Cycle gears?

Question

I am new to cycling i have bought myself a bike and use it for commuting i find in the highest gear 3 -7 that when going downhill i could do with another gear hope this makes sense, my question is can i chage the gearing on the rear sprocket and if so how easy is it .

Answer 1

Yes you can just buy a new gear block, with different ratios. You might find removing the old one difficult as it will be a left hand thread, and a cycle shop would be best. They will sell you a bigger gear block. If it is a five, consider getting a six speed block, and with bigger ratios.

Answer 2

this is down to the size of the sprockets.most people find they cant pedal fast enough downhill.you probably cant change it easily.

Answer 3

It is likely on a commuting bike that your smallest rear sprocket is 14 tooth.  If you change this to a 12 tooth sprocket you will get 17% higher gearing, if you change to an 11 you will get 27% higher.  When you get a new rear cassette check what the range of your existing one is, if you change a 14-32 for an 11-25 you will find going up hill is a lot harder.  Try to get a similar count for the large sprocket.