Gears explained??

phog

Ok, long time cyclist but new to gears, I've aquired a bike with 10 or 12 gears. The bike has 2 large cogs at the pedals and 5 or 6 small cogs on the rear wheel.

Can someone explain the gears to me - what is the cogs postions front and rear for the lowest and the highest gears?

Plastik

Small front + big rear = easiest
Big front + small rear = hardest

phog

Plastik wrote: »

Small front + big rear = easiest
Big front + small rear = hardest

Simple - thanks

BTW - the reason I couldn't check by trying them outs is that both wheels need new tyres before it's ready for the road.

**Timbuk2**

At the front, the larger the chainring you are in, the higher (or harder!) the gear (in other words, the slower the pedals go relative to the speed of the bike). The front derailleur is the thing that moves left and right which pushes the chain onto the next chainring.

At the back, the larger the chainring you are in, the lower (or easier!) the gear (in other words, the pedals move fast relative to the speed of the bike). The rear derailleur is the thing which changes these gears!

So the very lowest (granny gear) would be achieved by having the chain on the smallest chainring at the pedals, and the largest chainring behind. The hardest gear would be achieved by having the chain on the largest chainring at the pedals, and the smallest chainring behind.

Rovi

Try not to use the small front with the smallest rear, or the big front with the biggest rear, as this puts a lot of 'sideways' pressure on the chain that it's not really designed for (it's known as "cross chaining"), and you may also get trouble with the chain jumping gears and being generally noisy.

Master and commander

Your best just to leave the chain on the largest front sprocket.
I have a mountain bike for ten yrs, it has three front sprockets but i never use the smaller two. I only use the rears, plenty speed range there.
I know if your doing real off road type biking you probly would use them then.
I seen some new bikes with 24 or one with 32 gears. WTF? what a load of bullsh*t. Just a gimmick and somthing waiting to go wrong.
I go to work every day and there are a good few steep hills an all i use is my six gears. 32? WTF

Tonyandthewhale

Master and commander wrote: »

I go to work every day and there are a good few steep hills an all i use is my six gears. 32? WTF

While you generally don't need the low range gears you'll find on a mountain bike the cogs and chainrings on a road bike tend to have more teeth and thus produce a higher gear so the lowest gear on a road bike might be somewhere around the middle of a mountain bike's range. You should never be afraid to use your gears to their full extent, the key to cycling is pedalling and that means pedalling at a consistent cadence which is easier if you use your gears properly.

smacl

Master and commander wrote: »

32? WTF

Don't think you'll find a bike with 32 gears, 16, 18, 20, 24, 27, 30 regularly and possibly 33 or 36. I've 27 (3x9) and use the small cog a fair bit on longer climbs (e.g. sally gap, slieve maan and the like) or very tough gradients (powerscourt up to the long hill, grassamucky, etc..) I can, and used to, grind my way up this sort of stuff, but it wrecks your knees long term, and you don't go any faster. Even on shorter trips, I'd tend to spin faster in lower gears these days than push harder in high gears. If you've got them, and paid for them, might as well use them.

Unregistered.

smacl wrote: »

Master and commander wrote: »

32? WTF

Don't think you'll find a bike with 32 gears, 16, 18, 20, 24, 27, 30 regularly and possibly 33 or 36. I've 27 (3x9) and use the small cog a fair bit on longer climbs (e.g. sally gap, slieve maan and the like) or very tough gradients (powerscourt up to the long hill, grassamucky, etc..) I can, and used to, grind my way up this sort of stuff, but it wrecks your knees long term, and you don't go any faster. Even on shorter trips, I'd tend to spin faster in lower gears these days than push harder in high gears. If you've got them, and paid for them, might as well use them.

I dunno if you're a regular boardsie or not, but a big thanks to the gent who told me not to use the big ring cycling up the crumlin road on Monday. I'very noticed it's a lot easier on the knees since then!