How do gears change speed and power in a bicycle?
Chain's Fair Trade
How do gears change speed and power in a bicycle?
Push the pedals, and a bicycle springs forward. But here's a secret hiding in the metal: your legs always pedal at a comfy, steady pace, yet the bike can crawl up a mountain OR fly down a straightaway. The trick lives in the gears — those toothed rings clicking quietly between the wheels.
Let's meet the players. Up front, by the pedals, sits a big toothed wheel called the chainring. Back by the rear wheel sits a cluster of smaller toothed wheels called cogs. A loop of chain stretches between them, hooking onto the teeth. When you pedal, the front wheel pulls the chain, and the chain spins the back cog. Simple loop, big consequences.
