Gears in the drivetrain of a bike.
25
votes
5answers
2k views
Perfectly setting up gears - how?
Every time I have my bike serviced, the bike shop sets up the gears on a stand in their workshop. The gears change perfectly on the stand, but when the bike is on the road, the rear derailleur doesn't ...
22
votes
6answers
3k views
What's the efficiency of hub gears compared to derailleurs?
What's the efficiency of hub gears compared to derailleurs. I know that hub gears are not as efficient, a part from being heavier, how much will I loose in performance if I use hub gear?
22
votes
5answers
918 views
Can you shift both the front and back gears simultanously?
Is it advisable to shift both the front and back gear simultaneously? Can this cause any damage?
14
votes
4answers
12k views
What are the pros and cons of internal gears?
I've had my hybrid 24-speed for a bit over 3 years now, and just last weekend, when looking for a bike for my wife, discovered internal gears. Suffice to say it blew my mind when I saw 7-speed ...
12
votes
3answers
744 views
Should I clean the grease off the gears?
I usually keep my chain well lubricated. However, my gears are usually greasy. Should I be cleaning the gears or are they supposed to be greasy?
11
votes
7answers
2k views
What is the simplest way to lower the gearing on my touring bike?
I have a 2004 Jamis Aurora with a 52/42/30 triple and an 11-32 cassette in the back. 30x32 (25.3 gear inches) being the lowest gear is frustrating for the hilly terrain where I live (e.g., 7% grade ...
10
votes
6answers
2k views
How many effective gears do I have on a 21 speed bike?
I have a 21 speed bike (a hybrid commuting bike). But AFAIK, this does not mean that I have 21 different gear ratios. Is there any way to calculate the different gear ratios?
9
votes
3answers
3k views
Help Me Understand My Bicycle's Gears
I've recently started commuting with a bicycle (Giant hybrid bicycle). I've been trying to learn a little about bicycling to make my commute easier and my time on the bicycle more enjoyable. Please ...
9
votes
3answers
1k views
How to avoid wearing out gears?
I have a Specialized Tricross which I bought new last year.
In that time (approximately 1K miles), I wore out my chain and gears. At least two of my gears are still slipping, even with a new chain.
...
8
votes
7answers
6k views
What range of sprockets is useful in a road bike cassette?
My road bike currently has a 27/39/53 crankset and a 13-26 cassette, both of which need to be replaced.
I occasionally find myself in both extremes—while heading up the very steep hills of the Bay ...
8
votes
1answer
427 views
Setting chain length
My chain broke and in a moment of silliness (I was cold wet and slightly annoyed) I threw the broken one away before thinking about measuring the new one.
Is there a guide to getting the chain ...
7
votes
5answers
1k views
Does gear ratio affect Power?
Let me preface by saying that this may not be the right SE. I considered asking on the Physics SE, but I thought I might try here first. If it is wrong, I am not against it being migrated.
From basic ...
6
votes
4answers
1k views
How to fix front gear taking 2 shifts just to move onto next cog
I was out on a ride yesterday and several times when I was changing up and down between big chain ring and little chain ring (I only have the 2 rings up front) it required 2 gear changes. The gears ...
6
votes
4answers
2k views
What difference does the range of gear size matter?
I get the idea of ratios and the obvious that a smaller gear on the front and a larger one on the back will give you an easier end result but what difference does the range of a chainset or groupset ...
6
votes
6answers
2k views
While pedaling standing up, bike crank gives in as if shifting, what is causing this?
While standing up and pedaling, the cranks give in as if shifting.
It seams like I am shifting down, but my hands are off the shifter, almost like the chain is skipping a link.
I took it to a bike ...
6
votes
4answers
293 views
Comparing gear ratios on different bike types
How can I compare gear ratios on different wheel sizes? How can I compare gear ratios on MTB with tracking bikes with bigger wheels? How can I compare gear ratios with gear hubs?
6
votes
1answer
358 views
Chain clicks when the back wheel is in highest and lowest gears
When I have my back wheel gears in either the lowest gear or highest gear, my chain clicks as I peddle. How do I fix this?
