Fixed-Gear & Single-Speed Gear Ratio Finder & Speed Calculator
Find Your Gear Ratio
Choose your drivetrain, terrain, cruising speed, crank length, and tire size. We’ll recommend a gear and show how one step easier or harder changes the ride.
Tell us about your setup
Your recommended gear
Based on your terrain and flat cruising speed.
Compare one step easier or harder
Speed at 85 rpm| Option | Gear | Ratio | Flat speed | How it feels | Skid patches |
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Speed is estimated from the selected tire size. Actual tire diameter varies by tire and rim; 85 rpm is a comparison point, not a required cadence.
See gear inches and leverage
How the recommendation is chosen
- Your selected speed is an estimate for flat ground at 85 rpm.
- We set the target 0.5 mph below your selected speed for rolling terrain and 1.5 mph below for hilly terrain. On mostly flat ground, we use your selected speed.
- We match your target to an available Wabi gear. Wheel and tire size refine the speed estimate; crank length appears in the leverage details.
- For fixed gear, recommendations with one skid patch are excluded, and skid-patch counts are shown.
Think of this as a starting point. Your preferred effort, cadence, and local hills may lead you to choose one step easier or harder.
Skid-patch counts show how tire wear is distributed if you skid. Use your front brake for more effective stopping.
For definitions of terms used in this tool, see the glossary at the bottom of this page.
Calculate your ratio and speed for specific gear setups
Choose a wheel and tire, chainring, rear cog, and cadence to estimate speed, gear ratio, and gear inches.
Gear inches and ratio by chainring and cog
| Chainring / rear cog | 19T | 18T | 17T | 16T | 15T | 14T | 13T |
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Gear inches offer a way to compare how high or low a gear feels using an equivalent wheel diameter. Actual tire diameter varies by tire and rim.
For definitions of terms used in this tool, see the glossary at the bottom of this page.
Glossary
- RPM / cadence
- RPM means revolutions per minute. For a bike, it describes how many times the cranks turn in one minute. Cadence is another name for your pedaling rate.
- Chainring
- The toothed ring at the front of the bike, attached to the cranks.
- Rear cog
- The toothed gear at the rear wheel. “T” means teeth, as in 18T.
- Gear ratio
- The chainring’s tooth count divided by the rear cog’s tooth count. For example, 46×18 is a 2.56 ratio. A higher ratio gives more speed at the same RPM but takes more effort to start and climb.
- Freewheel
- Lets the rear wheel turn without turning the pedals, so you can coast.
- Fixed gear
- Connects the rear wheel directly to the pedals. When the wheel turns, the pedals turn too, so you can’t coast without pedaling.
- Gear inches
- A way to compare how high or low a gear feels, based on an equivalent wheel diameter. It isn’t the wheel’s literal size. More gear inches generally means a harder gear and more distance per pedal turn.
- Crank arm length
- The distance from the crank’s center to the pedal. It affects leverage but does not change the gear ratio.
- Gain ratio
- A comparison of how far the bike moves relative to how far the pedal moves. It accounts for wheel size and crank arm length.
- Development
- How far the bike travels with one full turn of the cranks.
- Skid patches
- The distinct tire contact spots that repeat during a skid. More patches spread tire wear across more spots.
- Estimated speed
- The calculated speed for the selected gear, wheel/tire size, and RPM. Actual speed depends on your pedaling rate and the tire’s actual size.