# Best amount of Gears for Road bike..



## Boon 51 (26 Aug 2012)

I did do a searching but didn't find what I want to know so..
What amount of gears do you find best for your road bike.. would it be 10, 16, 20, 21, 24, 27. etc.
The reason I asked is I have seen many sports road bikes with all these amount of gears on.. and my last bike which was ages ago when big ben was a wrist watch only had 10.. but I know things have moved on from than..


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## Cheshire Celt (26 Aug 2012)

my scott is a triple with 9 at the back great for the hills lol


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## wheres_my_beard (26 Aug 2012)

Somewhere between 1 and 30 would be ideal really 

What type of riding will you be using it for?


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## smokeysmoo (26 Aug 2012)

Modern bikes will have anything from 16 through to 30 gears. It depends on the terrain you will be riding as to what will suit you best I guess.

My road bike has 20 gears, (about the norm these days), and the chainset is a standard double, 39:53 ratio.

Most new bikes these days ship with a compact chainset in the ratio of 34:50. This is a great gearing arrangement for most cyclists IMO. A standard double just increases top end speed, but makes hills that bit harder as well.

Another popular chainset is a triple, (3 rings at the front), this makes hills very easy, but IMO is not neccessary on a road bike, (plenty other will disagree with that though )

Most new bikes with less than 20 gears will be cheaper 'budget' bikes, and most bikes with 10 will be 'vintage' bikes of days gone by.


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## HLaB (26 Aug 2012)

IMO the more gears at the back (ie 10 rather than 7) is better as there's less gaps between gearing which means when you are cruising along you can subtly adjust your gearing to suit the terrain, whereas if the gaps are bigger (less gears) you may be faced with a gear which is too high or too low either side of the one you are in.


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## wheres_my_beard (26 Aug 2012)

It's as much to do with the number of gears as the range of ratios you have available to you. There's no point having fractions of gear inches difference between gears, but you need a sensible range to be able to ride comfortably.

I have a compact double, with 9 at the back. and find most of my commuting hills are far easier on the big ring at the front and a medium at the back. But for some of the crazy hills I was riding in Wales on holiday recently, I just didn't have the gear range to get up some hills (one was 18% going up!!) at all. especially after some sapping uphill riding leading to them.


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## Sittingduck (26 Aug 2012)

20!


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## Norm (26 Aug 2012)

I don't think I've moved out of my middle ring in about 750 miles, so I'd say 8.


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## pubrunner (26 Aug 2012)

Cheshire Celt said:


> My scott is a triple with 9 at the back *great for the hills* lol


 
Glad to see you're looking confident, for the Trans Cambrian ride


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## Cheshire Celt (26 Aug 2012)

At this moment I am 65 / 35 in favour of not going lol


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## dave r (26 Aug 2012)

1, I do most of my riding on a fixed, I also have a 10x2 for Summer Sundays.


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## Boon 51 (26 Aug 2012)

wheres_my_beard said:


> Somewhere between 1 and 30 would be ideal really
> 
> What type of riding will you be using it for?


 
I live on a mountain so a far share of hills..


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## mickle (26 Aug 2012)

Eighteen in my opinion.


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## cyberknight (26 Aug 2012)

Enough so your top and bottom gears get you where you want to go and the gaps inbetween are manageable.
Currently use a 14 speed mtb,16 speed roadie and a 20 speed roadie and they all do the job.


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## biggs682 (26 Aug 2012)

a lot delends on your route as a flat ride has kess need for as many gears as a hilly route


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## Boon 51 (27 Aug 2012)

biggs682 said:


> a lot delends on your route as a flat ride has kess need for as many gears as a hilly route


Not too nmuch flat more undulations and hills..


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## Dave7 (27 Aug 2012)

I changed bikes and went from tripple 9 to double 10 (against my gut feeling). I have got used to it and am happy BUT......if I was choosing again I would go back to a tripple. It might be in my mind but with the tripple I stayed in the middle for 95% (I am based in cheshire so it's quite flat) but with the double I am still not 'certain' which front cog to be in.
Hope that makes sense (it does to me)


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## Red Light (27 Aug 2012)

N + 1 where N is the lowest gear you currently have and + 1 is one lower than it


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## sabian92 (27 Aug 2012)

I have 16 (8sp Cassette with a compact at the front). I would like lower gearing but I'm just really unfit 

I had a bike before this with 27 which was nice but it was geared so low even I could be flat out and not able to go any faster at about 23mph.


