36T sprocket

I've built many bikes, & it's my experience that a 36T sprocket only works best with a heavily modified engine.
I recently installed a 36T on a new bike with a stock engine (only because I ran out of 40T's) & it was much slower that it would have been with a 40T. :/

These little engines (in stock form) just don't have the power to push a 'tall' gear like that... & if you need to go up a long hill?, you'll really feel the power loss!

I tried a 36 tooth sprocket and didn't like it. It was a dog to get going and wasn't much faster then my 40 tooth. It's a two stroke they like to rev.....

I just switched to a 39 and it works great...Take offs are easy w/ just a couple pedal strokes.... Has good torque in the middle rpm's....... My engine is stock w/ a voodoo expansion chamber....

The chinagirl actually makes decent midrange torque tho. I ran a 34T for 2.5 years and I never had problems with take-off or hills. Prolly because I pedal, too!

My engines only had cleaned-up ports. The taller gear makes for quieter, easier cruising speeds 20-30MPH. You don't have to rev your engine over 6K RPM

I've run a 40T, and a 36T. My 80 motors seem to handle the 36T sprockets ok. Where I live it's fairly flat. All the hills near my house are low.

I like both size sprockets. The 40 offers faster acceleration, and + 30 mph speeds. Even a stock motor feels like a little moped with a 40T.

A 36 has less a lot less acceleration, but will top 35 mph. That's really only a few more mph than a 40T, but cruising at the same speeds with a 36T, the motor feels a little less stressed, and a little less vibration.

I don't like to run my motor over 7000 rpm much, and I don't think the motor appreciates it much either. So it comes down to what kind riding you do, for which is best. I live in a big city, full of Suv's. Sometimes I have to get on a big street in traffic. I try not to, but sometimes you just have to, to get where you're going. At times like that it's nice to be able to go 35, just to keep from becoming a hood ornament lol.

40T.... rear wheel sprocket...........36T sprocket

26x2.125 tire 81.8" circumference..26x1.95 tire 80.25" circumference



RPM MPH....................................RPM MPH

1000 4.7....................................1000 5.2
1200 5.7....................................1200 6.2
1400 6.6....................................1400 7.2
1600 7.6....................................1600 8.3
1800 8.5....................................1800 9.3
2000 9.4....................................2000 10.3
2200 10.4...................................2200 11.4
2400 11.3...................................2400 12.4
2600 12.3...................................2600 13.4
2800 13.2...................................2800 14.5
3000 14.2...................................3000 15.5
3200 15.1...................................3200 16.5
3400 16.1...................................3400 17.6
3600 17.0...................................3600 18.6
3800 17.9...................................3800 19.6
4000 18.9...................................4000 20.7
4200 19.8...................................4200 21.7
4400 20.8...................................4400 22.7
4600 21.7...................................4600 23.8
4800 22.7...................................4800 24.8
5000 23.6...................................5000 25.8
5200 24.6...................................5200 26.9
5400 25.5...................................5400 27.9
5600 26.5...................................5600 28.9
5800 27.4...................................5800 30.0
6000 28.3...................................6000 31.0
6200 29.3...................................6200 32.0
6400 30.2...................................6400 33.1
6600 31.2...................................6600 34.1
6800 32.1...................................6800 35.1
7000 33.1...................................7000 36.2

What effect will a 24" wheel have on the out come between the two sprockets?

dracothered said:

What effect will a 24" wheel have on the out come between the two sprockets?

Click to expand...

With the same size tires, it would have less top speed, but more acceleration.

24" vs 26" is worth about 2-3MPH, depending on sprocket size. With stock 44T sprocket, it's 2MPH less top speed. With 36 it's closer to 3.

porkchop said:

i did take it for a long ride with 36T..i was impressed..my SkyHawk GT5 handled it just fine..hills were no problem..Venice Motors i didnt need a over modded engine after all...you know instead of trying to discourage a guy on his first build,maybe you could through some tips...the bike ran smooth & kept up with city traffic (35mph) better then i thought.
over all i am happy with the results,not insults
Chop

Click to expand...

I'm sure no one was trying to insult you porkchop. VMB Is one of the nicest guys on the forum.

I could see myself liking a 40T with a stock motor. When I switched a few weeks ago, I have to say I do miss the feel it had when cruising about 25 mph.

The_Aleman said:

24" vs 26" is worth about 2-3MPH, depending on sprocket size. With stock 44T sprocket, it's 2MPH less top speed. With 36 it's closer to 3.

Click to expand...

So would the 40 tooth be better than the 36 tooth on a 24" x 2.125 wheel and 2.125 tire?

40T on 24" wheel is roughly equivalent to 44T on 26". 26.3MPH @ 6000RPM

36T on 24" gets you ~30MPH @ 6000. I can't tell you if that's better or not because that all depends on what you need.

The_Aleman said:

40T on 24" wheel is roughly equivalent to 44T on 26". 26.3MPH @ 6000RPM

36T on 24" gets you ~30MPH @ 6000. I can't tell you if that's better or not because that all depends on what you need.

Click to expand...

Just looking for good top end with a good take off torque. Not really looking to climb steep hills, but there is some hills around here.

IMO, the 36T on a 24" is the way to go. But then, I'm not afraid to pedal either. I always pedal til I just about run out of gear on take-off.

You'll get going much quicker and climb hills faster with pedaling. Not pedaling is throwing away torque. My bike with 34T was pretty quick 0-30 because of that.

The_Aleman said:

IMO, the 36T on a 24" is the way to go. But then, I'm not afraid to pedal either. I always pedal til I just about run out of gear on take-off.

You'll get going much quicker and climb hills faster with pedaling. Not pedaling is throwing away torque. My bike with 34T was pretty quick 0-30 because of that.

Click to expand...

thanks for the info...

porkchop said:

i did take it for a long ride with 36T..i was impressed..my SkyHawk GT5 handled it just fine..hills were no problem..Venice Motors i didnt need a over modded engine after all...you know instead of trying to discourage a guy on his first build,maybe you could through some tips...the bike ran smooth & kept up with city traffic (35mph) better then i thought.
over all i am happy with the results,not insults
Chop

Click to expand...

I wasn't trying to discourage or insult you... Like I said, "I've built a lot of these & it's my experience that a 40T is usually the best choice".

It can be very misleading to new bike builders when they read something like what you posted & not get the good results that you did. :/

You should do your own comparison between a 36t & a 40T & post the results here.
Who knows, maybe you might like it & understand why so many of us prefer a 40?

Venice Motor Bikes said:

I wasn't trying to discourage or insult you... Like I said, "I've built a lot of these & it's my experience that a 40T is usually the best choice".

It can be very misleading to new bike builders when they read something like what you posted & not get the good results that you did. :/

You should do your own comparison between a 36t & a 40T & post the results here.
Who knows, maybe you might like it & understand why so many of us prefer a 40?

Click to expand...

I'll have to chime in too, and say that our three bikes have driven 36T sprockets with stock carb and stock jet and they run fine, my 44T topped out at 27 mph and with my 36T sprocket I was doing 30 mph. One brother is now running a 32T and although I can out accelerate him from the start he soon passes me like I'm going backwards.

In the last couple of months we've all gotten expansion chambers with a resulting 2-3 mph boost (top now is 34 mph with 37 mph down hill) . Still with stock carbs and stock jets. I do peddle like a mad man at start up but never have to peddle up hills (for sure the biggest hills we have are the freeway and railroad over passes)