Attention! Little math help here!

if your rpms stay the same, you'll get 30 on the 44, 30 times 44/54 on the 54, 30 times 44/56 on the 56, and so forth, however, it gets easier for the motor to turn on the bigger sprockets, so your rpms available may go up a bit

Okay.....well......I'm a bit rusty on that stuff. But I ought to be able to get you someplace.

Let's set your 25 mph cruising speed as our benchmark.

You're doing 25 at X engine rpm --it doesn't matter exactly what the value of X is --with a 44 tooth sprocket. I've already forgotten what your sprocket choices are. But did you mention a 56 tooth? Let's go with that.

To figure out how fast you'd go at X engine rpm you'd need to figure 25 x 44 divided by 56......equals.......mumble, mumble......lemme find a paper and pen.........just a minute........I'll be right back......

okay...25 x 44 divided by 56 equals................Infinity???!!!!

Oh, mannnn!!!......I'd better get a calculator........

25 x 44 divided by 56 equals.....19.6 mph at X rpm.

Maybe I made that more complicated than it needs to be. When calculating results of different sprocket sizes just take the ratio of the sprocket you've got against the sprocket you're considering. In this case the ratio of 44/55 which equals point 8. So with a 56 tooth sprocket your speed at X rpm will be point 8 times your speed with a 44 tooth sprocket.

Or you could calculate your torque at X rpm using the inverse. 56/44. Which equals 1 point 27. So at X rpm, on a 56 tooth sprocket you'd have 1 point 27 times the 'pulling power' that you'd have on a 44 tooth.

Unless that Mogollon Rim is very, very steep you probably don't need a sprocket any larger than 56.

"Blue, you ROCK! That made perfect sense to me." ---mogollonmonster

That made sense? Man, I'm still confused.

But anyway......if your climbs are particularly long, then I guess you might want to go for as much torque as you can get. So that you're not 'winding out' that engine for miles at a time.

At a guess, I'd say that both a 56 and a 60 is a good idea. It's hard to imagine you needing anything larger, since I think you mentioned once that you're not a particularly heavy guy.

In any case I think I'd recommend gearing that has your engine right in its mid-rpm range on those long uphills. That's where you're going to want that engine to be in its comfort zone. And it's likely that either the 56 or the 60 will fit that.

I made a small XL spreadsheet table for you, right next to my sprocket size calculator. Beware the size of a bigger sprocket. You'll see that the 44t is about 7" diameter, while a 60t is almost 10" diameter. Make sure you have the space/chain clearance before proceeding!

As said previously you will probably pick up some RPMs, but the table on the left assumes the same RPM as the one you got 30mph with.

i'm running a 56t with 29er rims now, top speed on level ground is only around 20mph. but she climbs hills like a champ.
i don't think there would be a noticeable difference between a 56t and a 60t