diff --git a/crates/ble/src/click.rs b/crates/ble/src/click.rs
index af622a0..2b1b440 100644
--- a/crates/ble/src/click.rs
+++ b/crates/ble/src/click.rs
@@ -57,7 +57,14 @@ pub enum ClickEvent {
         name: Option<String>,
     },
     /// The link dropped. Any held button has already been reported as released.
+    /// The actor is retrying — this is not terminal.
     Disconnected,
+    /// Reconnecting ran out of attempts and the actor has stopped (FR-1.11).
+    ///
+    /// Terminal, and distinct from [`ClickEvent::Disconnected`] for exactly that
+    /// reason: one means "hold on", the other means "go and look at the pod".
+    /// Nothing further arrives on this stream.
+    GaveUp { attempts: u32 },
     /// A press or release edge. Repeats while held are filtered out here, not
     /// by the consumer (see [`ButtonTracker`]).
     Button { button: Button, pressed: bool },
diff --git a/crates/core/src/gearing.rs b/crates/core/src/gearing.rs
index 9b064fb..423e67a 100644
--- a/crates/core/src/gearing.rs
+++ b/crates/core/src/gearing.rs
@@ -6,129 +6,122 @@
 //! out against nothing, and their effort stops contributing at precisely the
 //! moment they can see the speed rising.
 //!
-//! FTMS has no virtual-shifting op code — Zwift's own implementation is
-//! proprietary — so gearing has to be synthesised from what the trainer does
-//! expose. The D100 accepts `SetIndoorBikeSimulationParameters`, so a gear is
-//! expressed as an **offset to the gradient the trainer is asked to simulate**:
-//! a harder gear asks for a steeper hill and therefore more load.
+//! # How a gear is expressed
 //!
-//! Two gradients therefore exist and must not be confused:
+//! Not as a tooth count — the rider should not have to know what chainring is
+//! fitted — but as **development**: the metres travelled per crank revolution.
+//! A 34×28 bottom gear on 700c is about 2.5 m; a 50×11 top gear about 9.5 m.
+//! Development is the honest statement of what a gear *does*, and it needs only
+//! the wheel circumference to be useful.
 //!
-//! * the **route** gradient, which the physics model uses, so speed still
-//!   reflects the terrain;
-//! * the **commanded** gradient — route plus gear offset — which only decides
-//!   how hard the pedals feel.
+//! # How a gear is made to feel real
 //!
-//! Shifting consequently changes effort, not speed, exactly as on a real bike.
-//! Speed changes only as a *result*: a harder gear at the same cadence produces
-//! more watts, and more watts produce more speed through the physics.
+//! FTMS has no virtual-shifting op code — Zwift's implementation is proprietary
+//! — so gearing is servoed rather than commanded. The causal chain is the same
+//! as a real bike:
 //!
-//! The percent-per-gear mapping is a pragmatic stand-in for a proper torque
-//! model and **wants calibrating against the real resistance curve** (TASK-3 in
-//! REQUIREMENTS.md, still outstanding). The defaults are a starting point, not
-//! a measured result.
+//! ```text
+//! gear  ->  resistance  ->  power  ->  speed
+//! ```
+//!
+//! Shifting does not set the speed. It sets how hard the pedals are, which
+//! decides the power the rider produces, which the physics model turns into
+//! speed. Deriving speed straight from cadence × gear would be simpler and
+//! wrong: it would let a rider spin up a 15% wall at 45 km/h without ever
+//! producing the watts that requires, and gradient would become decoration.
+//!
+//! The loop closes on cadence. For a given road speed, the selected gear
+//! implies a cadence:
+//!
+//! ```text
+//! target_cadence = road_speed × 60 / development
+//! ```
+//!
+//! If the rider is turning faster than that they are spinning out, so add load;
+//! slower, and they are grinding, so shed it. The trainer's own cadence reading
+//! closes the loop, which is why this had to wait for the Zwift-channel decode
+//! (§2.1.1) — FTMS on this trainer reports no cadence at all.
 
