Questions tagged [gears]
Gears in the drivetrain of a bike.
89 questions
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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 ...
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Moving from Shimano 9- to Shimano 10- speed
I'm thinking of changing 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. But ...
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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 ...
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Special hub requirements for an 11-speed group
In a question earlier today (Changing cassette from 8 to 10 or 11 to meet the Shimano 105 5800 groupset) the Op asserts that they would need to change their hub, if they wanted to go from a 10- to 11- ...
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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 ...
user652
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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 ...
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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. Apart from being heavier, how much will I lose in performance if I use hub gears?
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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 ...
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(Automatic Bike Project) amount of torque required to change gears?
I am planning to build an electronically controlled automatic bike transmission for my senior design project. I'm personally more of an electrical guy, so dealing with the mechanics is somewhat new to ...
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Convert track bike to geared
Is there any way to convert a track bike to a geared bike? I have a track bike with only the rails for the wheel but I've moved out of the city and there are more hills where I am now living so would ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Compact crankset, how to use and criticality of cross chaining
I have a road bike with 50/34 compact crankset and 12/27 10sp cassette.
While I don't think I could run a 53/39 one given the hills I happen to climb, but sometimes I get the feeling the right gears ...
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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) ...
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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 ...
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Type of cycle for losing weight and staying fit for a beginner [closed]
Over a year ago I was diagnosed with a collapsed arch in my left foot and despite trying many times I have not been able to get back on the treadmill. I have been thinking of getting a bicycle to ...
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Gears slipping after a chain change
I have a Lappierre Zesty 314 (2012). I'm running XT rear mech, an SLX front mech, my crank is XT, rear cassette is XT and XT chain. I went to the Forest of Dean and after the day was over I snapped ...
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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 ...
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Gear Problems small chainring to big chainring
My bike won't shift from the small chainring to the big one, sometimes it does it after 5 mins of trying. The cables are not very worn and near new and so is the chain, I have tried increasing tension ...
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8 speed shifter with 7 speed cassette
I just got a bike with broken hanger and derailleur. As the owner didn't want to put money in good parts, I installed a cheap Sunrun derailleur compatible with index, and a new hanger. Just after I ...
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Can't shift to gear one or two
I had an issue where every time I put my bike in gear 3, it would just keep "skipping". By this I mean that it wouldn't stay in gear 3; the chain would go onto it, then fall onto gear 4, then go back ...
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I need to change my bike from UK to US Spec
I bought a bike from the UK. The brakes and shifters are on the opposite sides. I want to change it so the front brake is on the left and the rear is on the right, Same thing for the shifters.
I ...
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What to upgrade to achieve a higher top speed?
I enjoy going fast and my current bicycle tops too early, what kind of upgrades would I need to make to achieve a taller final gear?
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Closely spaced nonoverlapping 36 (2x12x2) gears borrowing from music theory. Good idea?
I had an idea. Why not space gears on a bike the same as musical notes? For example, in music, if you start on a certain note (let's say C3), you need to go up 12 more half steps (notes) to get to ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Always cycling in highest gear, why?
For all my life I have noticed that I always cycle in the highest gear (most of my bikes had at least 3x7, so it wasn't a lack of options) whilst most serious cyclists cycle on relatively low gears ...
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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 ...
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Can double chainrings be used with a clutch-type rear derailleur?
I've been reading up on Sram's CX1 1x11 cyclocross-specific group. It hinges on two technologies to minimize the potential for dropped-chains/chainslap. The CX1 clutch rear-derailleur keeps the chain ...
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Shimano Revoshift twist grip unusably tight
Shimano twist grip shifter on Apollo Neo 6 girls bike. I bought this bike 6 months ago for my 7 year old.
After getting it serviced at 99 Bikes the shifter was so stiff my daughter couldn’t change ...
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Is there a difference between big chainring and big sprocket, and small chainring and small sprocket?
I am using a road bike as commuter its and old bike and have weird front gear selection 52 and 42.
So I took it to work this morning and thought that for a change I will ride it on big gears. While I ...
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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 ...
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Convert single speed, steel framed, vintage track bike to geared
Is there any way to convert a steel framed single speed vintage track bike to a geared bike? I have a track bike with only the rails for the wheel but I've moved out of the city and there are more ...
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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 ...
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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?
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Are there any electronic shifters that decide front/back for you?
Are there any road bike electronic shifting systems out there currently that only have a single up and down shifter lever and use a computer to make the decision of whether to shift on the rear ...
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Unable to pedal when in high gears
I'm a complete novice with bicycle maintenance and have a slight problem. I just picked up a 2nd hand bike as taking part in a charity event this weekend and an unfortunate accident meant my mine was ...
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How can I lower the gear ratio on my son's bike?
I got a SH Commencal 24" MTB for my son. He loves it - except on climbing steep slopes where he runs out of steam.
It comes with a 7-speed 14-28T freewheel (Shimano MF TZ21) + Acera derailleur, ...
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Shifters and internal gears
I have an Airnimal Joey with 8 (internal, Shimano Inter 8) rear gears. I wanted to install drops handlebars and the shifters. I got the Shimano Sora ST-3300-8 Right / Rear 8 Speed Shifter, which I ...
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What cadence saves power when climbing?
I'm doing some amateur climbing with a hybrid bike up on a road and I have the following question:
How am I going to save more power - having a lower gear but spinning faster in order to maintain ...
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Does a bike-stalling speed exist? [closed]
Planes can stall. A plane maintains lift through speed. If the speed drops below a threshold, the plane stalls and begins a downspiral.
Now that many 1x modern bikes are discarding front derailleurs, ...
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Feasibility of coupling internal hub gear and derailleur
Price considerations apart, would it make sense to install together an internal hub gear and a derailleur?
I was thinking of it as a viable way to avoid having the front gears.
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Can I pedal my bicycle backwards to move it backwards?
Is there any changes I could do to my cycle so that I can make it move backwards?Just a question out of eagerness.
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Difference between Shimano HG51 8-Speed Cassette and Shimano HG50 8-Speed Cassette
Can anyone tell me the difference between Shimano HG51 and HG50 8-Speed Cassettes?
I can't find any information online about this so was hoping someone might be able to help me.
I am looking to ...
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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 ...
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Why does my rear derailleur's indexing work for either the high or the low gears, but not both?
I am adjusting my rear derailleur indexing. It seems impossible to find the correct tightness. When I tighten the tension with the tension barrel adjuster, I have one of two problems: either it is too ...
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Can I add gears on a bmx?
Just asking if it is possible.
My friend added gears, but won't it damage the look or my cycle?
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The shifter for the front derailleur is "soft" in my vintage bike
So I bought a used vintage bike. I just love the bike and it's awesome. However it came with one problem: gears problems. First of all I have very little experience with bike, especially gears (...
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