To be able to understand the gears on your bike, you first have to learn the language. Below is a simplified guide for the beginner, to help you to build your vocabulary and be able to speak Bike-Gear-ish with fluency.
Speaking Bike-Gear-ish Made Simple.
1. The Very Basics:
a. The bike has front gears and rear gears.
b. There are always more rear gears than front gears.
c. The controls for the front gears are on the left handlebar.
d. The controls for the rear gears are on the right handlebar.
2. The Front Gears:
a. There are generally 2 or 3 gears at the front (In the case of mountain bikes it is becoming increasingly common to have only 1).
b. The front gears can be referred to as the Big-Ring and Small-Ring or Big, Middle and Small in the case of 3 rings.
c. The small ring is on the inside closest to the bike frame. It is the easiest one to pedal.
d. The big ring is on the outside, furthest from the bike frame and it is the hardest one to pedal.
e. They can also be referred to as Inner and Outer (and Middle if there are 3 of them).
f. The rings at the front are referred to as Chainrings.
g. A collection of chain rings is part of the Crankset, which also includes the Crankarm (pedals connect to the Crankarm).
h. The cranksets are normally either Double Cranksets (2-chainrings) or a Triple Cranksets (3-chainrings).
Speaking Bike Gear-ish. Exercise #1
Say the following.
“I have a double (or triple) crankset and I shift between them with the controls on the left handlebar.” Well done! You have mastered the first fundamental of speaking Gear-ish
3. Rear Gears:
a. There are commonly between 8-12 rear gears.
b. The individual gears are known as Cogs, sometimes referred to as Sprockets.
c. The collection of Cogs is known as a Cassette or a Cogset.
d. Rear gears are purchased as cassettes.
e. The larger cog (closest to the bike rear wheel) is the easier one to pedal.
f. The smaller cog (furthest from the bike rear wheel) is the harder one to pedal.
g. The larger cog will be referred to as the Lowest Gear and will be used for steep hills.
h. The smallest cog is known as the High Gear and will be used for speed on flats and downhill.
i. Many cyclists refer to their front and back gears by the number of cogs in the cassette and the number of chainrings in the crankset. For example, an 8 x 2 or an 8 x 3 for 8 cogs on the cassette and a double or triple crankset, respectively.
Speaking Bike-Gear-ish. Exercise # 2
“I have an eight (or whatever number you have) speed cassette and a double (or triple) crankset. To shift from one cog to the next on the cassette at the rear I use the controls on the right handlebar”.
4. Derailleurs and Shifting Gear
a. The Derailleurs are what allow you to change gears at both the front and the rear.
b. The Front Derailleur will allow you to simply switch from one chainring to another.
c. The Rear Derailleur is the more complex of the two since it not only allows you to shift gears but also keeps the tension on the chain.
d. The rear derailleur is connected to the bike via a component called the Hanger.
e. The rear derailleur is on the right-hand side of the bike, therefore never lay your bike down on its right-hand side since this may bend the hanger and misalign the rear derailleur resulting in chain-slippage and loss of speed when changing gears.
f. Downshifting means making pedaling easier, this would be accomplished by moving the chain to the smaller chainring on the crankset at the front or moving the chain to a larger cog on the cassette at the rear.
g. Upshifting is just the opposite of above. It makes pedaling harder, either by moving the chain to the larger chainring on the crankset at the front or the smaller cog on the cassette at the rear.
Speaking Bike-Gear-ish. Exercise #3
This really will allow you to practice your fluency with the most proficient users of the language.
“The rear derailleur on the right-hand side of the bike not only controls the shifting from one cog to the next in the cassette but is responsible for the tension on the chain.”
Now you are beginning to gain some confidence, take it a little further with:
“The rear derailleur is connected to the bike frame via the hanger, since this can be easily bent, one must never lay the bike down on its right-hand side.”
5. Teeth and Gear Ratio:
a. The pointy, sharpish things on the chainrings and the cogs are known as Teeth.
b. The number of teeth on the front chainrings and on the individual cogs at the rear give us the Gear Ratio.
c. The ratio is expressed as the number of teeth on the chainring divided by the number of teeth on the cog of the cassette. (front chainring teeth/rear cog teeth) often this will be denoted simply as 50/34T. This means that the large chainring at the front has 50 teeth and the cog at the back has 34 teeth.
d. The gear ratio is most easily understood by how many times the rear wheel will rotate for every full revolution of the pedals. For example, if both the chainring at the front and the cog at the rear had the same number of teeth, the ratio would be one. Meaning, one full revolution of the pedals will cause the back wheel to rotate once.
e. The number of teeth on the chainrings is most commonly 53 and 39 for a standard crankset and 50 and 34 for the compact crankset, whereas for the cogs (at the rear) there are between 11 and 32 teeth. (uncommon but not unheard of there are some cogs with 10 teeth)
f. The higher the ratio, the faster and harder it is to pedal, whereas the lower the ratio is the easiest and slowest.
g. On a long steep climb, one would use the small chainring at the front with 34 teeth combined with the largest cog on the cassette at the rear with 32 teeth to give a ratio of 34/32 = 1.06. In simple terms one revolution of the pedal will result in just over one revolution of the rear wheel.
h. Conversely when speed is required (flats and downhill), one wants a higher ratio. Thus, the following combination of large chainring (50 teeth) at the front and small cog in the rear (11 teeth) would be used giving a ratio of ~4.55. This ratio means that for every revolution of the pedals the rear bike wheel will rotate four and half times.
Speaking Bike-Gear-ish Exercise #4
“My bike has a compact (or standard) double crankset 50/34T, while my cassette is an 11-32T. This should provide a gearing ratio ranging from 1.06 to 4.55. I chose a compact crankset because I live in a hilly region otherwise I would have bought a standard crankset. “
Summary:
Like any language, being able to talk about your bike takes knowledge, vocabulary and practice. The next time you find yourself in a location where people are discussing the technicalities of their bikes, do not be afraid to join in and ask questions and above all, just have fun!
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