10 Speed: Difference between revisions
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Latest revision as of 01:33, 18 April 2025
Overview[edit | edit source]
Sheldon Brown's Entry[edit | edit source]
From the 1960s through the end of the last millennium, a "10-speed" bike was one with five sprockets in back, and two in front, making ten possible gear combinations.
In the early '80s, 6-sprocket clusters came in, and so the 10-speed became a 12-speed. As time went on sprocket clusters with more and more gears were introduced, and gradually the usage for "'N'-speed" changed to refer to just the number of rear sprockets, so a "12-speed" might also be called a "6-speed" disregarding the number of chainwheels.
Now that 10-sprocket clusters are in wide use, the term "10-speed" has become confusing as a result. In older contexts, it refers to the classic 5x2 setup, but riders of newer bikes often use it to distinguish their 10x2 (or 10x3) setups from earlier 9x2 (or 9x3) drive trains.[1]