Try to keep the chain in a sort-of straight line between the front and rear sets, rather than going at an extreme angle from left to right. For example, in the very lowest gear, the chain will be all the way on the left on both sets. In the very highest gear, the chain will be all the way on the right. That stretches the chain and wears it out.
Instead, shift the front set from the left to the middle 1 to 2. That keeps your chain nice and straight. Which brings us to…. Check our article. The ever-increasing number of gears on bikes is mostly marketing hype. For the most part, all the extra gears are useless. My childhood bike had just 10 gears. Then bikes went to 15 gears. Then Do you really need that many gears?
What you really need is a good range of gears. You need gears that are low enough for going up tough hills, and gears that are high enough that you can keep pedaling when going down gentle inclines.
If your gear range is good, the number of gears is irrelevant. You just need enough of a range. Once you feel comfortable on the flat, progress to some more challenging roads. Even better, go for some lessons. There is an excellent charity based here in Hove called Bike for Life that does adult cycling lessons both one-on-one and in groups.
These can be invaluable in helping you develop a good relationship with your bike and your road use as a whole. Fair enough, not everyone needs the latest 27 Speed high specification machine. But gears are there for everyone. Although they can be quite daunting at first, with focus and practice, this will soon pass. Smooth, regular use of your gears will result in a better-working, longer-lasting and more reliable ride.
The relationship between you and your bike should be of master and servant. You are in control; it does what you tell it. Learn how it works, treat it well and it will give you much benefit and pleasure. Great article. Having just started riding a bike since my teens about 25 years and always riding a single speed BMX'er, this information was a Godsend. Thank you for writing it. Now I understand why my bike makes those God-awful noises! Thabks again. Everything I have been trying to patiently explain to my son is set out clearly here with diagrams, brilliant article thanks!!!
This was very helpful and clearly delineated information about basic of gear usage. Tips are extremely helpful and practical. Thank you. Great article - my other half has been trying to explain this to me but I was struggling.
Hopefully this will make it easier. I've spent the last couple of days searching for simple information on how the gears work and how best to use them. Yours is by far the best article I've come across - thank you from a year old getting back on my bike for the first time in decades!
The "chain line" was very well described and depicted - the hints and tips useful. Thank you for a clean and easy to understand article. OMG you are a saviour been googling all day, after being out on my new bike a few times and realising I didn't have a clue.
This has been tremendous. I can't thank you enough. With your friendly, encouraging and patient explanation of even the very basic of the parts of the bike, specifically gears, I am able to enjoy riding my new bike with confidence and even pride.
You see I have been cycling over the past 10 years using a second hand bike but never knew much about anything except to paddle! Asking bike retailer or watching You Tube videos only made me more confused because they expect or assume prior knowledge which I did not have.
Now at 67, I finally find the help that I so desperately need. Now I enjoy cycling with renewed energy. You are simply amazing people, I so treasure the precious knowledge you impart on me. Thanks a trillion. Excellent article with link to photos for a beginner! Thanks for sharing expertise in a simple language. Great little article! I am like many posters here , last on a bike 5 speed racer!
So changing to 21 gears was a shock! Many thanks. Outstanding article. Thanks so much for making a complex subject simple and clear! I'm eighty six,have a wonderful German built adult trike, but want also to try a recumbent trike for variety. The one I'm going to buy has thirty speeds and I was a bit daunted by that fact. Now I see my way clearly to use them1.
I got my first modern bike in my 50s, after moving to a city where it looked useful to have. I've been riding it now for almost five years without a real understanding of how to use my gears. This article was extremely helpful! Good article! Made me feel a little less intimidated with my derailleur 21 gear system that I have yet to adjust. Currently have to keep my thumb on the shifter to stay in the top chainring. As a lapsed cyclist of 45 years and never having ridden a bike with gears this is all very helpful.
I was looking all over the net and you tube for someone to tell me in lay mans terms what the difference between the left and right gears are, and the terminology. This article is brilliant! Thank you for making me understand. Thanks for a very valid and interesting article. Being brought up on 3 speed Sturmey Archers, derailiers have always been a mystery that is best avoided. That is, until now.
I am off to crack my 24 gear Dawes, and with practice I will master the black art. My thanks for your time and effort, it is much appreciated. I am 70 by the way, it's never to late.
Impulse led me to get a new career Silvana so I could explore the south downs. So glad I took the time to read up and understand this tutorial. I would have just 'steamed in' with no appreciation of how to get the best from my bike. Thanks to you I am starting to see its full potential. So if you are new to cycling or just bemused with the gearing setup you have then take your time , have patience and enjoy a smooth ride.
Thanks again I just bought a new bike, and took it back because I thought my gears weren't set up correctly. I was then explained about using the two biggest or smallest cogs, as you explain so well here.
