Hi snp,

I don't know how to provide a link on forums (or how to use the quote button, either....) but someone provided this link on another thread:

http://sheldonbrown.com/gears.html

Sheldon explains gearing and all that stuff in pretty basic terms. I learned a lot!

Also, I just now Googled "how bicycles work" and one of the first choices was howstuffworks.com and their bike explanation is great! It has pictures of everything, too. I'm going to go back when I'm done with this note and eddicate myself!

Keep learning!