6
votes
3answers
1k views
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 ...
6
votes
1answer
615 views
Rear Derailleur Cage Lengths
What effect does the length of the cage on a rear derailleur make to bike setup/shifting?
6
votes
1answer
455 views
I find that I'm always in my highest gear. What options to I have to re-distribute the ratios to a more useful range
I have three gears in the front and 8 in the back, but I always use the highest gear (I live in a flat place) I might drop down one or two gears occationally but this is only a small fraction of the ...
5
votes
2answers
553 views
Upgrade Shimano from 9- to 10- speed
I'm thinking of upgrading the 9-speed Tiagra rear mech on one of my (road) bikes to something, still Shimano, but 10-speed.
The obvious replacements I'll need are cassette, right-shifter and chain. ...
5
votes
2answers
402 views
Do you need to lubricate gears after cleaning gears and chain?
I just cleaned my gears and chain with a biodegradable degreaser. I'm going to lubricate my chain. Do I also need to lubricate the gears or do I just pedal and make sure that I hit all gears? Will the ...
5
votes
3answers
813 views
Why does my bike stick in low gears?
When I change into a low gear (i.e. onto a bigger cog) on my back cog all is fine. However, when I later change up again the chain sticks on the larger cog. I commute about 10 miles a day and this has ...
5
votes
3answers
2k views
What is the impact of changing to a smaller chainring?
My road bike has a Campagnolo Veloce gearset. It's running 53 and 39 tooth chainrings. I have a 13-25 10sp cassette.
I find that a lot of the time when I'm cruising, I'm on the big chainring and in ...
5
votes
2answers
211 views
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 ...
5
votes
1answer
111 views
Number of gears for a racer
I am looking to upgrade my racer, I currently have a Bottecchia racer from the mid-80s and it has 14 gears. While looking around for newer racers I noticed that a number of them had 20 gears while ...
5
votes
3answers
144 views
How can I increase the highest gear ratio?
I am looking for some higher cog front gears for an old bike I am considering. I've been away from it for some time and don't know the current number of cogs on the front ring, but I am looking to ...
4
votes
2answers
350 views
Can you reverse the sprockets on a cassette to lengthen its lifespan?
I know my bike's rear cassette needs replacing, but before I do that, is it feasible to dismantle the 8 sprockets to reverse their spin? Can you increase the lifespan of a cassette by letting the cogs ...
4
votes
6answers
8k views
Chain slipping on newish bike
I've looked at most of the answers for related questions and they all speak about replacing parts that are old.
I just bought a new bike from a friend who rode the bike for about a month before ...
4
votes
2answers
210 views
Different Gear Type when there's no Front Derailleur?
I have a 7 speed Jamis Boss Cruiser, 7 gears in back and one up front. I've been using it fine for several months now. Lately, the chain is coming off of the single front gear, usually after stopping ...
4
votes
2answers
4k views
Why does my gear slip when going uphill / standing?
I have a road bike that I use to commute ~6 miles to work every day. Some of the portions of the ride are at a steep incline, and I've noticed that when I get up to stand on some of these hills, my ...
4
votes
3answers
3k views
Adivce on what to do next with crunching / slipping gears
About two weeks ago I took my bike to the local bike shop to get serviced. It was previously slipping gears under load and at the end I couldn't use the lowest gear going up hill it would just slip ...
4
votes
3answers
6k views
Heavier Thicker Chains and Gears for Winter due to Salt?
I have two bikes: one having gear-things outside and one with inner-hub. The gear-outside-bike has suffered a lot due to the salt during this winter, the other hilariously looks like a new one. I ...
4
votes
1answer
130 views
Replaced tyre and tube, now the rear gears will not stop
Just put on a tyre and innertube, fits perfectly, but now when I stop pedalling the gears at the back keep moving so the chain just sags down so much that it hits the wheel etc.
Any ideas on how to ...