It's a very important tip, as is your well written article here. Thankyou so much!!! This article literally gave me everything i needed to know. Just bought a new bike, going to practise right now :. Awesome article. The way the extra push was explained, I remembered the same mistake I did when I was learning to change gears. And I didn't know that I shouldn't ride with any combination of my wish!!! Thank you for sharing this article. Best article I've read thus far regarding anything of a bicycle!!
Excellent article keep it up!! Great article Can't wait to try it out again tomorrow on a short local ride. I already know all this stuff, but I thought your explanation was very comprehensive and very clear. I enjoyed it. If you can include a few pretty pictures to show cross-chaining as well as the different gear ratios and leverages in Low 1st and High 8th, your article will be even better. The 'chain line' explanation was excellent and put my mind at rest.
I thought my rear derailleur and or front was out of tune and that I might be facing a more expensive replacement parts service. Great info thanks guys I've owned my bike for 18 years. As a kid, I rode 1 and 3-speed bikes, so its 24 gears did me in when I first got it. I didn't ride it at all for 17 years! With an 8-year old son addicted to his bike and begging for longer rides, it was time for Mom to figure it out.
Today, I rode 3 miles and spent a fair bit of time figuring out gears; I only walked one steep hill and I'm proud of my effort and sore. This post has helped me think about my gears in a different way and I'll go practice on the flat tomorrow to increase my confidence, skill, and therefore, safety. Thanks for taking the time to write it. I am just beginning to use my bike again after 14 years in the shed. It's just for around the town so I am off to put the LHS to the middle cog!!!!
Thank you for an explanation that was understandable even to someone with no mechanical knowledge. Thank you for writing this! Fantastic article! Just one point: what you refer to as cogs are actually sprockets. For them to be cogs they would have to be in direct contact with one another. Excellent article. I bought a nice mountain bike at the weekend, took it out for a spin but struggled with the shift to the big ring.
Now I know why and can't wait to get out again to put this advice into practice. Also, I can use this to help my daughter learn how to use her gears properly. Thankyou for clarifying the names of the different parts of a gear bike.
I have learnt of the do's and don'ts when using my new mountain bike. A brilliant article on a crash-course to using gears! Having not ridden a bike for almost 23 years a lot of technology has gone into gears, and I can only remember my first mountain bike having only 6 gears! This simple education will prolong my bike components and provide a more enjoyable cycle experience!
Last bike I rode had a 4-speed Sturmey Archer Gear system. Thanks for a great article Well Done This Article! Let me add to the cacophany of applause for this article. I'm helping my daughter get the hang of gears to date with limited success. This piece really explains it so well with practical tips that help. Like Paul Buckroyd 10 May , I'm 67 but a novice cyclist. Bought my first bike 21 speed 3 months ago. Read this article and found it very useful.
Have just about mastered gear-shifting but a couple of niggles remain: I've just re-read the article and can see the solutions "extra push" and the "pregnant pause". Can't wait to try them tomorrow. A great piece of concise instruction. I'm an old-timer - one of those used to 3 gears. Then I moved on but unfortunately my thinking didn't. So this article has helped give me the confidence to start using my Shimano gears correctly.
I had been avoiding changing on to the biggest chainring since the chain had slipped off whilst I was out and entailed getting greased up to replace it. But now I see the reasoning and can use your tips to change gear safely - I just spent a fruitful half-hour practising and found I can do it! Thanks from an old dog who has learned a new trick. This will get you into a"you are one with the bike" attitude! TRY IT! I was fascinated with cycling and always wanted to buy ne.
I recently bought a cycle and the experience was god. However I always thought that the shop keeper had cheated me as the gear shift on the front chainrings were difficult then the rear cogs. Thanks to this article I noe understand the basics of cycling. This article is very informative for beginners like me. Thank you.. Appreciate it!! This brought back some memories from when I was much younger. I am 67 now. I was told these Derailleur Gears were a brand new development. I had the first one sold to the public here in town.
The only problem was the cable between the gear shift on the Top Tube and the sprocket on the rear wheel kept breaking. It got to the point where I had to carry an extra cable and tools with me at all times. They said this was the cable they were now using on airplanes. I said, if so, I think I would rather walk. That was an expensive bike back when new. I was just a paperboy. When I brought that home I got the 3rd degree from my dad on where did I get the money for this bike.
I said the owner of the bike shop was one of my customers when I delivered the morning newspaper. Since I always got the paper to him on time and put it inside there screen door like they asked me to he let me pay for the bike at so much every so often.
That was a great bike and since then the cables are no longer a problem. Us kids in the neighborhood learned with our bikes that there was a whole lot of world out there beyond our neighborhoods. That bike started my love for the Corvettes. Counting the Schwinn as 1, I just picked up my 30 Corvette, a , a month or so ago. Thanks for listening Thanks for a great explanation.
