With a wide range of gears on certain kinds of bikes, each kind of bike does tend to have its own range for gears that it usually has, and mountain bikes are no exception to this. Gears are a very useful thing to have on almost any bike, so it is a good thing to know a bit more about them.
Mountain bikes have between 1-40 gears, with most mountain bikes having between 7 and 28 gears and some custom mountain bikes have over 40. Adult mountain bikes have on average more gears than kid’s mountain bikes do.
But, what exactly is the point of having gears, and what is the optimal range of gears to have on a mountain bike? There are also the pros and cons to consider when it comes to gears on mountain bikes, and don’t forget the extra care that having more gears on your mountain bike can require.
What Is The Purpose Of Gears On Mountain Bikes?
The purpose of having different gears on a bike of any kind is mostly to help you get the maximum results for the amount of energy you put into pedaling, no matter what type of terrain you are biking on. Basically, the more variety there is in the different terrains you ride, the more gears you might want to have available on your mountain bike.
Gears can also help you get the most power when going uphill. This is because you can switch gears to a larger gear set and each stroke of your bike pedals will then have a greater impact and propel you further forward. When going downhill you can switch to a much smaller gear set so that your chain and pedals can keep up with how fast your tires are moving.
This fact can give you much better control when you are going downhill. So, whether going uphill or downhill, having more gears can be a huge help on your mountain bike. This same feature can be useful on the different kinds of terrain like rock or loose sand once you learn what gear setting works best for each one.
As a general rule, the “low” and “easy” gears are the ones that are best for climbing and going uphill while the “high” and “hard” gears are the ones that you will want to be in when you are going down a hill. To go “lower” in gear is called downshifting and to go “higher” in gear is called upshifting. Therefore, to go uphill you want to downshift, and when you go downhill on the other side you want to upshift.
However, there is one very important thing to keep in mind about gears on a mountain bike. In somewhat the same way as shifting gears on a manual car, there is a certain way to shift gears on a mountain bike too. You have to be able to shift gears at just the right time to get the best effect and you have to learn which gears to shift to.
This is something that takes time and experience to learn just how to do and it is perhaps one of the main reasons why people often prefer to stick with single speed mountain bikes so that they do not have to give shifting a second thought. It can also take time to learn which gear is best for you when you are going uphill or downhill etc.
When you see sets of numbers like 3×9 or 3×10 or any other set of numbers in reference to gears then this tells you how many gears there are on the mountain bike and where they are at. In the examples I just mentioned, both of them have 3 different chain-rings on the front and one of them has 9 cogs in the cassette on the back and the other one has 10 cogs on the cassette in the back. This means that a 3×10 will have 30 different gears since each one of the 3 front spots can be combined with any one of the 10 rear spots.
Most mountain bikers either prefer single speed or prefer to have lots of gears, but for those who want something that is more in the middle of the road there is the 1×11 option and other 1x options that you can try. By having only one chain-ring on the front it is still fairly simple to use without overwhelming you with options and yet it still gives a few options for different gears that you can switch between.
Going with an option that only has a few gears is a great way to learn how to shift between the different gears and decide whether or not you might be interested in going with more. If you have different gears only on the back then you will most likely have only one control on your handlebars to have to work with.
On the other hand, if you have more than one gear on the front as well as on the back then you will most likely have controls on both sides of your handlebars. One side will be to control the back while the other side controls the front gearing. You will then have to find a way to learn how to manage both of these.
Once you get to having more and more gears you will find that at some point the added gears are nothing more than fine-tuning and that there is very little difference between them. When testing out the different gears to start with it can be very helpful to ride the same trail over and over again and try out different gear settings on something that is familiar so that you can really feel the difference and learn what works best for you.
What Are Some Disadvantages To Having Gears On Mountain Bikes?
While there are a number of advantages to having more gears, you have probably started to see that there are a few disadvantages to them as well. For starters is the fact that you have to learn how to properly use the different gears. However, that is simply a matter of taking the time to learn it and not really a disadvantage.
Having more gears does mean that your mountain bike has more parts. The more parts you have on anything, the more likely something is going to go wrong with one of them. Eventually gears will need to be replaced and, when this happens, it will cost more money to replace the more gears you have.
The gears on your mountain bike will require care which will also cost more in terms of the amount of oil it will take to lubricate them. The more gears that you have to care for, the more time it will also take to clean them and to re-oil them when it is time to do so.
There is also chain skipping as you change between the different gears if you do not do it right. More gears also add a bit more weight to your mountain bike. Whether this weight is completely counterbalanced by the more power it gives is a matter for debate, but it is something to think about if you are interested in speed.
How Do You Take Care Of Gears On Mountain Bikes?
Gears are a part of the bike that need to be cleaned carefully, especially if you are doing a lot of riding through mud and the mud gets into the gears. Keeping them clean is an essential part of making sure they don’t rust and can also help them not wear down as quickly.
This is because when mud or anything else gets into the chain and works its way in between the chain and the gears it will cause wear on both the chain and the gears. When it is time to really give your chain a good cleaning then it is usually also time to give your gears a good cleaning and visa versa. Simply clean your gears the same way as your chain and re-lubricate them at the same time.