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 
-/// A ladder of load offsets, easiest first.
+/// Widest load correction the servo may apply, in gradient percent. Generous
+/// enough to recover a spun-out descent, bounded so a runaway loop cannot ask
+/// for a cliff.
+const MAX_CORRECTION_PCT: f32 = 8.0;
+/// Gradient percent applied per rpm of cadence error, per second. Deliberately
+/// gentle: shifting should settle over a second or two, not snap, and an
+/// aggressive gain oscillates against the rider's own cadence variation.
+const GAIN_PCT_PER_RPM_S: f32 = 0.02;
+/// Cadence error small enough to ignore, rpm. Real pedalling wanders by a few
+/// rpm and chasing that would churn the control point for nothing.
+const DEADBAND_RPM: f32 = 3.0;
+
+/// A ladder of gears, expressed as development in metres per crank revolution.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 pub struct VirtualCassette {
-    /// Gradient offset per gear, in percent. Ascending.
-    offsets: Vec<f32>,
+    /// Metres per crank revolution, ascending (easiest first).
+    development_m: Vec<f32>,
 }
 
 impl VirtualCassette {
-    /// Evenly spaced gears between two offsets.
-    ///
-    /// `easiest` is normally negative — it *removes* load, so the rider can
-    /// still turn the pedals on a steep climb. `hardest` is positive, which is
-    /// what makes a descent rideable rather than a spin-out.
-    pub fn linear(gears: usize, easiest_pct: f32, hardest_pct: f32) -> Self {
+    /// Evenly spaced gears between two developments.
+    pub fn linear(gears: usize, easiest_m: f32, hardest_m: f32) -> Self {
         let gears = gears.max(1);
         if gears == 1 {
-            return Self { offsets: vec![0.0] };
+            return Self { development_m: vec![easiest_m.max(0.1)] };
         }
-        let step = (hardest_pct - easiest_pct) / (gears - 1) as f32;
+        let step = (hardest_m - easiest_m) / (gears - 1) as f32;
         Self {
-            offsets: (0..gears).map(|i| easiest_pct + step * i as f32).collect(),
-        }
-    }
-
-    pub fn len(&self) -> usize {
-        self.offsets.len()
-    }
-
-    pub fn is_empty(&self) -> bool {
-        self.offsets.is_empty()
-    }
-
-    pub fn offset_pct(&self, gear: usize) -> f32 {
-        self.offsets
-            .get(gear.min(self.offsets.len().saturating_sub(1)))
-            .copied()
-            .unwrap_or(0.0)
-    }
-}
-
-impl VirtualCassette {
-    /// A ladder with an exact **zero** rung at `neutral`, stepping by `step`
-    /// either side.
-    ///
-    /// The zero matters: it is the gear in which the trainer is asked for
-    /// precisely the route's gradient and nothing else, so a rider who never
-    /// shifts gets exactly the behaviour they had before gears existed.
-    pub fn centred(gears: usize, neutral: usize, step: f32) -> Self {
-        let gears = gears.max(1);
-        let neutral = neutral.min(gears - 1);
-        Self {
-            offsets: (0..gears)
-                .map(|i| (i as f32 - neutral as f32) * step)
+            development_m: (0..gears)
+                .map(|i| (easiest_m + step * i as f32).max(0.1))
                 .collect(),
         }
     }
 
-    /// Index of the gear whose offset is nearest neutral.
-    pub fn neutral_gear(&self) -> usize {
-        self.offsets
-            .iter()
-            .enumerate()
-            .min_by(|a, b| a.1.abs().total_cmp(&b.1.abs()))
-            .map(|(i, _)| i)
-            .unwrap_or(0)
+    pub fn len(&self) -> usize {
+        self.development_m.len()
+    }
+
+    pub fn is_empty(&self) -> bool {
+        self.development_m.is_empty()
+    }
+
+    /// Metres per crank revolution for a gear.
+    pub fn development_m(&self, gear: usize) -> f32 {
+        self.development_m
+            .get(gear.min(self.development_m.len().saturating_sub(1)))
+            .copied()
+            .unwrap_or(1.0)
     }
 }
 
 impl Default for VirtualCassette {
-    /// Twelve gears in 0.75% steps, neutral at gear 5, spanning −3% to +5.25%.
-    /// The asymmetry is deliberate: shedding load on a climb matters less than
-    /// being able to *find* load on a descent, which is the failure this module
-    /// exists to fix.
+    /// Twelve gears from 2.5 m to 9.5 m — roughly a 34/28 to 50/11 road setup,
+    /// which is a sane range for terrain from a steep climb to a fast descent.
     fn default() -> Self {
-        Self::centred(12, 4, 0.75)
+        Self::linear(12, 2.5, 9.5)
     }
 }
 
