Yes, geared bikes are much faster than single-speed bikes, but this is not just a statement there are many reasons behind them, there is a large difference between geared and freewheel bikes when both of these bikes are riding on the exact trail with an equal speed. when you start pedaling you have to face and deal with the friction of both of your bike tires and trail, freewheel bikes do not have the opportunity and advantage of multiple gears
so when both of these bikes cover an equal trail distance, then you will notice the rider which is pedaling single speed bike, it will tire too much and due to higher fatigue level, he/she would not be able to ride further with the same and equal speed, but on the other hand geared bikes have much more advantage and the rider can easily shift its bike chain into lower and higher cogs of the cassette, it is the main advantage of geared bikes but these features are not available in speed bikes, the rider of the geared bike does not tie in an early stage and it can easily deal with the friction and resistance of the trail or road by changing and shifting of bike gears.
Twisted And Zigzag trails:
Single-speed bikes are also slower in speed on twisted and corner trails, and geared bikes are constantly changing gears from smaller gear to higher and higher to lesser gear, in this way geared bikes would ignore any kind of terrain in racing and also geared bikes are much more comfortable on twisted terrains as compared to single speed bikes.
Uphill And Downhill Trails:
Geared bikes are also in the number 1 position when you are racing and competing with single-speed bikes, these single speeds are not exactly made and manufactured for uphill and downhill terrains, it is the reason that industries and companies have improved their bike level from old traditional single speed to new modern multi-gear bikes.
Difference In Riders:
Single-speed and geared bikes would also depend on the fitness level of the rider if the rider is large in height with accurate body weight and their stamina is much improved, then these types of riders with their body benefit, these can easily win races or speeds with the single speed bikes, on the other hand, if the rider which is riding on a new modern and expensive geared bike are weaker with less power and lesser with inappropriate body fitness, then these kinds of riders would also fail easily on their geared bikes.
Trail Winds:
If you have decided to go for longer mileage distances on roads then a 50% of chance is present that you will have high-pressure winds that will block your way from the front or rear side. so when two riders are riding on windy trails, then geared bikes would easily shift their gears to feel much more comfortability and prevent fatigue levels, in these trails geared bikes would help a lot as compared to single-speed bikes.
Weight Difference:
Single-speed bikes are lighter in weight as compared to geared bikes. there are extra bike components that are installed within the geared bikes, these components include crankset, gear shifters, bike cassette, and cables, all of these bike components play a major role in increasing bike weight, but these components are not installed in single speed bikes, it has been proved from experiments that if the rider of single speed bike is much more active with greater strength and power then it can easily cross geared bikes in racings and longer mileages speed festivals because single speed bikes have the advantage of lighter weight.
Advantages Of Geared Bikes:
Geared bikes are usually recommended for uphill, downhill, and twisted trails, because their speed is much more and we can say as these bikes are airplanes on these trails, but on longer straight forward road trails, there are more chances of winning races of single speed bikes, because these bikes are smooth with less weight.
Advantages Of Single-Speed Bikes:
There are many advantages of single-speed bikes which are given below:
Rolling Resistance:
Geared bikes create a lot of rolling resistance with the trails due to increased weight or greater bike components, if the trails are windy then your bike would produce a lot of rolling resistance and drag force with the opposing forces of the trails, all of these issues and troubles are common with geared bikes as compared to single speed bikes.
Derailleur Weight And Resistance:
Derailleurs are the main bike component that causes much more drag force and resistance, when you push the pedals of your bike, your chain continuously moves through the small jockey wheels of the derailleur, and after passing through the derailleur, the chain again causes friction with the cogs and teeth of geared bike cassettes, and after that chain moves forward within the teeth of the chainring or crankset, in this way bike chain has to travel a larger distance in completing a single rotation of bike wheel. but single-speed bikes have smaller chainrings and do not contain any derailleur and cassettes, the chain simply flows and covers its rotations in lesser time compared to geared bikes.
And also derailleur, cassette and larger length of geared bike components increase the weight of these bikes, but single-speed bikes are manufactured simply, due to which we can say as if you run single -a speed bike on road, it may reach the destination than geared bikes if the rider is thoroughly a skilled rider.
Conclusion:
Judging, experimenting, differentiating, and comparing both geared and single-speed bikes, we can say:
Geared bikes are slower in speed than single-speed bikes
Gered bikes are greater and higher in speed than single-speed bikes
Geared bikes are equal and parallel in speed same as that single-speed bikes.