I ride a good quality aluminium road bike - 3 rides a week - probably about 70 miles a week plus a few longer sportives in the summer. I am not interested in the latest carbon bikes, or shaving ounces off thwe weight of the bike etc.
But I would like to use the most reliable set of gears possible - not necessarily the lightest just the most reliable even if they do cost a few bob. If you have any advice I would be very grateful. Good article. What I don't understand is if it's a no no to use certain gear combinations, then what's the point of having all that gearing at your disposal if you don't need it. Many a time I have gone up a hill on the big chain ring with the chain on the large freewheel sprocket!
I have done this because it is there and it makes it easier. Plain English Very helpful thankyou. Great article! Crisp and clear. It is good to learn so much about the gears that we ride with. Thanks for the 'pregnant pause' insight, at first I had felt something wasn't correct with my bike however trying what I read made the difference.
Interesting and useful article - I've used gears for years but had forgotten after a period away from bikes when to use the front rings most appropriately.
And you've spelt stationary correctly! Like many comments on here, I cycled everywhere as a kid- then got a bike in my 30s after not riding one for years and rode around, moaning about how bikes are just over engineered now. Every "one of the most common mistakes is I'm printing this page and going on a long ride around a car park as punishment for what I did to my not-so-long suffering bike.
Sorry bike, it wasn't your fault at all.. Great article I was struggling understanding my gears and getting that relationship between bike and rider right. But know were getting on much better and enjoying our rides. Excellent advice! Just got a bike for the first time in 20 years and I was making some weird sounds and after reading this, I think I was putting it in the rattling state of limbo you mentioned.
At first I worried there was a mechanical issue, but as I was sometimes successful with no rattles, I realized I probably needed to learn how to use it properly. I'm really grateful for the info! Im a new bike rider, now i need to know what gear i should use before a hill and starting off. Thank you so much for this article! I haven't ridden a bike in over 15 years and just bought one off of craigslist to start getting more exercise and boy was I confused by all the gears this thing had.
I guess my barbie bike didn't have all those fancy things. So this has helped me a bunch! I will save this page and continue to come back to it! Thanks again! Fantastic article. Many Thanks. I bought my bike eighteen months ago. I have never used Derailleur gears before, only bikes with an internal rear hub, and as the chap in the bike shop simply wheeled the thing out of the shop for me, without so much as a word, I never gave using derailleur gears a second thought.
I have been struggling since, until I read your article that is. Thank you so much for telling me what I should have been told in the bike shop, and telling it so well.
Now I know where I was going wrong, trying to change gear on hills and so on. Thank you again! Thanks to my grandchildren I am back on a bike for the first time in nearly fifty years - a scary but exciting prospect! So far I have locked completely on a slope and another time my chain came off I shall no longer blame the bike it wasn't expensive and I shall go and practise in some discreet corner - thank you SO much for this article. This is an amazing article.
I bought my first geared bicycle last weekend and rode it all over the neighbourhood and concluded that "gears on a bike are dumb and they do not help". Yesterday I stumbled upon this article when searching on gears, I was searching coz I didn't want to harm my chain by using and wanted to use just one gear for the rest of my rides, and it was an interesting read.
I will suggest all my new biking friends to read this. Thank you so much for taking the time to jot this down. This is a good article for sure. Just started riding bike again for first time in 44 years and it's totally different thing now with the modern gears, hadn't a clue, scary!
Thanks for sane, not too technical explanations, really useful aid to understanding and practice; now I know why chain came off first time out! Will be practising, practising practising along our luckily quiet country lanes. Also recommend The Cycling Bug short videos on cornering, putting chain back on and post-ride maintenance.
I haven't ridden a bike since I finished being a student in Now I have a new bike again but I was so confused about the gears. I get it now. Beautifully explained. This is just what the doctor has ordered Thanx a lot Thank you, what a very well written article and most helpful to one who has been off her bike for a little while and needed a refresher course on gear use.
I"ve just started riding a bike again after 42 years and boy did I find a big difference in gear shifting as my last bike was a 3 gear twist grip this 18 gear bike is a different beast, after reading this item wow what a more enjoyable riding experience I'm now. Thanks for this! I just got my bike back on the road and starting riding it again after 20 something years, I needed a bit of a refresher on the chainset!
Thanks so much for the clear explanation. I decided to venture out and engage the LHS on a recent trip on my new bicycle. My gears locked up completely going up a hill and I was just barely able to clip out. I will shift earlier now. On your shift lever, the lowest number, No. Positioning your gear lever to 1 moves your drive chain to the largest sprocket on the rear cassette. First gear is the lowest gear and the easiest for climbing hills. Most multispeed bikes possess seven gears but may have up to nine.
If your drive chain is on the smallest sprocket, which is the hardest gear, moving it to first gear causes the drive chain to climb up six spaces on the cassette if you have seven gears.
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