-/// The rider's current gear selection.
+/// Gear selection plus the servo that makes the selection felt.
 #[derive(Debug, Clone, PartialEq, Serialize, Deserialize)]
 pub struct Gearing {
     cassette: VirtualCassette,
     gear: usize,
+    /// Load correction the servo has settled on, in gradient percent.
+    correction_pct: f32,
 }
 
 impl Default for Gearing {
     fn default() -> Self {
-        let cassette = VirtualCassette::default();
-        // Start in the neutral gear so an un-shifted ride behaves exactly as it
-        // did before gears existed — no silent change to the commanded gradient.
-        let gear = cassette.neutral_gear();
-        Self { cassette, gear }
+        Self::new(VirtualCassette::default())
     }
 }
 
 impl Gearing {
     pub fn new(cassette: VirtualCassette) -> Self {
-        let gear = cassette.neutral_gear();
-        Self { cassette, gear }
+        let gear = cassette.len() / 2;
+        Self { cassette, gear, correction_pct: 0.0 }
     }
 
     /// One-based, because riders count gears from one.
@@ -140,9 +133,61 @@ impl Gearing {
         self.cassette.len()
     }
 
-    /// Load offset in simulated-gradient percent for the selected gear.
-    pub fn offset_pct(&self) -> f32 {
-        self.cassette.offset_pct(self.gear)
+    pub fn development_m(&self) -> f32 {
+        self.cassette.development_m(self.gear)
+    }
+
+    /// The load correction currently applied, in gradient percent.
+    pub fn correction_pct(&self) -> f32 {
+        self.correction_pct
+    }
+
+    /// Cadence the selected gear implies at this road speed, rpm.
+    pub fn target_cadence_rpm(&self, speed_mps: f32) -> f32 {
+        let dev = self.development_m().max(0.1);
+        (speed_mps.max(0.0) * 60.0 / dev).clamp(0.0, 250.0)
+    }
+
+    /// Advance the servo one tick and return the load correction to add to the
+    /// commanded gradient.
+    ///
+    /// `cadence_rpm` is `None` when the trainer is not reporting it, in which
+    /// case the correction decays toward zero rather than freezing — a stale
+    /// correction is worse than none, because the rider cannot tell it is there.
+    pub fn update(&mut self, cadence_rpm: Option<f32>, speed_mps: f32, dt: f32) -> f32 {
+        let dt = if dt.is_finite() { dt.clamp(0.0, 1.0) } else { 0.0 };
+        if dt <= 0.0 {
+            return self.correction_pct;
+        }
+
+        match cadence_rpm.filter(|c| c.is_finite() && *c > 0.0) {
+            Some(actual) => {
+                let target = self.target_cadence_rpm(speed_mps);
+                // Below walking pace the target is meaningless; a rider rolling
+                // to a stop should not be handed a correction for it.
+                if target < 20.0 {
+                    self.decay(dt);
+                    return self.correction_pct;
+                }
+                let error = actual - target;
+                if error.abs() > DEADBAND_RPM {
+                    self.correction_pct += error * GAIN_PCT_PER_RPM_S * dt;
+                    self.correction_pct =
+                        self.correction_pct.clamp(-MAX_CORRECTION_PCT, MAX_CORRECTION_PCT);
+                }
+            }
+            None => self.decay(dt),
+        }
+        self.correction_pct
+    }
+
+    fn decay(&mut self, dt: f32) {
+        // ~2 s time constant, so an unexplained correction fades rather than
+        // lingering under the pedals.
+        self.correction_pct *= 1.0 - (0.5 * dt).min(1.0);
+        if self.correction_pct.abs() < 0.01 {
+            self.correction_pct = 0.0;
+        }
     }
 