4
votes
2answers
158 views
Switching from 3x9 Gears to Cheaper Ones?
Alert I am unsure of the right terminology for gear-wheel but I mean the round things near pedals such as 3x9 or typically with 3x7 (3 front, 7 back) mix in commuting bikes.
My current gears are 3x9 ...
4
votes
3answers
4k views
Can I fit a cassette with a larger range with my Shimano Tiagra 10-speed ( GS-4600) derailleur?
I'm currently running a 2x10 shimano tiagra 10-speed drivetrain with a 50/34 compact crankset, a 12-30 rear cassette, and a Shimano Tiagra GS-4600 derailleur (that's medium cage aka road long cage) on ...
3
votes
4answers
1k views
Why are there almost no bikes with a single chainring?
Bikes with two or three chainrings are the norm, and then there are singlespeeds, but except for kids' bikes, you see almost no stock bikes with a single chainring in front but a cassette and ...
3
votes
5answers
257 views
Are single-speed bikes better equipped to handle cog/chain wear?
I need to decide between a single-speed and multiple-speed bike.
I usually ride multiple-speed mountain/city bikes in the highest gear anyway (around town). They're not intended for that, and doing ...
3
votes
4answers
409 views
Chain skipping on some gears
I have an old cruising bike with 21 gears. A few months ago I was pedalling back home when my chain broke, and I was only able to get the chain replaced this week. After having it replaced I noticed ...
3
votes
2answers
434 views
Make a 3-gear bike go easy on uphill
I want to see how can I make this 3-gear bike go easier on uphill. It has an internal gear hub. I don't know much about bikes but I'm thinking if I can merely replace the hub for one with 14 gears ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
What's the shortest / easiest “granny gear” available?
What's the range on granny gears - the innermost, smallest front chainring?
3
votes
1answer
143 views
Are the numbers on a shifter standardised?
My bike has several gears labelled one to six. Do these numbers relate specifically to a certain standard? In other words, would a bike set to say gear four on one bike, perform in the same way as ...
3
votes
2answers
184 views
What is a better gearing combination for downhill?
One of the tracks I've been riding recently is testing both my skill level and my bike. The track is a combination steepness and roughness that makes it significantly different to what I've previously ...
3
votes
2answers
287 views
Switching to Lower Gears for Climbing
Right now, I've got a SRAM 11/26 cassette. I just moved to San Francisco, and some of the climbs out here (e.g., Mt. Tamalpais) are pretty brutal with over an hour of climbing. My cadence over some of ...
3
votes
1answer
698 views
Is it practical to replace two sprockets on a cassette?
My bike has 53/39T chainrings and a cassette with 12,13,14,15,17,19,21,23,25 sprockets, but I like to ride up steep mountain roads. Is it possible (without great expense) to replace two sprockets to ...
3
votes
2answers
289 views
Mounting a 7-Speed Cassette on an 8/9 speed hub
I asked an earlier question regarding putting modern road wheels on my old steel frame.
After clarifying a few things the main issue to me is the number of gears on the freehub. (The freehub I'm ...
3
votes
1answer
122 views
What tricks do you use to avoid damaging cables when adjusting the gears?
I was trying to adjust gears, and being my first time, I ended up damaging the cable. I mean that I "smashed" it, the threads became apart, and it was dangerous to deal with it. I replaced the cable, ...
3
votes
1answer
316 views
Is my front derailleur angled straight?
I am attempting to adjust my front gears and have also been following a video to adjust the high/low position of my front derailleur.
The issue I am having is that the low adjustment is no where near ...
3
votes
2answers
224 views
Rear gears don't turn anticlockwise
I've taken the rear wheel off my bike but the rear gears are stuck and do not spin freely anticlockwise.
It had been out of use for about 4 days, kept in a dry garage. I took the wheel off because it ...
3
votes
1answer
2k views
What are the advantage of the different gear shifters
I have just buy for the first time a road bike (Boardman Team Carbon) after long years on hybrids bike and unfortunately due of a injury I didn't have much time to experience with it.
The bike has a ...
