For flat places, a ratio of
2.6 to 3.0
is ideal for most people. The lower value of this range, with a cadence of 90 rpm, will allow us to ride around 30km/h, while the upper, 34km/h. If you’re just starting out on your adventure on a single speed or fixed gear bike, a gear ratio of around 2.7-2.8 will be ideal.
How do you calculate bike gear ratios?
THE ANSWER: “You can determine the gear ratio by
dividing the number of teeth on the front cog by the number of teeth on the rear cog
,” writes Henry Ko of Montreal. For example, his bike has one gear with 39 teeth on the front cog and 18 on the rear.
What do bike gear ratios mean?
In simple terms, a gear ratio on a bike refers to
how many times the back wheel will rotate for each full turn of the crank arms (pedals)
.
What is a 5 to 1 gear ratio?
For example,
if a motor drives a 12T gear to a driven 60T gear on an arm, the 12T driving gear has to rotate 5 times to rotate the 60T driven gear once
. This is known as a 5:1 ratio. The torque output is 5 times as much, however, the speed output is only 1/5.
What gear should I use on a flat road?
For riding on flat roads, it is recommended to use the
middle gear
. It is a common choice among bikers as it helps you reduce pressure from your feet onto the pedals.
What is a granny gear on a bike?
The granny gear is
the smallest cog on the front crankset of your bike
.
What gear ratio is best for climbing?
All other things being equal, the 34T sprocket on the
11-34T cassette
is going to give you the easiest gear. If your bike is currently fitted with an 11-28T cassette, switching to an 11-34T cassette will make climbing less of a struggle.
How do you determine optimal gear ratio?
To calculate the gear ratio:
Divide the number of driven gear teeth by the number of drive gear teeth
. In our example, it’s 28/21 or 4 : 3. This gear ratio shows that the smaller driver gear must turn 1,3 times to get the larger driven gear to make one complete turn.
How is mountain bike gear ratio calculated?
The smaller the chainring, the easier the lowest gear for climbing; the bigger the chainring, the faster you can go in the highest gear. You can calculate the gearing ratio by
dividing the teeth of the chainring with the teeth of the cog on the cassette
.
Is 8 gears enough on a bike?
8 speed drivetrain is great, everything else about it sucks, forks and brakes are terrifying
. My other bikes are mostly 2×9 or 3×9, which works fine, with one 2×11 XT. The 2×11 is the clunkiest of the lot, really does not feel like a high-end drivetrain.
What is the easiest gear on a bike?
The
low gear
is the “easy” gear and is primarily used when climbing. The low gear is the smallest chain ring in the front, and the largest cog on the rear cassette. In this position pedaling will be easiest and the least amount of force will be required to push the pedals.
Do gear ratios add or multiply?
For example, for the gear at left the blue gears are 7 and 21 teeth, while the green gears are 9 and 30 teeth. Thus, the first gear ratio is 7:21 and the second is 9:30.
Multiplying the two together
gives (7×9):(21×30) = 63 : 630, which is 1:10.
Does higher gear ratio mean faster?
Higher ratios mean the engine has to run faster to achieve a given speed
. Lower ratios allow the engine to run more economically to maintain that given speed.
What gears for what speed?
Remember each car will be geared slightly differently, but a good rule of thumb for changing gears is that first gear is for speeds up to 10 mph, second gear is for speeds up to 15 mph, third gear is for speeds up to 35 mph, fourth gear is for speeds up to 55 mph, fifth gear is for speeds up to 65 mph, and sixth gear …
Is gear 1 high or low on a bike?
Bikes generally have 1, 3, 18, 21, 24, or 27 speeds. (10- and 15-speeds are obsolete and you don’t see them on new bikes anymore.) Lower numbers are the low gears, and higher numbers are the high gears.
First gear is a low gear
.
How do you increase gear speed on a bike?
How do I choose bike gears?
–
Look for a chainring set with a greater difference between the largest sprocket and the smallest sprocket
. Mountain Example: You ride 32/24 chainrings and need a wider ratio; > a change to 36/22 will give both lower and higher gears.
What is the hardest gear on a bike?
High Gear
= Hard = Good for Descending: The “highest” gear on your bike is the largest chain ring in the front and the smallest cog on your cassette (rear gears). In this position, the pedaling will be the hardest and you’ll be able to accelerate while traveling downhill.
What gear is the smallest cog?
The lowest gear
is when the chain is on the smallest cog on the front and the largest cog on the rear. The highest gear is when it’s hardest to pedal, this will move your bike at a fast speed if cruising along on the flat.
What is a good gear inch?
Small gear inches are great for climbing, while big gear inches will help you go fast on the flats
. Mountain bikes usually have a low gear in the 20’s in terms of gear inch, while road racing bikes might have a high gear in the low 100’s.
Which gear is best for cycling uphill?
Get the right gear
The best combination for riding up hills is
the smallest cog at the front and the largest at the back
. The critical gear here is the largest cog at the back. The bigger it is, the easier it will be to climb up hills.
What gear do professional cyclists use?
Pros often use a
55×11-tooth high gear
for time trials. On flat or rolling stages they might have 53/39T chainrings with an 11-21T cassette. In moderate mountains they switch to a large cog of 23T or 25T. These days, they’ve joined the big-gear revolution like many recreational riders.
What bike gear is best for hills?
If you are climbing a hill on a bicycle, using a
lower gear
is better than a higher one. A smaller gear can help you accelerate faster without requiring too much effort in each pedal stroke.
How do I know my rear gear ratio?
Turn the wheel TWO revolutions and count the number of driveshaft turns
. The number of driveshaft rotations will help you determine your rear axle ratio. For example, if it turned 3 and a half times, it’s a 3.50:1 ratio. If it turned 4 and a quarter times, it’s a 4.25:1 ratio.
What is a good first gear ratio?
For most street performance applications, a
10:1
final First gear ratio is usually considered optimal. The disadvantage of operating a 4.10:1 axle ratio on the street with a 1:1 high gear is excessive freeway engine speed.