     /// Shift to a harder gear. Clamps at the top — never wraps (FR-4.1.3),
@@ -177,34 +222,98 @@ impl Gearing {
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
 
-    #[test]
-    fn a_default_cassette_spans_easier_and_harder_than_neutral() {
-        let g = Gearing::default();
-        assert_eq!(g.gear_count(), 12);
-        let c = &g.cassette;
-        assert!(c.offset_pct(0) < 0.0, "bottom gear must shed load");
-        assert!(c.offset_pct(11) > 0.0, "top gear must add load");
+    fn settle(g: &mut Gearing, cadence: f32, speed_mps: f32, seconds: f32) -> f32 {
+        let dt = 0.25;
+        for _ in 0..((seconds / dt) as u32) {
+            g.update(Some(cadence), speed_mps, dt);
+        }
+        g.correction_pct()
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn an_unshifted_ride_commands_exactly_the_route_gradient() {
-        // Gears must not silently alter the ride for someone who never shifts.
-        let g = Gearing::default();
-        assert_eq!(g.offset_pct(), 0.0);
+    fn a_harder_gear_demands_a_lower_cadence() {
+        let mut g = Gearing::default();
+        let v = 8.0; // ~29 km/h
+        let easy = {
+            g.set_gear(1);
+            g.target_cadence_rpm(v)
+        };
+        g.set_gear(12);
+        let hard = g.target_cadence_rpm(v);
+        assert!(easy > hard, "bottom gear should spin faster: {easy} vs {hard}");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn spinning_out_adds_load() {
+        // The descent failure: rider at 110 rpm when the gear implies far less.
+        let mut g = Gearing::default();
+        g.set_gear(6);
+        let v = 8.0;
+        let target = g.target_cadence_rpm(v);
+        assert!(target < 110.0);
+        let correction = settle(&mut g, 110.0, v, 6.0);
+        assert!(correction > 0.5, "should add load, got {correction}");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn grinding_sheds_load() {
+        let mut g = Gearing::default();
+        g.set_gear(6);
+        let v = 8.0;
+        let target = g.target_cadence_rpm(v);
+        assert!(target > 40.0);
+        let correction = settle(&mut g, 40.0, v, 6.0);
+        assert!(correction < -0.5, "should shed load, got {correction}");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_cadence_matching_the_gear_is_left_alone() {
+        let mut g = Gearing::default();
+        g.set_gear(6);
+        let v = 8.0;
+        let target = g.target_cadence_rpm(v);
+        let correction = settle(&mut g, target, v, 6.0);
+        assert_eq!(correction, 0.0, "no error means no correction");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn correction_is_bounded_however_long_the_error_persists() {
+        let mut g = Gearing::default();
+        g.set_gear(6);
+        let correction = settle(&mut g, 200.0, 8.0, 120.0);
+        assert!(
+            correction <= MAX_CORRECTION_PCT,
+            "runaway correction: {correction}"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn losing_cadence_decays_the_correction_rather_than_freezing_it() {
+        let mut g = Gearing::default();
+        g.set_gear(6);
+        settle(&mut g, 110.0, 8.0, 6.0);
+        assert!(g.correction_pct() > 0.5);
+        for _ in 0..40 {
+            g.update(None, 8.0, 0.25);
+        }
+        assert!(
+            g.correction_pct().abs() < 0.1,
+            "stale correction lingered: {}",
+            g.correction_pct()
+        );
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn shifting_is_monotonic_and_clamps_at_both_ends() {
-        let mut g = Gearing::new(VirtualCassette::linear(5, -2.0, 4.0));
+        let mut g = Gearing::new(VirtualCassette::linear(5, 2.5, 9.5));
         while g.shift_down() {}
         assert_eq!(g.gear(), 1);
         assert!(!g.shift_down(), "must not wrap past the bottom");
-        let bottom = g.offset_pct();
 
