Youth Gear Calculator

Youth gear restrictions can be tricky for riders and parents, we hope this will make it easier.

For BC categories, a good rule of thumb is roughly 50T with 17T (Youth C), 16T (Youth B), or 15T (Youth A), based upon a 32mm tyre. British Cycling removed rollout limits for the youngest riders to make the sport more accessible. Yet it is still smart to avoid using very big gears!
Always measure rollout directly!

Whenever you can, choose a suitable cassette that matches your chainring rather than locking out sprockets. Miche, XLC, and Recon have products that cover everything from tight 11-23 cassettes to wider 18-34 ranges. Rules vary abroad. In Belgium commissaires do not allow locking gears but do tolerate griding the teeth off unused teeth, we wouldn’t recommend that though!

Rollout Limits (1/3/25)

British Cycling

  • Youth A: max 7.18 m

  • Youth B: max 6.73 m

  • Youth C: max 6.34 m

  • Youth D/E: unrestricteD

Cycling Vlaanderen

  • U9/U10/U11: max 5.52 m

  • U12/U13: max 5.76 m

  • U14/U15: max 6.48 m

  • U17+: unrestricted