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## guitarpete247 (27 Aug 2012)

My road bike is 12 and MTB 18. Both steel and both old. Road bike still has 27" wheels that are over 30 years old on a 30 yr old frame. MTB is an '88 Saracen Tufftrax. I went out with a local clu for the first time yesterday. I suffered from carrying too much weight. It might be my one and only run out with them until I can afford something that could put me on a level playing field with the others.

When out on my own I'm happy with my gearing.


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## marzjennings (27 Aug 2012)

It's flat where I am (biggest climb < 100ft) and so just the one gear seems to work fine for me.


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## david k (28 Aug 2012)

Boon 51 said:


> I did do a searching but didn't find what I want to know so..
> What amount of gears do you find best for your road bike.. would it be 10, 16, 20, 21, 24, 27. etc.
> The reason I asked is I have seen many sports road bikes with all these amount of gears on.. and my last bike which was ages ago when big ben was a wrist watch only had 10.. but I know things have moved on from than..


you can never have enough!


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## Nebulous (29 Aug 2012)

Red Light said:


> N + 1 where N is the lowest gear you currently have and + 1 is one lower than it


 
Surely that should be N-1?


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## Peter Armstrong (29 Aug 2012)

guitarpete247 said:


> My road bike is 12 and MTB 18. Both steel and both old. Road bike still has 27" wheels that are over 30 years old on a 30 yr old frame. MTB is an '88 Saracen Tufftrax. I went out with a local clu for the first time yesterday. I suffered from carrying too much weight. It might be my one and only run out with them until I can afford something that could put me on a level playing field with the others.
> 
> When out on my own I'm happy with my gearing.


 
Do you not find you fly on the decents tho?


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## Rob3rt (29 Aug 2012)

As few as possible whilst still being able to ride the terrain you frequent at the speed you desire!


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## Boon 51 (29 Aug 2012)

Rob3rt said:


> As few as possible whilst still being able to ride the terrain you frequent at the speed you desire!


Thats what I'm after but is it a dream...


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## Lee_M (29 Aug 2012)

you always need one gear lower than you have


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## BrumJim (29 Aug 2012)

Surely the answer is that its not the number of gears that matters, its the quality of the groupset.
So, for Shimano Road gears:
7 = crap - down-tube levers, poor quality parts, will require constant adjustment and maintenance to keep it working properly
8 = cheap, not as robust, and with slightly awkward shifters
9 = more robust, better equipment. Buy this if you can.
10 = as above, but lighter, verging to
11 = very light, superb action, but not as robust. Chain won't last as long either.


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## guitarpete247 (29 Aug 2012)

Peter Armstrong said:


> Do you not find you fly on the decents tho?


Yeah I was keeping up downhill. I even had to keep braking to stop running into the back of those in front .


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## DRHysted (30 Aug 2012)

my cheap "re-introduction to road bike" Viking has 14 gears, my "better bike now I'm enjoying it" Spesh has 24. I find both just as easy on hills. The Viking has an 11-32 and the Spesh 11-26.
I think it's not the number of gears, but the range. So for the next bike if I can't get a triple I'll aim for an 11-28 because I'm a wus on hills.


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## Boon 51 (30 Aug 2012)

So what range of gear would favour hills better then?


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## Rob3rt (30 Aug 2012)

Depends if you are a mountain goat or a rock!


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## Boon 51 (30 Aug 2012)

Sorry I should of said but it will be tarmac only...


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## Rob3rt (30 Aug 2012)

To make the meaning of my post clear, the range of gears best suited to riding hills will depends on your ability and the severity of the hills.


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## DRHysted (30 Aug 2012)

Personally for where I live and the current power output I can maintain. I would look either a triple with 11-26 rear, or a compact double with 11-28 rear. If I had a race double I'd probably need an 11-32 rear. 

This really is personal depending on what you can do, and what type of hills you have.


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## fossyant (30 Aug 2012)

One, and make it Fixed !


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## PpPete (30 Aug 2012)

Boon 51 said:


> So what range of gear would favour hills better then?





Boon 51 said:


> Sorry I should of said but it will be tarmac only...


 
27 (triple 9)
components are relatively cheap & robust
MTB components mostly compatible with road
can get a huge range without monster gaps
+ if you are a complete nerd (like me) the possibility of going "Shimergo" with the Hubbub cable routing.

or a fixed.

And yes I have both .... and a 30 speed "best bike"


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## Boon 51 (30 Aug 2012)

DRHysted said:


> Personally for where I live and the current power output I can maintain. I would look either a triple with 11-26 rear, or a compact double with 11-28 rear. If I had a race double I'd probably need an 11-32 rear.
> 
> This really is personal depending on what you can do, and what type of hills you have.


 
Its deffo big hills for me as I live on a mountain ...


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