Gear Inches Chart (700c Wheel)
Rows are chainring sizes (front), columns are cog sizes (rear cassette). Values are gear inches for a 700c wheel with a 25mm tire (26.4″ effective diameter). Read across a row from a chainring to find each gear.
| Chainring ↓ / Cog → | 11T | 12T | 13T | 14T | 15T | 17T | 19T | 21T | 23T | 25T | 28T | 32T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | 81.6 | 74.8 | 69.0 | 64.1 | 59.8 | 52.8 | 47.2 | 42.7 | 39.0 | 35.9 | 32.1 | 28.0 |
| 36 | 86.4 | 79.2 | 73.1 | 67.9 | 63.4 | 55.9 | 50.0 | 45.3 | 41.3 | 38.0 | 33.9 | 29.7 |
| 39 | 93.6 | 85.8 | 79.2 | 73.5 | 68.6 | 60.6 | 54.2 | 49.0 | 44.8 | 41.2 | 36.8 | 32.2 |
| 42 | 100.8 | 92.4 | 85.3 | 79.2 | 73.9 | 65.2 | 58.4 | 52.8 | 48.2 | 44.4 | 39.6 | 34.6 |
| 46 | 110.4 | 101.2 | 93.4 | 86.7 | 81.0 | 71.4 | 63.9 | 57.8 | 52.8 | 48.6 | 43.4 | 37.9 |
| 48 | 115.2 | 105.6 | 97.5 | 90.5 | 84.5 | 74.5 | 66.7 | 60.3 | 55.1 | 50.7 | 45.3 | 39.6 |
| 50 | 120.0 | 110.0 | 101.5 | 94.3 | 88.0 | 77.6 | 69.5 | 62.9 | 57.4 | 52.8 | 47.1 | 41.2 |
| 52 | 124.8 | 114.4 | 105.6 | 98.1 | 91.5 | 80.8 | 72.3 | 65.4 | 59.7 | 54.9 | 49.0 | 42.9 |
| 53 | 127.2 | 116.6 | 107.6 | 99.9 | 93.3 | 82.3 | 73.6 | 66.6 | 60.8 | 56.0 | 50.0 | 43.7 |
Based on a 700c × 25mm wheel (26.4″ effective diameter). For 650b or 26″ wheels, multiply each value by 0.92 and 0.89 respectively. For exact numbers with your tire and crank, use the calculator below.
What Do the Numbers Mean?
20–40 in
Climbing gears. For steep grades, loaded touring, and low-cadence ascents.
50–70 in
Cruising gears. Comfortable spinning on flats and rolling terrain.
75–95 in
Tempo and fast-group gears. Holding speed on flats with a tailwind.
100–125 in
Sprinting and descending. The biggest gears most riders ever use.
The gear these numbers assume
Every pace, zone and power figure on this page assumes something is measuring it. These are the three that cover running, cycling and the threshold work in between.
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Gear Inches Formula
Gear Inches
Example: 26.4 × (50 ÷ 11) = 120 gear inches
Development (meters)
Distance traveled per pedal revolution. 120 in ≈ 9.6 m.
Wheel diameter reference: 700c × 23mm ≈ 26.3″, 700c × 25mm ≈ 26.4″, 700c × 28mm ≈ 26.6″, 700c × 32mm ≈ 26.9″. For exact tire-specific values, use the gearing calculator below.
Need Your Exact Gear Inches?
Our Bike Gearing Calculator computes gear inches, gain ratio, and speed at cadence for your specific chainring, cassette, wheel, and tire.
Open Bike Gearing CalculatorFrequently Asked Questions
What are gear inches on a bike?
Gear inches express how hard a gear is to push, normalized to wheel size. It equals the diameter (in inches) of a hypothetical direct-drive wheel that would give the same gear. The formula is gear inches = wheel diameter in inches multiplied by (chainring teeth divided by cog teeth). Higher gear inches mean a harder, faster gear; lower means an easier climbing gear.
What is the formula for gear inches?
Gear inches = wheel diameter (inches) x (chainring teeth / cog teeth). A 700c wheel with a 25mm tire has an effective diameter of about 26.4 inches. For a 50T chainring with an 11T cog: 26.4 x (50 / 11) = about 120 gear inches.
What is a good range of gear inches for a road bike?
A typical road bike covers roughly 30 to 125 gear inches. The lowest gears (around 30 to 40) are for steep climbs, mid gears (50 to 80) for cruising and rolling terrain, and the highest gears (100 to 125) for sprinting and descending. A compact 50/34 crank with an 11-32 cassette gives a versatile spread for most riders.
What is the difference between gear inches and gain ratio?
Gear inches measure the gear relative to wheel size only. Gain ratio, developed by Sheldon Brown, also factors in crank length, expressing how far the bike travels for each unit of pedal movement. Gain ratio is more accurate for comparing bikes with different crank lengths, but gear inches remain the most widely used and quoted measure.