Originally Posted by
mams99
I know it probably sounds so basic to you all, but this is all a foreign language to me. I'm wanting to learn - which is why I ask so many questions.
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I typed a long post and then my browser crashed. Not trying to remember and then retype it all. This is the short version.
There are some good references on the internet for bike stuff.
Sheldon died years ago but his website is still maintained and occasionally updated. This is not specific to touring, but this is a good place to get an intro into gearing.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/
The guy that hosts this web site and his youtube videos is pretty good. But, a lot of what he discuses is not cheap.
https://www.cyclingabout.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGa...2YK76rDI4IhCGg
My heavy touring bike has a lowest gear of 16.2 gear inches. With that when I pedal at a cadence of 72 (speed that I am pedaling the crankset in revolutions per minute) I am going 3.5 miles per hour, which is not much more than walking speed. If my heart rate gets up to an uncomfortable rate based on my heart rate monitor when I am in first gear at 3.5 mph, I stop and get off the bike and push it up the hill at a slower pace.
When i say 16.2 gear inches, that is the same as if I had my pedals directly attached to the wheel (direct drive) and the wheel was 16.2 inches in diameter. The wheel is much bigger than that, but the calculations are used to make comparisons to a direct drive, that is a way to compare different gears. When I say direct drive, think child tricycle with the pedals on the front wheel.
In general terms, for touring it is a general rule of thumb that you want a lowest gear to be at or below 20 gear inches. My light touring bike has a lowest gear of 20.7, but I carry less weight on that bike than I carry on my heavy touring bike that has a lower lowest gear. Some people that are packed extraordinarily light will be able to get up hills with a much higher lowest gear, but they are traveling lighter than average.
I am sure that there are some good books on touring and equipment, but I have no idea where to look. And I am sure there are some bad ones too. If you are interested, ask, others here may be able to recommend a book or two or three with some of the basics.