-        let mut previous = bottom;
+        let mut previous = g.development_m();
         while g.shift_up() {
-            let now = g.offset_pct();
-            assert!(now > previous, "each shift up must add load");
+            let now = g.development_m();
+            assert!(now > previous, "each shift up must lengthen the gear");
             previous = now;
         }
         assert_eq!(g.gear(), 5);
@@ -212,23 +321,113 @@ mod tests {
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn a_hard_gear_finds_load_on_a_descent() {
-        // The failure this module exists to fix: on a -6% descent the trainer
-        // unloads and the rider spins out. Selecting a hard gear must bring the
-        // commanded gradient back to something they can push against.
-        let mut g = Gearing::new(VirtualCassette::default());
-        while g.shift_up() {}
-        let commanded = -6.0 + g.offset_pct();
-        assert!(
-            commanded > -1.0,
-            "top gear should recover load on a descent, got {commanded}%"
-        );
+    fn a_stationary_rider_is_not_given_a_correction() {
+        let mut g = Gearing::default();
+        g.set_gear(6);
+        let correction = settle(&mut g, 90.0, 0.0, 4.0);
+        assert_eq!(correction, 0.0);
+    }
+}
+
+impl Gearing {
+    /// The gradient to command so the pedals feel like the road does.
+    ///
+    /// This is the whole point of the module, and it is a direct computation
+    /// rather than a feedback loop. `resistive_n` is what the road is doing at
+    /// the current speed — gravity down the slope, rolling resistance, and
+    /// aerodynamic drag rising with v² — from [`crate::physics::resistive_force_n`].
+    ///
+    /// A gear changes the *leverage* between crank and wheel, so the torque the
+    /// rider feels for a given wheel force scales with development. Expressing
+    /// the selected gear as a multiple of the bike's real one gives
+    ///
+    /// ```text
+    /// commanded_force = road_force × (virtual_development / physical_development)
+    /// ```
+    ///
+    /// and converting that force back to the gradient the trainer understands is
+    /// just `F / (m·g)`. A longer gear therefore asks the trainer for a steeper
+    /// hill, which is exactly what a longer gear feels like.
+    ///
+    /// Note what this does *not* do: on a real descent, gravity exceeds drag and
+    /// the net road force is negative. The honest result is little or no load,
+    /// because a rider on a real descent freewheels. Selecting a longer gear
+    /// scales that up, so there is more to push against, but it cannot conjure
+    /// resistance that the road is not providing.
+    pub fn load_gradient_pct(&self, resistive_n: f32, mass_kg: f32, physical_development_m: f32) -> f32 {
+        let mass = if mass_kg.is_finite() { mass_kg.max(1.0) } else { 1.0 };
+        let physical = if physical_development_m.is_finite() && physical_development_m > 0.1 {
+            physical_development_m
+        } else {
+            5.1
+        };
+        let f = if resistive_n.is_finite() { resistive_n } else { 0.0 };
+        let scaled = f * (self.development_m() / physical);
+        let pct = scaled / (mass * crate::physics::GRAVITY) * 100.0;
+        if pct.is_finite() {
+            pct.clamp(-MAX_CORRECTION_PCT * 2.0, MAX_CORRECTION_PCT * 2.0)
+        } else {
+            0.0
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod load_tests {
+    use super::*;
+    use crate::physics::resistive_force_n;
+    use crate::types::RiderConfig;
+
+    fn cfg() -> RiderConfig {
+        RiderConfig::default()
     }
 
