The Bike Geek Explains: Gear Ratios

Gear ratios are a basic concept that will help you understand your bike better and will allow you to make informed decisions for future upgrades.

[@antred11]

This is no doubt the clearest, most concise, no-BS explanation of bicycle gears I have yet come across on KZbin. 👍

[@WiteBot]

This is what KZbin was meant for!! No BS, straight to the point, simple and great explanation. Every other video these days stuff a bunch of fluff to get more money

[@randomrandom316]

While watching the video I didn't at any point feel like this was done by a smaller channel, your explanation was very lucid and the use of graphics to give a holistic view of all gear combinations was very informative. I hope you make more videos.

[@shauninnc]

Thank you for breaking this down in an easy to understand format.

[@Ali-Rida]

Instead of focusing on overlap of gear ratios, and hence useless combinations, you get from multi chainring drivetrain system, think another way! 1) If you’re biking in a city at speeds around 20-30km/h, ALWAYS stay on the smaller chainring on 2x drivetrain system (middle chainring on a 3x one)! 2) ONLY time you shift to (/utilize) the largest chainring is when you’re racing someone, or going downhill. When you reach the top speed on smaller chain ring, shift rear cassette 2-3 cogs down (depending how many speed cassette you have, 1 down is enough on a 8-speed cassette) and then shift the chainring at the front. 3) ONLY time you shift to the smallest chainring on a 3x drivetrain system is when you suddenly stop at a traffic light (forgetting to shift down your rear cassette before stopping) or worse you’re going uphill and an idiot stops you!! X) Extra chainrings reduce your bike “simplicity” by giving you special features for special times! I’m happy to carry them on my bike, the same way I’m happy to have two brakes on my bike!!

[@Astronomater]

best video i found on the subject.

[@thuthukanindlovu1959]

Great video! Throwing away the 50/34 and running 52/36 with 11/30 should give plenty of easy gears while maintaining decent top speed

[@charliedillon1400]

I just did this. The 36x30 climbing gear is 1.20 and the 34x28 I had before was 1.21 so very, very close. The 52x11 is 4.73 and the 50x11 is 4.55 so the spread is slightly bigger between gears but that's what you give up for slightly more top end speed.

[@szymontworek5887]

Clearly and precisely explained, rare thing these days :) Thank You!

[@charliedillon1400]

Recently got a new drivetrain and used a ratio chart to help make my gearing choices. My compact lowest gear was a 34x28 which is 1.21. My new mid compact has a 36x30 "granny" gear and it's a 1.20, so very, very close. I know it's all I need so I didn't mess around with a 32 or 34 tooth cog, which means I get optimal spacing. Very helpful!

[@pfunknoondawg]

Great video! Well explained and very informative. Thanks for taking the time to make it.

[@71Surfie]

Thanks. Really helpful information

[@mauritzallberg7302]

Thx. Best explane ever. Make more vidios. One Q. If ratio eg. 1.3 does it mean the wheel spin 1,3 around lap

[@gs8941]

Thank you for the table. it made the explanation easy to understand

[@ev.ascularity2280]

So the largest chainring paired with the smallest cassette will be the fastest but take the most work right?

[@sed6]

Yes

[@ev.ascularity2280]

@@sed6 thank you, I'm fairly new to using a bicycle do to lack of money to buy one, I thought that is how it worked but wanted to check

[@David-NYC]

This is great and I have an observation / something I would love a follow up on. All things being equal, it seems best to be in the smaller, front chain ring for the overlapping gears, as then when you switch gears (rear cassette), you get a smaller increment / it's smoother. Thoughts?

[@RaoBlackWellizedArman]

Very well explained!

[@loomdoby]

You should get 100k subs

[@ZoMichael-a]

Thank you. Very helpful.

[@nobodycycles16]

Darn it. lol. Your video was explained gear ratio very well. I thought you had more videos to show. I would definitely like more.

[@SolarizeYourLife]

I wish bike makers/sellers would have that chart available for the bike they are pushing on us... Be upfront about the actual number of speeds available!!!

[@BobCorey]

Nice video! Do you think even if we achieve a same ratio number by having different teeth numbers, does this affect the feel on the pedal? Fir example if we have 20front 10back vs 40front 20 back...

[@antred11]

Interesting question; never thought about this. 🤔I don't _think_ it would make any appreciable difference. The only thing that might have something of an effect is if you had to cross your chain a lot to achieve that gearing ratio in one setup but not with the other (as crossing the chain like that would increase wear & tear and also result in a certain efficiency reduction).

[@dyegsitsw954]

Thank you very much. Now I know the gear ratio for my fixie: 45/16 = 2.8125

[@jeanmorin3247]

THE BRITISH INCH SYSTEM --- This gear ratio system is not as good as the "British Inch system", which is the same formula, but multiplied by the rear wheel diameter in inches. The scale of ratios then falls between roughly 30 and 130, giving clear signposts of performance along the way: 30 for walking-pace uphill; 70 for standard one-speed bike on the level; 100 for starting downhill. These numbers are much easier to categorize and memorize and can be compared from bike to bike as the wheel diameter is included in the formula. With a good gear complementarity, one can jump from one chainring to the other and know exactly what to expect. This is particularly useful with three chainring cranksets, which do require some studying to master the ratios. Try it for fun, you'll adopt it for efficiency.

[@droptableaccount1820]

Neat.

[@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.

[@travismoore7849]

What if you have a pinion bike of 12 gears and a hub gear box 5 speed automatic. That would be like 60 gears.

[@j.foobar1764]

Good information. I would recommend finding a better microphone or method of recording your voice but the content is nicely presented.

[@thebikegeek5059]

I agree! I'm preparing the next episode and will see how I can improve the audio quality. Thanks for the comment!

[@abdulrehmanakram.3030]

Really very good video, me watching it from Saudi Arabia Jeddah city, I am not a true technical person I want to ask you some questions, i want to buy road bike ultegra disk di2 which crankset and cassette want to use for races, flat roads, which is good? and which type of wheels I use? for disk brake frameset, a tubeless tire is good or clincher? kindly answer if possible

[@SH-sj5zm]

I use a gear ratio of 46:18. The result is 2,55. I like it, but I sometimes feel it's too hard. I may try an easier gear ratio :D I'm 180 cm, but I have knee problems.

[@osint6372]

Good stuff......

[@mdd019]

That was great; thx!

[@xtropy7439]

Thanks a lot!

[@bertusbob]

👍👍👍

[@ahmadkarim1144]

my problem is i make enough power to the point where my legs are going crazy with my highest gear.

[@magnumllama400]

Yes, I would also rather have a smaller teeth gear and get rid of that 1st gear i never use

[@rogerhonacki5610]

The official terminology is mid-compact

[@russellericorticio5787]

How do you calculate the %?

[@osint6372]

divide the lowest gear ratio by the highest on each set. The 53/39t and 11/25t combination gives the highest % of 100% at 4.82 ratio (53 divided by 11). Then you take any other ratio you wish and divide it by 4.82 For example: The 53/16 ratio is 3.31 ....the percentage is 69% , which is derived by dividing 3.31/4.82 = 0.687 or ~ 69 % rounded.