I recently put a 36 tooth sprocket on my MB. I got the 36 tooth because i heard its better?? But then my brother said the bigger the sprocket the faster it is? Does smaller amount of teeth mean more acceleration or something? Whats better Bigger/More teeth OR Smaller/less teeth? Will a 36 tooth sprocket make me less faster? Thanks, Longhorn6
Longhorn,
You'll hear a lot of things...
I get many calls daily for advice on sprocket sizes.
A 40T sprocket is an excellent all-around size for a 26" bike with the Chinese In-frame engine.
I have made sprockets from 28T for the 2-cycle, up to 64T for the 4-cycle guys.
There are the guys who like to hill climb and weigh 200 lbs+ There are the 140 lb- guys who want to see how fast they can go.
Some of these engines are more powerful than others...final drive sprocket selection is part of the tuning process, and not an arbitrary number that can be pulled from a magicians hat. With this said: "Whats better Bigger/More teeth OR Smaller/less teeth?" is a loaded question...there are a number of factors that must be considered in order to arrive at the ideal final ratio.
In general, a larger rear sprocket will offer greater acceleration and a lower top speed...A smaller rear sprocket may give you a higher top speed, (If the engine has enough power to do it), and will definitely result in decreased acceleration.
In this respect our MB's are no different than motorcycles.
Jim