Originally Posted by
Kontact
"Gear inches" is really just an arbitrary number to express the ratio of pedal cadence to wheel speed. Ignore the numbers; consider the ratios between the numbers. Or just look at the graph that depicts those ratio differences visually.
Yeah... but... if I understand you correctly, just looking at the gear relationships doesn't account for difference in tire diameter/circumference.
Now Sheldon Brown's favorite, Gain Ratio, I think is more dimensionless, and even takes into account crank arm length.