Down-sizing the Front chainring
I recently bought a 2009 Specialized Langster with 42/16 gearing which seems sufficient for now as I'm using it to lose some weight and recover from some back issues that I had last year. I found myself really liking it as a single speed and some limitations (tire width) and being addicted to the N+1 disease, I've also acquired a Cinelli Tutto with bigger tires (38mm) and bigger gears, 46/16...
So my question is ..Will I find a significant difference with a 46 tooth chain ring over the 42 ?..(the 46 has almost a difference of 10 gear inches) if so, and I downsize to a 42 (or ?), do I shorten the chain ? (like a road bike)...changing the front chain ring seems simpler and cheaper than changing the freewheel to a 18T (I have a Profile Racing Elite ).....All of this seems a lot more complicated than road bikes!..:)
Forgive my newbie-ism, as I'm a long time roadie and we've recently moved to Arizona and my road bikes haven't arrived yet...(I wonder if I'll like on/off road capability of the Tutto over my road bikes?..hmmm)
So my question is ..Will I find a significant difference with a 46 tooth chain ring over the 42 ?..(the 46 has almost a difference of 10 gear inches) if so, and I downsize to a 42 (or ?), do I shorten the chain ? (like a road bike)...changing the front chain ring seems simpler and cheaper than changing the freewheel to a 18T (I have a Profile Racing Elite ).....All of this seems a lot more complicated than road bikes!..:)
Forgive my newbie-ism, as I'm a long time roadie and we've recently moved to Arizona and my road bikes haven't arrived yet...(I wonder if I'll like on/off road capability of the Tutto over my road bikes?..hmmm)