3:1 gear ratio

[boho]

I once called someone a moron for thinking of using a 3:1 gear ratio for regular bits. I said they would definately need more power to run it and probably wouldn't find that kind of power in a bit even with modding. Well, I may have been wrong. Not about the moron part, but about the 3:1 gear ratio. I've got an internal dual cell bit with a fet modded pcb. It always pops killer wheelies, but unfortunately the front end takes fore-ever to set itself back on the ground during acceleration, witch means I can't steer for the first 5~10 ft. So I threw in a 3:1 gear ratio to see what it would do.
My first thought was "holy cannoly, I can't believe the moron was right". It turned all that torque (and believe me there was plenty of it) into speed. Of course it doesn't accelerate as fast, but it accelerates alot faster than I thought it would. It takes about 4~8 feet to get up to speed, depending on tires, but the low end speed is still extremely fast.
I'm going to do some comparing over the next few days with another car that's basically the same thing, except it's a 2-speed car and it uses 8:1 gearing. The idea with the 2-speeder, is that I can start off slower so it doesn't do a perpetual wheely, and then hit the boost button when I want the power. This is also great for turns because at full power a dual-cell/fet modded car will flip alot.
Speaking of flipping, the dual-cell/fet modded car with a 3:1 gearing does like to flip. The flipping problem is controlable with practice, weight dispacement and correct tires, but sometimes I find myself on grippy ground with grippy tires and the only thing I can do is slow way down to turn.

By the way, a 3:1 gear ratio can be found in "kit racers" or "bit racers".