Everything You Need To Know About Gear Ratios | Choosing Cassettes, Chainrings & Shifters Explained

The gears on our bike can seem like a tricky and complicated concept to understand, and that is especially the case when we start to discuss the idea of gear ratios. So what exactly are they, how do they work, and crucially what do they mean for us when we are riding? Mark is here to explain all!
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[@gtn]

Have any more questions for us? Leave us your question with the #gtncoachescorner and will try to answer as many as possible 👇

[@pn6834]

Suggest it is explained chaining x wheelsize ÷ sprocket. Done this way for decades

[@not_name7421]

Ratios ACTUALLY explained at 06:32.

[@nealadamson1860]

Nice to see you rolling around the Devon hills of Dartmoor 💙 my back yard... Thanks for the vid!

[@annacapano5839]

Came for some bike geekness, and GTN delivers as always 😉 Thanks !

[@gtn]

Welcome!

[@ttvance9206]

That high tech kickstand it on point. Does Amazon have those?

[@vincentzhivkov6077]

😂

[@bohansen2960]

I just got that bike in a FRD model from 2019 - AWSOME bike

[@nuerphil1]

thank you! Helped so much!

[@coachjohn]

Great explanation

[@keepcalmcarryon3358]

how do pros and experts progress thru the gears on flat surface when starting from full stop? I feel as tho I only need one ring up front living in Florida riding my Trek Domane

[@vr4042]

My question is: Is the power necessary to spin gear combinations that have the same gear RATIO, but are comprised of different sized cog/chainring pairs. For example a 44 CR and 36 big cog have a gear ratio of 1.2; and a 42 CR and a 32 big cog also have a 1.2 gear ration. Is the power necessary to spin these gear combos, assuming the same rider and rpm, different?

[@donovanvaz3289]

Are you sure? Unless I have done my maths wrong? (i) 44/36 = 1.22 BUT (ii) 42/32 = 1.31

[@sboss6758]

Go for 11/32 or 11/34 if your heavy/hilly

[@jadonmckenzie5994]

Do u think a 54 chainring and a 11 cog will go on a 20inch frame bike??

[@kentziekay]

I love the stick holding up the bike here 😂

[@krishnansrinivasan830]

Awesome & Thanks :)

[@TrainerAce123]

I have a question. Is equipping a 11-32t good enough for climbs and flats with 53-39t chainring??

[@demishade]

Rings do come with all different kinds of sizes, but the shape is pretty much almost the same :)

[@silverhawx4183]

Hi. Thank you for the explanation. Does that mean with an 11 cassette and a double chain set there are 22 gears. But then there is cross chaining and there are gear ratios duplicated. Is it possible to explain for example, small front to be used with 1 to 7 rear and large front with 5 to 11 rear. As this will help prevent cross chaining and duplication of gears. If this could be explained it would be helpful, thank you. Nice kickstand, hack or bodge.

[@donovanvaz3289]

Totally agree. Is it why now they refer only to an 11 speed bike as opposed to how many gears it has? Whereas in the old days you'd say it was a 22 gear bike. But as you say, not all gears can be used.

[@joshiprasanna]

How can I find out if I can increase the range of my gear - I have following combination Front Derailleur : Shimano 105 FD-5700 Black Rear Derailleur : Shimano 105 Black, RD-5701A/SS 20-speed Shifters : Shimano 105 ST-5700 Black, dual control 20-speed Crankset : Shimano 105 Compact Black, FC-5750 Hollowtech II 50x34 Cassette : Shimano TIAGRA CS-4600, 10-speed 12-30T Chain : Shimano Tiagra CN-4600 Shimano 105 -- Can I add a "lowest" or easier gear ? based on combination above and what would I need to replace?

[@michaelsingh843]

I started using a cadence and a heart sensor with my bike comp, so far avg my cadence to 60 and select my hardest gear I can use without reducing my cadence or increasing my HR. Is this a good way to train and ride to improve? Or should I be focusing on increasing my cadence and using an easier gear for improvement.