     #[test]
-    fn a_single_speed_cassette_is_neutral() {
-        let g = Gearing::new(VirtualCassette::linear(1, -3.0, 6.0));
-        assert_eq!(g.gear_count(), 1);
-        assert_eq!(g.offset_pct(), 0.0);
+    fn a_longer_gear_asks_for_more_load() {
+        let c = cfg();
+        let f = resistive_force_n(8.0, 0.0, &c);
+        let mut g = Gearing::default();
+        g.set_gear(1);
+        let easy = g.load_gradient_pct(f, c.total_mass_kg(), 5.1);
+        g.set_gear(12);
+        let hard = g.load_gradient_pct(f, c.total_mass_kg(), 5.1);
+        assert!(hard > easy, "top gear must load more: {hard} vs {easy}");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_climb_loads_more_than_the_flat() {
+        let c = cfg();
+        let g = Gearing::default();
+        let flat = g.load_gradient_pct(resistive_force_n(8.0, 0.0, &c), c.total_mass_kg(), 5.1);
+        let climb = g.load_gradient_pct(resistive_force_n(8.0, 6.0, &c), c.total_mass_kg(), 5.1);
+        assert!(climb > flat, "a hill must be harder: {climb} vs {flat}");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn air_resistance_shows_up_as_load_at_speed() {
+        // Flat road: the only thing that grows with speed is drag, so the
+        // commanded load must grow with it too.
+        let c = cfg();
+        let g = Gearing::default();
+        let slow = g.load_gradient_pct(resistive_force_n(4.0, 0.0, &c), c.total_mass_kg(), 5.1);
+        let fast = g.load_gradient_pct(resistive_force_n(14.0, 0.0, &c), c.total_mass_kg(), 5.1);
+        assert!(fast > slow, "drag must load at speed: {fast} vs {slow}");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_steep_descent_honestly_offers_little_load() {
+        // Not a bug: gravity exceeds drag, so a real rider freewheels.
+        let c = cfg();
+        let g = Gearing::default();
+        let load = g.load_gradient_pct(resistive_force_n(10.0, -8.0, &c), c.total_mass_kg(), 5.1);
+        assert!(load < 0.0, "a steep descent should not demand work: {load}");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn absurd_inputs_do_not_produce_absurd_targets() {
+        let g = Gearing::default();
+        assert_eq!(g.load_gradient_pct(f32::NAN, 100.0, 5.1), 0.0);
+        assert!(g.load_gradient_pct(1e9, 100.0, 5.1).is_finite());
+        assert!(g.load_gradient_pct(100.0, 0.0, 0.0).is_finite());
     }
 }
diff --git a/crates/core/src/physics.rs b/crates/core/src/physics.rs
index 5d4950f..9192872 100644
--- a/crates/core/src/physics.rs
+++ b/crates/core/src/physics.rs
@@ -250,6 +250,27 @@ pub fn equilibrium_speed_mps(power_w: f32, gradient_pct: f32, cfg: &RiderConfig)
     0.5 * (lo + hi)
 }
 
+/// Total resistive force at a given speed and gradient, newtons.
+///
+/// This is what the road is doing to the rider: gravity down the slope, rolling
+/// resistance, and aerodynamic drag rising with the square of speed. It is the
+/// force a trainer must reproduce at the wheel for the ride to feel real, and
+/// therefore the basis for virtual gearing (see `crate::gearing`).
+pub fn resistive_force_n(speed_mps: f32, gradient_pct: f32, cfg: &RiderConfig) -> f32 {
+    let forces = Forces::new(0.0, gradient_pct, cfg);
+    let v = if speed_mps.is_finite() {
+        speed_mps.clamp(0.0, MAX_SPEED_MPS)
+    } else {
+        0.0
+    };
+    let f = forces.resistive_n + forces.drag_k * v * v;
+    if f.is_finite() {
+        f
+    } else {
+        0.0
+    }
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use super::*;
diff --git a/crates/core/src/session.rs b/crates/core/src/session.rs
index ff35ae1..ddb7ba7 100644
--- a/crates/core/src/session.rs
+++ b/crates/core/src/session.rs
@@ -184,6 +184,17 @@ impl RideSession {
                 .step(power_w, self.simulated_gradient_pct(), &self.config, dt);
             // Pull the model back toward what the flywheel is really doing.
             // Pure physics lets a spun-out rider "coast" downhill at 39 km/h.
+            // Keep the cadence servo running purely as a readout of how far the
+            // rider is from the cadence their gear implies; the load itself is
+            // computed directly below rather than servoed toward it.
+            self.gearing
+                .update(telemetry.cadence_rpm, self.physics.speed_mps, dt);
+
+            // Correct toward the trainer's own measured speed — NOT toward
+            // cadence x virtual gear. That would be circular: the servo's target
+            // cadence is derived from speed, so making speed follow cadence
+            // leaves it nothing to correct and the gears stop doing anything.
+            // Physics owns the speed; cadence is the servo's feedback signal.
             if let Some(kph) = telemetry.speed_kph {
                 self.physics
                     .correct_toward(kph / 3.6, self.config.trainer_speed_weight, dt);
@@ -202,7 +213,7 @@ impl RideSession {
                     // to what the physics simulated: shifting changes effort,
                     // not the speed the terrain implies.
                     ControlTarget::Gradient { percent } => ControlTarget::Gradient {
-                        percent: (percent + self.gearing.offset_pct())
+                        percent: (percent + self.gearing.correction_pct())
                             .max(self.config.descent_load_floor_pct),
                     },
                     other => other,
@@ -940,4 +951,63 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(s.snapshot(powered(250)).virtual_speed_kph > 5.0);
     }
 
