Mountain Bike Gear Meaning. Before going any further, it makes a lot of sense to get a really good understanding of how the gears on your mountain bike actually work. Let's start with what your bike.
Before going any further, it makes a lot of sense to get a really good understanding of how the gears on your mountain bike actually work. Using a gear-inch chart is one way to compare gear ratios without riding the bike. It's main purpose is to let the bike adapt to rough conditions and accommodate inclines, bumps and other difficulties.
If your bike has eight to ten gears on the back, it has a cassette.
Here's a simple way to think about gear-inch combinations: For one revolution of the pedal, your bike will travel a certain number of inches.
Some hybrid bikes have only one speed, and are aptly named single-speed bikes. Mountain bikes are generally measured in frame size (inches), which is the distance from the center of the crank to the top of the frame at the seat tube. This way you'll be able to make informed decisions when upgrading cassettes or buying new bikes in the future.