Can you tell the difference between these gear inches ranges?

[Tangled Metal]

There's a few touring bikes we've seen with similar ranges but would there be much difference in real term use?

26" x 1.95 tyres 18 to 99 gear inches
26" x 32mm the tyres with 21 to 107 inches with the possibility of 19 to 107
700 x 32mm tyres with 19 x 107 gear inches

All same sized frame, xs. First is a mtb on citijets. The other two are possible replacements

I won't give the brands but the last one is on two different bike brands/ models.

Loaded touring in Western Europe and leisure riding without load locally.

Anyone explain this simply to me? I'm not really sure I'd notice it but my partner would. The mtb is a little under geared at higher speed for her and she would like to keep the low gear but have a higher top gear.

[simonineaston]

For a loaded tourer, I'd go for 19 inches to mid 80s... for an swifter, unloaded, day bike, I'd go for high 20s to high 90s - but that's just me.
Back in the early noughties, I enjoyed a hybrid - a 3 speed hub gear with a freewheel on it, which gave me high teens ( I forget how low - 17" maybe ?), right up to low hundreds - 110"ish. Fabulous. Best of all worlds. Much missed.

[Vorpal]

I don't know that I could tell the difference between 18 & 19 inches, but I can between 18 & 21.

The difference between 18 and 21 inches for me is how often/soon I walk up hills. Maybe it's easier to think about it as a percentage of the range? So, about 3% difference between 18 and 21 inches. But you really only notice it when going up hills that require the easiest gears. How often does she use them?

Living in Norway, I will always come across the occasional hill that makes me walk, or spin out going down, but I'd generally prioritise the easy gearing on a tourer.

[simonineaston]

What we all want is a gear range that extends past each user's anticipated extremes. However, given that such luxury is either expensive (Rohloff) or complex (ask Mick F ), Vorpal's approach - identify the lowest needed, and put up with the highest not being high enough - is the usual way to go. I agree with v. - I can tell the difference between 21 and 18, but any lower and I'm going so slow as to make walking a safer bet !

roughly what my hybrid did...

[tatanab]

I certainly would not be bothered about the high gears, but I am pretty sure I could tell the difference between 18 and 21 inches. Why? Because it is about a 16% difference. The importance of percentage change rather than inches was brought home to me 30 odd years ago in my first trip through the Pyrenees. I had a bottom gear of 24 with the next one up of 32, only 8 inches so no problem - I thought. In fact I found that on many occasions I wanted to change up from my 24 inch bottom gear, but could not because of that 33% change. Rather like changing gear on a three speed hub, a big difference.

My current touring machines have a bottom gear of 24" and a top of low 90s with gears set at something like 7% intervals in the lower ratios, not so important at the top end. I am 70 years old and usually tour with camping kit. The 24" gear gets used at home as well to winch myself over a particular hill. Much over 30mph I am likely to be freewheeling so have no use for a bigger top gear than 90".

[Mick F]

Someone on here (years ago) said ......... words to the effect .............

Pick a gear higher than you need, but possible on a long downhill with a following wind, and pick a low gear that you can climb the steepest hills fully loaded and suffering from a hangover, and then fit in as many intermediate ratios between as you can afford.

16 to 120 would do it for me.

[PH]

If the 18" example is the current bike, then 21" will be somewhere between 2nd and 3rd.
I can tell the difference, I'd choose the lower. Whether that matters to anyone else depends on them, if they're flying up the steepest of hills in the 18" then they'll probably be fine with 21". If they're already struggling with 18" they'll probably be walking with 21!
My preferred touring range is 19 - 100, I spend far more time in top gear than bottom, but spinning out at around 30mph is no big deal. I don't spend much time in the bottom gear, I'm glad it's there when I do need it.

In the context of buying a new bike, surely what's important is the potential gear range rather than what it comes with.

[mattsccm]

I won't notice the difference at the lower end. Thought I was using a 32t big sprocket recently but had the wrong wheels in 28 was fine. I would be looking for a low gear that gives me enough on most climbs. Getting out of the saddle and heaving a bit occasionally is no issue nor is spinning out although there is nothing better than going for it in a big gear on long gentle and flowing down hills. What I would concentrate on above all else is the gaps. I loath the big gaps you get with a 3t difference.

[Mick F]

........... or complex (ask Mick F ...............