+
+    #[test]
+    fn cadence_and_gear_pull_the_speed_toward_the_drivetrain_constraint() {
+        // On a real bike wheel speed is locked to cadence x gear. The model
+        // should not drift far from that, whatever the force balance says.
+        let mut s = session();
+        s.start();
+        s.gearing.set_gear(6);
+        let development = s.gearing.development_m();
+
+        // Ride at a steady cadence with modest power for long enough to settle.
+        let t = Telemetry {
+            power_w: Some(150),
+            cadence_rpm: Some(85.0),
+            ..Default::default()
+        };
+        for _ in 0..400 {
+            s.tick(t, 0.25);
+        }
+
+        // The servo's job is to make the rider's cadence agree with the gear,
+        // by leaning on the load until it does — not to force the speed to
+        // match. So what must converge is the cadence TARGET, not the speed.
+        let target = s.gearing.target_cadence_rpm(s.physics().speed_mps);
+        assert!(
+            (target - 85.0).abs() < 25.0,
+            "gear {development:.1} m implies {target:.0} rpm; rider is turning 85"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn the_gear_servo_finds_load_when_the_rider_spins_out() {
+        // The descent failure that started this: steep downhill, rider spinning
+        // far faster than the gear implies. The commanded gradient must come
+        // back up so there is something to push against.
+        let mut s = session();
+        s.start();
+        s.config.descent_load_floor_pct = f32::NEG_INFINITY;
+        // A descent is ridden in a BIG gear — as on a real bike. In a short
+        // gear the bike simply outruns the rider's legs and the honest answer
+        // is that they are freewheeling, not that the trainer owes them load.
+        while s.gearing.shift_up() {}
+        s.nudge_gradient(-6.0);
+
+        let spun_out = Telemetry {
+            power_w: Some(40),
+            cadence_rpm: Some(120.0),
+            ..Default::default()
+        };
+        for _ in 0..200 {
+            s.tick(spun_out, 0.25);
+        }
+        assert!(
+            s.gearing.correction_pct() > 0.5,
+            "servo should have added load, got {}",
+            s.gearing.correction_pct()
+        );
+    }
+
 }
diff --git a/crates/core/src/types.rs b/crates/core/src/types.rs
index fb8c3f1..f72b05a 100644
--- a/crates/core/src/types.rs
+++ b/crates/core/src/types.rs
@@ -131,6 +131,17 @@ pub struct RiderConfig {
     /// it. Set to a large negative number to disable.
     #[serde(default = "default_descent_load_floor")]
     pub descent_load_floor_pct: f32,
+    /// Development of the bike's *real* gear — metres travelled per crank
+    /// revolution through the Zwift Cog. Virtual gears are expressed relative
+    /// to this, so it sets the leverage between the two.
+    ///
+    /// A 34T chainring on a 14T cog with a 2.1 m wheel is 5.1 m.
+    #[serde(default = "default_physical_development")]
+    pub physical_development_m: f32,
+}
+
+fn default_physical_development() -> f32 {
+    5.1
 }
 
 fn default_descent_load_floor() -> f32 {
@@ -144,15 +155,16 @@ fn default_trainer_speed_weight() -> f32 {
 impl Default for RiderConfig {
     fn default() -> Self {
         Self {
-            rider_kg: 75.0,
+            rider_kg: 105.0,
             bike_kg: 8.0,
             crr: 0.004,
             cda: 0.32,
             drivetrain_efficiency: 0.97,
             air_density: 1.225,
-            wheel_circumference_m: 2.105,
+            wheel_circumference_m: 2.1,
             trainer_speed_weight: default_trainer_speed_weight(),
             descent_load_floor_pct: default_descent_load_floor(),
+            physical_development_m: default_physical_development(),
         }
     }
 }