Bicycle Gear Inches Calculator
Gear inches is a 19th-century relic from the penny-farthing era: multiply the chainring/cog ratio by the wheel diameter in inches and you get a single comparable number across bikes. A big number means a high cruising gear; a small number means an easy climbing gear. This tool also returns "metres of development" (the distance covered per crank revolution) and the speed for any cadence — handy for sizing a new chainring, comparing a 1× vs 2× setup or estimating cruise pace.
Enter positive integer teeth, a positive wheel diameter (mm) and non-negative cadence.
Gear inches
93.9"
Metres of development (per crank turn)
7.50 m
Speed at this cadence
40.5 km/h
Formula
gearInches = (chainring ⁄ cog) × wheelDiameter (inches) MoD = π × wheelDiameter (m) × (chainring ⁄ cog) speed = MoD × cadence × 60 ⁄ 1000 km/h
- · References: Sheldon Brown, "Gear inches & gain ratio" (sheldonbrown.com/gain.html); Wikipedia "Bicycle gearing".
- · Typical rolling diameters (mm): 700C × 25 ≈ 668; 700C × 28 ≈ 678; 650B / 27.5 × 2.1 ≈ 698; 26" × 2.0 ≈ 660; 29er × 2.3 ≈ 736; Brompton 16" ≈ 405. Real-world values vary by a few mm with tyre pressure, brand and wear.
- · Reference gearing: easy climbing < 30 gear-inches; cruising 65–85; road bike top gear 100–125; track bike 110+.
- · Metres of development scales linearly with gear inches: MoD ≈ gear-inches × 0.0798 (each inch corresponds to ~8 cm of forward travel). Continental Europe (especially France and Germany) prefers MoD; the UK, US, Hong Kong and Japan default to gear inches.
- · Limitations: pure geometric figure. Does not model drivetrain efficiency (chain/belt ~97 %), tyre-pressure rolling resistance or cross-chain efficiency loss between front and rear shifts.
- · Rules of thumb: comfortable 10 % climbing gear ≈ 25–35 GI; cruise / long-distance ≈ 60–80 GI; sprint / fast flats ≈ 95–115 GI.
Frequently asked
Why is "gear inches" still used — is it not an obsolete unit?
Equal parts history, inertia and convenient number range. In the 19th-century penny-farthing era there was no transmission — you stated the front-wheel diameter (in inches) and that was your gear. After the 1885 Rover Safety bicycle introduced chain drive, Sheldon Brown and others kept the metaphor: the "equivalent direct-drive wheel diameter" GI = (front ⁄ rear) × rear-wheel-diameter (inches). It mapped neatly onto how English-speaking riders already thought. It stuck around because (1) the values land in the easy-to-remember 20–130 range — much more memorable than the raw ratio 3.57 or 7.50 m of development; (2) it is independent of actual wheel size, so a tyre swap or 26" → 29er upgrade can be compared directly; (3) it is everywhere in product literature, race rule books and component catalogues. UCI and NICA junior racing actually cap GI to limit junior top speed (junior class 26-GI rollout limit). Continental Europe prefers MoD (metres), but mathematically the two are equivalent — just a unit choice.
Why do a 700C road bike and a 26" MTB show different gear-inches at the same gear ratio?
Gear inches deliberately bundles the wheel diameter into the formula, so two bikes at the same chainring/cog ratio but different wheels will read different gear inches. That is the whole point of the metric: it represents the actual distance travelled per crank revolution. Example: 50/14 on a 700C × 25 (Ø 668 mm = 26.30") → GI = 3.571 × 26.30 ≈ 93.9. Same 50/14 on a 26" MTB × 2.0 (Ø 660 mm = 25.98") → GI = 3.571 × 25.98 ≈ 92.8. The 1.2 % difference matches the 1.2 % rolling-diameter difference. A 29er × 2.3 (Ø 736 mm = 29.0") under the same ratio reads ≈ 103.5 — about 10 % "taller" at the same cadence. That is precisely why 29ers cruise more efficiently on flats.
How do I pick a sensible gear-inches range — any practical numbers for climbs and flats?
Rule-of-thumb gear-inches ranges for an amateur road / commuter rider at 70–80 rpm comfortable cadence: · Steep climbs (10 % + grade): 18–28 GI. A modern compact-double road bike at 34/32 sits around 28 GI; mountain bikes with 24/40 reach 16 GI ("granny gear"). · Flat cruise: 60–85 GI — sits at roughly 25–35 km/h. 50/19 ≈ 69 GI, 50/15 ≈ 88 GI; popular flat-terrain choices in Hong Kong and Taiwan. · Sprint / tailwind: 95–115 GI — 53/12 ≈ 119 GI is the marquee road sprint gear; UCI amateur events cap roughly at 109 (53/13). · Track / time trial: 120+ GI — 50/13 ≈ 105 GI, 52/11 ≈ 128 GI. Junior racing (UCI / NICA) caps top GI for safety and development; e.g. UCI U15 rollout cap ≈ 26 GI. For most newer riders, a low end ≤ 30 GI and a top end ≤ 100 GI cover 95 % of real-world routes.
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