13 - 47t vs 13 - 48t

ordered a 48 today, but to play it safe, I've added a 14, too.
Looking forward to try 13/48 first. High speeds are not important for me, limit in Switzerland outside town is some 50mph, anyway.
Not riding on freeways with the WR.

13/47 13/48 and 13/49 are all really good, I run the 47 and should have gone 49 as I ride the road only to get off road, max may be 10 to 20 miles, then the fun stuff starts.

I have been running 13/45 for the last Year and a half but I need more grunt down low. I just acquired a second set of 18/21 wheels. Tonight I put 13/47 on my commuter / hey where does that gravel road go? set. If it is as expected I plan to run 13/49 or 50 on my mud and dirt wheels. I just need to make sure I can go 60-65 to get to the mud. Is 65mph doable with 13/50?

For those with experience, how many links do I need in my chain to run 13/50?


Thanks
Cycle

Here is the chain and gearing link. You will need 112 link chain.
https://wr250rforum.forumotion.com/t5-chains-and-sprockets?highlight=gearing

Thank you kindly for the link. Most helpful.

Cyclecellamania wrote:

I have been running 13/45 for the last Year and a half but I need more grunt down low. I just acquired a second set of 18/21 wheels. Tonight I put 13/47 on my commuter / hey where does that gravel road go? set. If it is as expected I plan to run 13/49 or 50 on my mud and dirt wheels. I just need to make sure I can go 60-65 to get to the mud. Is 65mph doable with 13/50?

For those with experience, how many links do I need in my chain to run 13/50?

I run 13/51 gearing with a 112 link chain.  Whenever I hit the pavement, which isn't often, I can cruise 65 MPH on my D606 tires at about 8000 RPM.

The photo below shows that I'm at the shorter end of chain tension adjustment range, so larger front or rear sprockets probably aren't an option with 112 link chain.  But you should be fine pairing 112 links with 13/50 and still be able to swap to 14/50 if you get the urge to take a road trip somewhere.

14/49 here. I change to 13 when riding enduro-type stuff, and deep sand. When I got the bike it had a 51 on the rear, but for me that was a bit too big for the road, even with a 14 up front.

wwguy wrote:

Cyclecellamania wrote:

I have been running 13/45 for the last Year and a half but I need more grunt down low. I just acquired a second set of 18/21 wheels. Tonight I put 13/47 on my commuter / hey where does that gravel road go? set. If it is as expected I plan to run 13/49 or 50 on my mud and dirt wheels. I just need to make sure I can go 60-65 to get to the mud. Is 65mph doable with 13/50?

For those with experience, how many links do I need in my chain to run 13/50?

I run 13/51 gearing with a 112 link chain.  Whenever I hit the pavement, which isn't often, I can cruise 65 MPH on my D606 tires at about 8000 RPM.

The photo below shows that I'm at the shorter end of chain tension adjustment range, so larger front or rear sprockets probably aren't an option with 112 link chain.  But you should be fine pairing 112 links with 13/50 and still be able to swap to 14/50 if you get the urge to take a road trip somewhere.

Thanks for the great pic! That shows me I should have a bit of room with 13/50. With two sets of wheels I'll be swapping them out based on the type of ride I'm going on. I figure I might as well leave the front sprocket alone and just have the appropriate sprocket installed on the wheel/tire combo I intend to use.

I already like the 13/47 for road and gravel use. A quick test last night indicated a top speed of 70 but it was a short stretch of road and I hope I was in 5th gear. I'll get her out again today and double check it. My 12 O'clock speedo healer was dialed in on the 13/45 and my speedometer only changed by 2.5 mph by switching to 13/47.

Just put on a 13-47t combo today, I went with a Primary Drive steel rear sprocket, and a D.I.D. 112 link chain, the chain could probably have had a link or two taken out of it, but still have plenty of room for adjustment when the time comes.

initial thoughts so far is WOW, really brings the bike to life, haven't gotten to put a long ride on the highway yet, but so far just riding around in town it is awesome, and maybe it's just me but it really seemed to help eliminate the on/off throttle in the lower gears. Cant wait to try it out on some single track later this week!

O.K. so I put the 47 on my Shinko 705 wheel and attempted to use a brand new 114 link chain. Nope, too long! Put my old 110 link on and was two notches in on the adjusters so that was fine. I prefer this gearing over the 45 even though it creates more vibrations in the higher rev range than the 45. Now I can brake into a 90 degree turn and downshift 1 gear and pull out smoothly where I had to downshift 2 gears with the 45 tooth sprocket. I believe the bike should have come with 13/47 from the factory.

Put the 47 tooth on my D606 wheel and did 150 mixed miles of road, gravel, and dirt. It was better than the 45 but not as good as the 47 on the Shinko, I'm guessing due to difference in tire height. This little test convinced me to go with a 50 tooth sprocket on the D606 so I placed an order and cut two links off the 114 link chain. My plan is to have 1 chain and be able to switch between my commuter and dirt wheels.

Put the 47 back on the Shinko and installed the 50 tooth on the D606 with the now 112 link chain. Did 75 miles of pavement and gravel and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, it! So much more relaxed in the gravel, being able to climb hills and accelerate around curves with much, much less rear tire spin.

My seat of the pants feeling is that there is NOT more torque per say, which is what I initially hoped to experience. But rather the lower gearing makes better use of the power and torque that is there. With the 50 tooth sprocket I feel like I'm into the stronger part of the power band immediately upon opening the throttle instead of winding up in order to get there. If that makes any sense?

Anyway, I feel like this will be the right combo for me. At least until or if I experience something that makes me want to find an alternate solution.