Gears on bikes

Mrs Garth Brooks

This is probably a stupid question.

Im buying my first bike as an adult. As a child, I had a bike but it didnt have gears.

So im a bit clueless how the gears work on a bike. Can anyone tell me?

Lumen

Do you drive a car?

It's just the same, except that you usually have two sets of gears on a bike.

07Lapierre

Just keep pedaling!

http://youtu.be/hekAjqlzI6M

not even wrong

HardLuckWoman wrote: »

So im a bit clueless how the gears work on a bike. Can anyone tell me?

Your leg muscles are most efficient when they're pedalling at a particular speed (about 90 revolutions per minute). The gears allow you to adjust things so you can keep turning the pedals round at a reasonable speed no matter whether you're climbing up a steep hill, on the flat, or going down the other side.

If you didn't have gears you'd put massive strain on your knees going up hills, and you'd be spinning your pedals uselessly while descending.

Tonyandthewhale

Yeah, it's like the rev counter on a car (I think, I don't actually drive). You want to keep the revs within a certain range so you change gear to accommodate that. Same thing on a bike only it's your legs that are doing the revs.

It doesn't matter what gear you're in so long as you can pedal at a reasonable rate of revs, not mashing and not spinning.

godtabh

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

It doesn't matter what gear you're in so long as you can pedal at a reasonable rate of revs, not mashing and not spinning.

I've a 8 speed bike. I find that going down hills i find i do be spinning some times. What kind of gears are the most common for road bikes?

Run_to_da_hills

OP, There are two types of gears on pushbikes. Derailleur and Hub.

Derailleur gears have the guts exposed, you need to keep peddling to change gear, most come with anything from 10 to 27 or 30 gears. (Three cogs in front nine in the back), They can be complicated to look at but give you a far better range once you get used to them

Hub gears have the guts enclosed inside a hub (Planet gears), usually have anything from three to eight gears. You are encouraged to change gear when you pedal back. Generally maintenance free, less complicated than derailleur gears.

All Dublin bikes are equipped with three speed hub gears so it would be worth taking one out for a spin to try out.

Dermot Illogical

The bigger the front cog, the harder it is to pedal and the further you go per revolution.
The smaller the rear cog, the harder it is to pedal and the further you go per revolution.