Bicycles Stack Exchange
Bicycles Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [gears]

Gears in the drivetrain of a bike.

727 questions
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Is a 1:1 gear ratio the same regardless of the specific gear sizes?

I have a gravel 1by bike with 42t and a 11-42 cassette. I also have a road bike with 50-34t and then 11-34 cassette. My question. When going uphill in easiest gear in both, they would both be a 1:1 ratio, but is one effectively an easier gear(i.e…
Jubbly
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Worries about a gear ratio of 1:1?

I'm planning a randonneur-like bike with drop bars, STI shifters, and nevertheless some low gears. The crankset could be a "compact plus" (I guess from Sugino), 44 and 28 teeths, and the cassette a normal Shimano 105 11-32. With this setup, the…
mtewes
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What is the purpose of so many gears?

My bike, which I love dearly, has 21 gears, which appears to now be standard among mountain bikes. Is that truly better with a bike that has, say, 7 gears? And why is it that the amount of gears a bike has always a multiple of 7?
thegoatman
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10 answers

How to position a bike for work without a stand

I want to tweak my gears, from time to time: Adjust my front and rear derailleur limits, see if the shifts are smooth, make small adjustments on the cable tension, and so on. Is there any way to get the bike in position without help of anyone? I…
danieltorres
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3 answers

Bike not changing correctly between two gears

I have only recently started riding to work and I've been given a bike by a friend which is in reasonably good shape. For the way things are working out I keep the front gear in the same position and change the back one between 4, 5 and 6. The trip…
going
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What is the generic name for the gear shifter where you have one trigger for the up shift and another for down shift?

I recently bought a bike with new advanced gear shifters where you can shift easily as the shifter has a trigger for the up shift and downshift? I would like to replace the twist shifter in my old bike with these but do not know the generic name for…
Binny K Thomas
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How to check the gear before renting a bike?

I don't own a bicycle. Whenever I go cycling, I would need to rent one. The first thing that I always check is to see if the brakes are working properly. Sometimes, I have no idea that the gear is faulty until I encounter a steep slope where I need…
Question Overflow
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Is there a way to add the gear indicator to my bicycle?

My E-bicycle (12 gears rear only, Shimano Deore XT M8100) has no gear indicator. There is totally no clue which gear is currently engaged. I find this very inconvenient as using the first (smallest) or even second cog sometimes results in a heavy…
nightrider
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What does a gear 'spinning out' mean?

I'm asking as I'm reading Sean Kelly's autobiography, where he uses the expression when he and his team were at the front of the peloton, trying to reel in a breakaway: It was a long, long chase and we were racing like lunatics. I was in my biggest…
felx81
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Bike temporarily feels like it switches into a lower gear when rapidly braking?

It’s hard to describe this, and I’m not sure whether there’s something wrong with my bike. Say I’m cycling along a long straight in sixth gear. If I brake enough to slow down rapidly (like round a corner) my bike suddenly acts as if it is in a lower…
Bob Carlson
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Effect of Rear Derailleur Cage Length

What effect does the length of the cage on a rear derailleur have on bike setup/shifting?
Martynnw
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Which gears combinations shouldn't be used?

Is there any general rule or recommendation to avoid usage of certain gears combinations (for 2xN and 3xN gears systems)? Do they differ for mtb and road bikes? I know that it's recommended not to use biggest front chainring with big chainrings on…
zetdotpi
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Wrong bike gear

Recently I discovered that my bike's back gears are shifted two gears off constantly. So when it says I'm in 1st gear I'm actually in 3rd and when it says I'm in 2nd I'm actually in 4th. The shifter doesn't look bent or anything and I don't…
codedude
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cross chaining 18 speed (2 * 9) bike

I have a 18 speed bike. There are two chain rings in the front and 9 cogs at the back. I am new to cycling and I wish to know which gear combinations should I avoid to prolong the life of the chain and gears and avoid cross chaining. So can someone…
Rain
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What's the deal with the axle of my wheels? (or, why is one gear so much smaller than the other?)

I want to put a smaller set of gears on my bike, but looking at the wheel I see that I already have the smallest gear for my axle. Comparing it to another wheel, I found that the other wheel has a much smaller axle. Thicker axle, 14 tooth…
QueueHammer
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