Question from BIKE reader Markus L.: Which of the following two combinations is easier: a 24 mm chainring at the front and a 34 mm sprocket at the rear, or a 22 mm chainring at the front and a 32 mm sprocket at the rear? How do you calculate the different gear ratios in order to answer such questions?
Answer from BIKE test editor Stefan Loibl: With a 24 chainring in combination with a 34 sprocket, this results in an unfolding per crank revolution of 1.48 metres. With the 22-32 combination, the gear range is 1.44 metres per crank revolution (with 26-inch tyres). This means that the second gear ratio is the slightly lighter gear, as less distance is travelled per crank revolution. There are nice tools for simple calculation, e.g. the iPhone app "Bike Gear" for 3.99 euros. For Android users, there is the free "Sprocket Calculator" app.
