What are bike gears and what do they do?

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neoslan

I only had one bike in life, which was a present. It was a kids bike so there was no gears I could use and stuff. But now that I have outgrown the bike, I am shopping around for a new one. I see the handlebars have this controller thing that appears to be gears or something, and I have no idea what they mean and how they work. Also, I see bikes advertised as "21-speed Bike" and etc, what does that mean?

Answer
You have led a sheltered life, haven't you.
The gears are used to make cycling easier. Higher gears are used downhill to gain speed without pedaling like mad, while the lower gears are for going uphill where you pedal faster but expend less effort.
A 21 speed bike has 21 speeds available. That one would have 7 speeds on the rear wheel and 3 on the pedal sprocket 3 x 7 =21. The 3 pedal sprocket gears are used for general speed range changing. The lowest for use in hilly country, the second for flat and the top speed range for downhill. The (7) rear wheel gears are used for uphill and downhill as I described before.

Why are the pedals on my sons bike so hard to push?

stina;)

My son has had a hard time pedaling his 16" kids bike. I even tried it out and struggled. Put air in the tires and its not the brakes. I'm at a loss what good is a brand new bike that doesn't work right? Can this problem be fixed?
We bought it new over year ago.

Answer
Is it new? Then that's normal. Just tell him to take it for a ride now and then.

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