Question by frothy llama: On a mountainbike do you go faster with a big sprocket or small sprocket?
i was talking to my brother about things on our mountainbikes i wanted to get more air…

… so i said u need to go faster to get more air…

… my brother said bigger to go faster…

…. but i said small

Which one?Smaller or Bigger?

Best answer:

Answer by edward w
The smaller cog on your cassette will potentially make you go faster as it is geared for that either 11 teeth or 12 teeth and unless you pedal faster it wont make that much difference but you also need to be in the bigger chainring to go faster too.
The amount of “air” you get does not necessarily mean you need to be in a higher gear either, yes you will and can go further off of a jump the faster you go but you can also loose control of the bike and the way you potentially land your bike too. The degree of incline is another factor to consider as well, and the length of the incline is another factor. I prefer to maintain a steady speed over 3-5′ jumps to maintain better control over my bike…I have this aversion to broken bones and have a need to avoid them!

What do you think? Answer below!