[@MrFoxmarine]

Usually a higher (85-95) cadence is preferred because it means less force is going through your joints and connective tissue, but if you don’t have any problems riding there then you can ride at your self selected cadence

[@michaelsingh843]

@@MrFoxmarine I figured to play to my physical strength, I have enough muscle to mash a high gear. 60 cadence is comfortable, after some adaptation I will push the cadence to 65, then 70 and so on. I find the key is pedaling to a rhythm so there very little fluctuation in cadence. In a short period I noticed a considerable improvement and I'm no where near the fitness I should be.

[@damonhammond1223]

Does it require the same effort to push the same ratio regardless of whether you use the big or small chain ring? It seems like I get more bang for my buck if I'm in the big ring?

[@matthiaswuest7271]

It should be the same, but depending on the specific gear ratio the chain line might be more efficient in the big ring. GCN did a video looking into this recently

[@matthiaswuest7271]

Also a smaller cog is marginally less efficient than a bigger cog, but I doubt that you'd be able to detect that (I know I can't)

[@_driane]

A pretty technical question, Why don't electronic gears just use limit screws as reference for indexing? Cassettes have little to no difference in their gaps so why not? It would automatically adjust and they can just make it an option to do it manually.

[@mr.mclibtard5015]

1 year later 🤔

[@g5magic]

Like your bike stand !,, 😜

[@jasonesperancilla883]

Is it possible to run a 53-39 chainring and an 11-32 or an 11-34 cassette?

[@jesuschavez8417]

Yes

[@elianea.c.2294]

My Gosh his voice 😍😍😍😍

[@Oboro911]

You in heat?

[@user-kt4oj5eg9g]

if you need to get extrimal gear retions for mountains for example what is the best way to do this? set a cassette with 32t or 34t or set a inner chainring 34t?

[@matthiaswuest7271]

You could do both if you wanted the 1:1 gear ratio, but that's rarely needed. Probably better to go for the compact chainring setup and keep the smaller gear jumps with a standard cassette in the back

[@pn6834]

Chain ring x wheel size ÷ number of teeth on sprocket. 52x27÷ 18 ...

[@marcusfolkes5491]

is this bike 7 or 8 speed

[@ytstubb8856]

Hi

[@kanskesenare2246]

Hello!

[@Shouldbeeasier]

Haha could even be 28 teeth.....i don't know any retail road bike sold with less than 28 as standard.

[@mlb6d9]

I feel underdressed for this video

[@tommyjensen3750]

As much as I appreciate you trying to explain it, it still leaves the question “which is right for me?” Now, I’m pretty set in my cycling, but for someone new, this only explaines gears, not what’s suitable. What I’m trying to say, is that for someone new, this doesn’t make them any wiser on what to ride, the rest of us already knew it. Might be worth making a video on how to choose gears instead. From my view, my fitness dictates the chain ring size, the terrain dictates my cassette. In mountains I want 11-32 cassette, on the flats a 12-25, to have enough spand on my highest and lowest gears. As for chainring sizes, fitness comes into the equation. Watts or w/kg if ascending comes into matter. That’s a straight forward calculation. You should do a video on that, selecting the right gears for you course.

[@PhiyackYuh]

Its simple. Masters cyclists and triathletes should just stick to compact or below that but pure ego gets in the way. We all know that most age groupers in triathlon and cycling thinks they are world tour pros. If you know you know.

[@MrMediadirect]

00

[@phillipsperling3037]

Just call me a psychopath. But I go with a 34/56 chainset 😂

[@stug45]

How is your shift between the gears? Front mechs have a capacity of 16t and you're miles from that!

[@BethanyBlount]

One thing not explained is how to know the number of teeth.

[@Fishsticks007]

Have to Count them.

[@michaelmartin4383]

The most important gear on your bike is the rear wheel, but none of these geniuses ever take wheel size into consideration when calculating the gear ratios. This goes to show they are not really into bikes, but just trying to sell stuff.