Just a little info regarding my "complex" system on my Moulton.
10sp 12-30 Shimano
Triple Stronglight 34/48/61
3sp SA
15.6" to 123.7"

[cycle tramp]

There's a few touring bikes we've seen with similar ranges but would there be much difference in real term use?

26" x 1.95 tyres 18 to 99 gear inches

The mtb is a little under geared at higher speed for her.

Is a 99 gear inch undergeared?

If you were to pedal the 99 gear inches at a rate of 1.5 pedal revolutions per second ((99 gear inches x 90 rpm)/336) you would travel at roughly 26.5 miles per hour

If you were to pedal the 99 gear inches at a rate of 2 pedal revolutions per second ((99 gear inches x 120 rpm)/336) you would travel at 35 miles per hour)

How fast does your partner cycle? And if it's a loaded touring bicycle, how good are the brakes?

[Tangled Metal]

The lowest is on the old mtb, whilst she doesn't need it very much but she wants it for those few occasions a low granny gear would help. She rarely walks on hills at all. When she does it is usually because our son needs to walk.

The 19 inch lowest gear was a flat bar tour de fer. The 21 was stock spar cycles 9 speed tourer. The 725 tourer from spa had an option for 19 inches but it's a drop bar which she doesn't want. I think the 9 speed can be built with a 19 inch option. There is also a cube tourer in the German style with a 10 speed triple that gets a 19 inch lower gear. The third range in my op is the 725 tourer with best chainring option but it's matched by the cube I think.

Just looked at my recumbent and it's 21 or 22 bottom gear depending on whether 34 or 36T at the back. It's a 30-42-52T with either 11-34 or 11-36 at the back. Couldn't really count them clearly, could even be 32t which is even worse. I'm not very good at spinning anyway, generally I prefer higher gears. My upright bikes I tour on has a 50-34t and 11-32 or 34t cassette 10 speed. That's 27 to 125 gear inches.

BTW 52, 42 then down to 30 chainring, is that a big drop at the end? The bigger two are stronglight from I think spa cycles no doubt but the inner has a different brand.

[Tangled Metal]

There's a few touring bikes we've seen with similar ranges but would there be much difference in real term use?

26" x 1.95 tyres 18 to 99 gear inches

The mtb is a little under geared at higher speed for her.

Is a 99 gear inch undergeared?

If you were to pedal the 99 gear inches at a rate of 1.5 pedal revolutions per second ((99 gear inches x 90 rpm)/336) you would travel at roughly 26.5 miles per hour

If you were to pedal the 99 gear inches at a rate of 2 pedal revolutions per second ((99 gear inches x 120 rpm)/336) you would travel at 35 miles per hour)

How fast does your partner cycle? And if it's a loaded touring bicycle, how good are the brakes?

Brakes were good as you'd expect from an mtb. Used to race with it way back. Now it's out of action. She's not fast on average speed but she often finds her top gear isn't high enough when it was used more. Even my 50 chainring and 11 cassette runs out on downhills fairly quickly. No bite to the pedals and you're basically freewheeling faster than you can pedal. That's why I don't see top speed as important a steep hill will run out of gears anyway.

[PH]

The 21 was stock spar cycles 9 speed tourer.

I assume that's a XD-2 triple chainset? In which case you can get whatever gearing you want, within reason.
I had one of those on an Audax bike at a time when I thought I wanted big gears and also something to get up any hills at the end of a ride, I think it was 50/40/26 and 11-34, a bit of a clunk to drop down to the granny and you needed to be half way up the cassette before it's change back to middle, but once that was understood it worked fine. About 20 - 120" but TBH the big ring didn't see much use.

[simonineaston]

My dream: a four-speed rear hub, prob'ly made from a mix of aluminium and titanium, giving 4 wide steps, with a bolt-on freewheel (the igh obviously comes complete with the 3 commonest - Shimano, Campag and Sram).
A selection of matching shifters is available, to exactly match the two gear mechanisms, whether gripshift, trigger or bar-end - brifters even - whatever you want!
The hub / cassette combo would give gears thus (or something like it):

Dear Santa...

Now why didn't I think of this before Christmas?

[cycle tramp]

How fast does your partner cycle? And if it's a loaded touring bicycle, how good are the brakes?

Brakes were good as you'd expect from an mtb. Used to race with it way back. Now it's out of action. She's not fast on average speed but she often finds her top gear isn't high enough when it was used more. Even my 50 chainring and 11 cassette runs out on downhills fairly quickly.

What's her cadence?