Bike Forums - View Single Post - Difference in gear ratios?

06-17-19 | 12:32 PM

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mickey85

perpetually frazzled

Joined: Sep 2008

Posts: 2,469

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From: Linton, IN

Bikes: 1977 Bridgestone Kabuki Super Speed; 1979 Raleigh Professional; 1983 Raleigh Rapide mixte; 1974 Peugeot UO-8; 1993 Univega Activa Trail; 1972 Raleigh Sports; 1967 Phillips; 1981 Schwinn World Tourist; 1976 Schwinn LeTour mixte; 1964 Western Flyer

Difference in gear ratios?

Hey all,

I have kind of an academic question...

Let's assume you have a bike with a given set of wheels, cranks, and tires. Is there any difference in gear ratios, if the gear inches stay close to the same? So, for instance, 40x15 and 48x18 are both 72 gear inches (or a gain ratio of 5.4). Is there any functional difference between the two setups as far as acceleration and braking ability?

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