and low gears make for too much rpm that causes wheelspin.

I agree, but I do like being a gear high in the woods and geared the way I have it 3rd is good for a nice flow. May feel different on 2 stroke

[trailmeisterjoe]

20 hours ago, jufberg said:

I agree, but I do like being a gear high in the woods and geared the way I have it 3rd is good for a nice flow. May feel different on 2 stroke

BIG difference though between riding in NJ and in ID or BC

 

Joe

[DrKayak]

I ran 13/52 on my 450exe for extreme granite boulder stuff, trying to go crazy slow without having to constantly slip the clutch and overheat.. I think 13/52 is too low for general trail riding. I'm still at 13/50 on my 250xcw. 

I actually wanted to try 13/51 on the 250 with the goal of making 3rd gear a tad lower so I could stay in 3rd more on the trail.. and be faster over all. 13/51 would not fit with the stock chain and I did not want to replace a new chain for such a small tweak. 

 

 

Edited October 4, 2018 by DrKayak

[jufberg]

BIG difference though between riding in NJ and in ID or BC
 
Joe

Wish I was in either

[trailmeisterjoe]

22 hours ago, jufberg said:

Wish I was in either

Idaho is actually referred to as "Rideaho" around the northwest ??

 

Joe 

[jufberg]

Idaho is actually referred to as "Rideaho" around the northwest [emoji106]
 
Joe 

Very jealous

[MixinGasKickinAss]

&%$#@! off we’re full 

[DernHumpus]

In my opinion, you should be thinking of this in final drive ratio.  

Personally, I like 13/50, which is about 3.84:1.  I know 14/49 3.5:1 is too steep, and 13/52 comes in at 4.00:1, which I think would be a bit twitchy and overly short.  Using the ratio method makes it easier to understand how big of jump you are making, especially if you are changing both sprockets.

FWIW, I have liked 13/50 on 200xc, 200sx, 250xc.  It makes 2nd gear more useful going slow, and 3rd peppier when moving a bit faster without causing significantly more occurrences of having to shift to 4th.

[nobade]

Wow, you guys run some high gearing. I'm currently at 12-50 on my 200mxc, wish I had a 52 but would need a new chain. High altitude rock crawling needs very different gearing than in the flatlands.

[dittohead]

Wow, you guys run some high gearing. I'm currently at 12-50 on my 200mxc, wish I had a 52 but would need a new chain. High altitude rock crawling needs very different gearing than in the flatlands.

Be faster to get off and walk with gearing that low!

[offrd beatr]

3 hours ago, dittohead said:

Be faster to get off and walk with gearing that low!

I hear people say this all the time. If you don't think you need the low first of a W bike then you aren't riding very gnarly trails. Trying to slip the clutch on a tall geared MX bike gets old quick.

 

[shrubitup]

Ya, 13/51

[dittohead]

I hear people say this all the time. If you don't think you need the low first of a W bike then you aren't riding very gnarly trails. Trying to slip the clutch on a tall geared MX bike gets old quick.
 

I’ve never understood the concept of super low gears on a dirtbike, especially these modern enduro 2 strokes that are so hard to stall. Momentum is what you want to get through hard stuff, with low gears, low are already at a disadvantage, the slower you go the harder it is to stay standing, the lower the gear, the easier it is to break traction, wheelie, and just get out of shape in a hurry. My 250xc in 2nd gear can go slower then walking speed easily with the use of the clutch, and I also have the ability to control wheelspin with the clutch. I have control of how much power I’m sending to the ground. Just feed in the power with the clutch. If you need a blast of speed you are already in the right gear (2nd) so you don’t zing the engine and still run out of wheelspeed to make a climb. Getting good with the clutch takes time but the results are obvious. These bikes are made to lug, luggability equals traction, traction equals forward momentum.

[offrd beatr]

18 hours ago, dittohead said:

I’ve never understood the concept of super low gears on a dirtbike, especially these modern enduro 2 strokes that are so hard to stall. Momentum is what you want to get through hard stuff, with low gears, low are already at a disadvantage, the slower you go the harder it is to stay standing, the lower the gear, the easier it is to break traction, wheelie, and just get out of shape in a hurry. My 250xc in 2nd gear can go slower then walking speed easily with the use of the clutch, and I also have the ability to control wheelspin with the clutch. I have control of how much power I’m sending to the ground. Just feed in the power with the clutch. If you need a blast of speed you are already in the right gear (2nd) so you don’t zing the engine and still run out of wheelspeed to make a climb. Getting good with the clutch takes time but the results are obvious. These bikes are made to lug, luggability equals traction, traction equals forward momentum.

You're riding where you can go walking speed then I'm guessing. I mean gnarly. Where I'm using the clutch to do all of what you described to move forward, not with wild wheelspin and heavy handed throttle inputs but smooth application of the power available. 

Last week my son and I we're riding in some good terrain. His 03 YZ250 didn't have enough low end power to pull it's tall geared self through where we were without either stalling or on the pipe wheelspin. Clutch abuse included. Straight would not be coerced into doing this in a civilized manner. My xcw cruised right through it with just a hint of clutch work. 

I'm good with my clutch skills. Modern two strokes are amazing in their ability to pull ultra low rpm crawling. 

Ive ridden tall geared bikes for as long as I have been able to ride. They don't perform well where I like to be. I agree that momentum is key and I use it when and where I can. Sometimes it's not an option and I'm happy to have a first gear that low.

[dittohead]

I used to own a 06 yz250. It was garbage for slow trail work, even with a fww , 13/52 gears, gnarly pipe etc. I’m on a 2017 250xc now (not the sx motocrosser) and it is nothing like your boys yz250. It has the same engine/power delivery as your xcw, just with a little bit higher 1st gear, which I almost never use to ride a trail. I use 1st for pivot turns and slow maneuvers like that, pretty well any other time I’m riding it’s 2nd-3rd. I’m not a big guy though, maybe 195lbs with gear. A bigger guy could possibly use a lower gear I suppose. I have ridden all kinds of terrain and I try to always ride the bike the same way, standing up, in 2nd gear, and lots of clutch to put the power down as smoothly as I can. Lower gears would make it harder to do this.

[celler]

I tend to gear bikes down to make 3rd my go to gear.  This eliminates many 2nd to 3rd gear shifts in the woods. It also allows third to be used to find traction.  I tend to like an xc gearbox so when 3rd is geared to where I want it 1st and 2nd are still very useful.  If I ride more open trails the stock gearing is just fine.  I recently just got a 2019 300xc  (Stock) and 2017 300 TE (Various performance mods) that have  great motors. I rode the 1st 30 hours with stock gearing. I recently switched to lower gearing and I'm just faster with it. Everyone has there preferences...