ever tried starting a car in 4th gear ? lol
explanation: Imagine 2 wheels...... 'A' and 'B'
A is the driver, and B is the driven.
1:1 ratio means that both wheels have equal no of gear teeth
5:1 ratio means that wheel 'B' has five times the no of teeth compared to 'A' (5 x A equals 1 x B)
With a high gear ratio, there is higher wear & tear of teeth.
This means that for every turn of 'A' (Driver), 'B' will turn 5 times.
when the ratio is higher, the retreive is faster, (Bicycle pedal is connected to a crank which is big in size compared to the rear wheel...in this case the driver, which is the pedal is 1: 3 or 4 compared to the rear wheel, depeding on the gear size)
Imagine if it was 1:1 for the bicycle, you will have to put in more effort to cover the same distance.
Higher gear ratios work well if the load is light. under heavy loads, the ratio is reduced for cranking ease.
if your reel had a gear ratio of 1:5, instead of 5:1, you could probably reel a shark with your little finger (you should try this), but 5 times slower if it had a ratio of 1:1
Its back to school for you
Just my 0.00000099% gyan