Which Gearing?

Miles wants to know what gearing he should have on his bike; we discuss which chain sets and cassettes he should use on his “average road bike”.

Question:

Sam…
For the average road bike … What size chain wheels (2) and rear hub gears do you recommend?
…Miles Borden

Hi Miles.
This used to be a tricky question as the standard chain set had a 52 tooth large chain ring and a 42 small chain ring, the rear cassette would be 12 to 23 or 13 to 32 and lots of different combinations as there were only 6, 7, 8 or 9 speed cassettes.

Then chain sets became available with a 39 small chain ring which made things much easier, but the big development was the compact chain set with a 50 tooth outside ring and a 34 or 36 inner, this covered every eventuality, and then with 10 (now 11 also) speed cassettes you didn’t need to change gear ratios for different road conditions.

So to answer your question; for an average bike I would go for a compact chain set, 50 x 34 with a 12 to 21 cassette, with this combination you will be able to climb most hills and ride on the flat with out any problems. The only time you might be put out would be on a fast pedal able descent or sprinting, so if you are considering racing you would need to think about a 52 tooth chain ring.