What are my easiest and hardest gears?
Your easiest gear is your smallest chainring paired with the largest cassette cog. Your hardest gear is your largest chainring paired with the smallest cog.
Free gearing calculator
Does your gearing suit your ride?
Compare your chainrings, cassette and cadence. The starting values describe an example bike.
1
Your drivetrain
Outer chainring
Inner chainring
Smallest cog
Largest cog
2
Your wheels and cadence
Wheel circumference
Cadence
3
Your bike and climb
Climb gradient
- Example bike · Easiest ratio
- 1
Speed follows from tooth counts, wheel circumference and cadence. The climb verdict is a rule of thumb; it does not account for your weight or power.
Easiest ratio: 1. Challenging
- Easiest gear
- 34 × 34
- Hardest gear
- 50 × 11
- Distance per pedal revolution
- 2.11m
- Speed at your cadence
- 10.1km/h
- Gear range
- 4.55×
- Hardest gear
- 45.9km/h
Does this suit the climb?
Challenging
Your easiest gear is close to the edge for a 8.0% climb. A smaller inner chainring would make this noticeably easier.
Explanation
Why this result changed
Confidence: High confidence
Next best action: Open the dashboard to compare this setup against your real bike setup.
Primary drivers
- Chainring and cassette combination
- Wheel circumference
- Cadence
Secondary modifiers
- Climb gradient
- Climb length band
- Bike type
Not covered here
- Rider weight, FTP, and exact climb duration
- Fatigue, wind, and altitude
Plan your climb too
Estimate climbing time with your own weight and FTP.
Open the climb plannerFree account
Make this advice more personal
Save your FTP and weight once; every climbing and gearing calculation uses them.
- Your details stay saved. No need to enter them again, even in other calculators.
- A narrower range. Your own weight and FTP make it easier to compare calculations.
- Your next step is ready. Take your details to the climb planner, gearing calculator or nutrition calculator.
These details go with you to your account
Nothing entered yet. Move a slider or choose an option; only what you enter goes with you.
Save my details · free accountYour entered values go with you; there is no need to enter them again. No account? Your result above stays available.
Your entered details are only remembered for this browser session.
The short answer
Your easiest gear pairs the smallest chainring with the largest cassette cog. With 50/34 chainrings and an 11–34 cassette, the easiest ratio is 1. At 80 rpm, this example gives 10.1 km/h.
How we calculate
Divide the front tooth count by the rear tooth count to find the ratio. Multiply the ratio by wheel circumference for distance per pedal revolution. Cadence then determines speed.
What this cannot tell you
Speed is a kinematic calculation, not a prediction of what you can sustain. The climbing verdict uses gradient, bike type and climb length as a rule of thumb. It does not calculate required power or your personal capacity.
Worked example
An example with fixed inputs. Use the calculator for your own details.
Input
- Drivetrain
- 2x
- Chainrings
- 50/34
- Cassette
- 11–34
- Wheel circumference
- 2105 mm
- Cadence
- 80 rpm
- Bike type
- Road
- Gradient
- 8%
- Climb length
- Medium
Calculated result
- Easiest ratio
- 1
- Distance per revolution
- 2.11 m
- Speed in easiest gear
- 10.1 km/h
Common mistakes
- Entering wheel diameter instead of wheel circumference.
- Treating the largest cassette cog alone as the easiest gear ratio.
- Reading calculated speed as achievable climbing speed without considering your power.
Why this works
Exact gearing math, fast route check
The public calculator lays the groundwork. The dashboard later adds rider and event context.
Exact drivetrain math
Chainring, cassette, and wheel size convert straight into ratio, development, and speed.
Honest climb verdict
The tool does not pretend to know more than it does: the climb readout is a practical rule, not a power meter.
Clear upgrade direction
You can see right away whether a larger cassette, smaller inner ring, or wider 1x range makes more sense.
What's next?
Compare this with your dashboard setup
Create a free account to compare this setup with your real bike and refine the climb verdict further.
The public version is for quick orientation. The dashboard goes further with rider, event, and climb demand.
Frequently asked questions
Why does cadence matter in a gearing calculator?
The same gear feels very different if you spin faster or slower. That is why the calculator shows speed at your chosen cadence.
Is 1x always enough for climbing?
Not always. 1x can work well, but long or steep climbs usually feel better with a wider range.
Explore more
Related tools and guides
Keep going with related guides and calculators that build on what you just learned.