Gearing

[matt joy]

Hello

After reading the creat story of swampyseifer learning to ride a bike as an adult and noticing there are quite a few newbies who lurk/post on this forum (myself being one of them) i was hoping that one of the more experience cyclist might be able to give a brief overview of how to get the best out of your gears when cycling

Matt

 

[rowan 46]

hi matt, Are you on about maintenance or best gears to use? There are plenty of good vids on youtube for maintenance. as to which is best to use that's down to personal preference, riding style, general fitness etc. Generally if you want to build leg muscles keep to as high a gear as is comfortable you should feel a mild burn on the legs. however this can lead to knee problems if it's overdone. My knees are not in great shape so I tend to keep on the middle chain ring thus easing strain on my knees this however means I don't go at a great rate of knots.

 

[Banjo]

If you have more than one chainring on the front its important to keep the chain straight as possible by not using the inside front chainring with the ouitside cog on the rear cassette.(or vice versa)

With a few miles under your belt you will find out what is comfortable for you. Some riders prefer to spin the pedals fast in a low gear others use a higher gear with more force and turn them more slowly to achieve the same speed.

As Rowan 46 said turning too high a gear puts greater load on your knees . A lot of cyclists suffer knee problems at some time so my advice is keep in a lower gear spin a bit quicker on the pedals and keep the loads on your knees to a minimum.

 

[swampyseifer]

hi

wow...I'm inspiring threads now!

Just thought I'd say that there was a post made by daSmirnov in the "learning" thread that summed up how to use my 21 gear MTB

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/learning.90771/post-1640011

 

[Cubist]

Hi Matt
There are no hard and fast rules to gearing. A simple rule of thumb is that you use the gear which is the most comfortable for the piece of road you're on, so don't start trying to think too hard about it.

Start off in the middle chainring if you have a triple, or smaller chainring if you have a double. The rear sprocket should be one of the larger ones, ie an easy gear to pedal. As you get going you can use your right shifter to change up into a harder or more efficient gear.

If you start to feel that pedalling is too hard, change into an easier gear. If it's too easy change to a harder gear. There really is nothing more to it.

 

[matt joy]

it was more of getting the most out of gears when im cycling.

Ive had it a few times where im picking up pace and going up the gears and dont know if its best to stay in my second ring by the pedals and go through all the gears on my rear wheel, or halfway through going up the gears change to the next ring?

 

[Nebulous]

Okay - some huge generalisations here, but it applied to me and might very well apply to you.

I claim on here to have been cycling for a year - which is not quite true- I've actually cycled most of my life, though some years I may have done no more than 100 miles. I've been cycling seriously for a year. My big mistake was in believing that it was somehow 'better' to be in a high gear. I had a triple mountain bike with 21 gears and really only used the top gear in the middle ring and the same in the big ring.

When I moved to a road bike with 18 gears I again spent most of my time in the highest gear.

I have worked quite a bit on increasing my revolutions in a lower gear and it has made a huge difference to my cycling.

There is a big range for cyclists, and to some extent it is a matter of fashion, but generally beginners churn away too slowly. 80-100 revs per minute is a reasonable range on the flat. If you are considerably below that you should build it up a bit at a time.

In my triple I tend to use gears 2-5 in the middle ring and then change to the big ring. Again its to some extent personal preference, but try to keep your chain reasonably straight.

 

[CopperCyclist]

If you start to feel that pedalling is too hard, change into an easier gear. If it's too easy change to a harder gear. There really is nothing more to it.

+1 to this, especially when you are just starting off. Don't worry about cadence, gear ratios etc, just change gear until its comfortable to you.

Once you're used to it, you can start working out whether you are someone who prefers to grind "keeps the bike in a high gear, so that the pedals turn slowly and require a lot of effort to turn" or spin "keep the bike on a low gear, so that the pedals turn quickly and require little effort to turn". Personally, I prefer to spin, but a friend I travel to and from work with sometimes just can't do anything but grind, and finds it exhausting to spin.

 

[EYE-TYE-MAD]

Hello

After reading the creat story of swampyseifer learning to ride a bike as an adult and noticing there are quite a few newbies who lurk/post on this forum (myself being one of them) i was hoping that one of the more experience cyclist might be able to give a brief overview of how to get the best out of your gears when cycling

Matt

The objective use of gears is to maintain a narrow range of pedalling rates, otherwise known as cadence. Many newbies make the mistake of selecting a big gear with slow revolution speeds believing that unless they feel it in the legs the bike isn't moving efficiently. Not so, in fact a higher cadence, faster pedalling rate, is what you should be aiming for, it is much more efficient & a lot less tiring, a must if you intend to ride any distance.

 

[tyred]

When starting off as a beginner, you will tend to mash the high gears as you do not have the leg suppleness to spin the low gears at a high cadence and pedalling low gears will feel as if you are going nowhere. (IMO)

Use whatever gear feels comfortable but it is worthwhile to practising spinning the low gears. Buy a cheap cycle computer if you don't already have one and you will quickly realise that you can often maintain the same speed for less effort in a lower gear. You may find you get out of breath doing this to begin with but your fitness will quickly improve and it is easier on your joints and you will be able to keep it up for a longer distance. What you need to do is to experiment as the ideal cadence depends on the individual and many different factors and don't listen to anyone who tells you that you should be able to climb this hill in a particular gear, go with what is comfortable for you.

 

[tongskie01]

make sure you have the right crank length for your height, or leg length.

 

[EYE-TYE-MAD]

+1 to this, especially when you are just starting off. Don't worry about cadence, gear ratios etc, just change gear until its comfortable to you.

Once you're used to it, you can start working out whether you are someone who prefers to grind "keeps the bike in a high gear, so that the pedals turn slowly and require a lot of effort to turn" or spin "keep the bike on a low gear, so that the pedals turn quickly and require little effort to turn". Personally, I prefer to spin, but a friend I travel to and from work with sometimes just can't do anything but grind, and finds it exhausting to spin.

Totally & utterly wrong! Cadence is everything. It's the holy grail of efficient cycling. Keeping the bike in a gear that dictates a slow pedalling speed is the most inefficient method of riding, likewise, constantly moving up & down the gears . Unlike a car engine human efficiency is confined to a narrow range of revs, which for most people on a bike is between 80-100rpm. Next time there is a major cycling event on the box take a look at the proffesionals, yes, they will be turning a big gear, but not slowly.

 

[CopperCyclist]

Totally & utterly wrong! Cadence is everything. It's the holy grail of efficient cycling. Keeping the bike in a gear that dictates a slow pedalling speed is the most inefficient method of riding, likewise, constantly moving up & down the gears . Unlike a car engine human efficiency is confined to a narrow range of revs, which for most people on a bike is between 80-100rpm. Next time there is a major cycling event on the box take a look at the proffesionals, yes, they will be turning a big gear, but not slowly.

Yes, and I don't disagree with you. I turn a high cadence all the time - I have no device to measure my cadence, but have been told be someone behind me who does (and kept theirs at 90) that I keep around 100rpm.

However, for someone who is literally just starting out, without even having an idea how gears work, I still recommend simply pedalling and changing gear when you find it to hard, before sitting down to work out what cadence you 'should' be cycling at. These are considerations for a bit later when you've decided how serious you are going to be.

 

[lukesdad]

Totally & utterly wrong! Cadence is everything. It's the holy grail of efficient cycling. Keeping the bike in a gear that dictates a slow pedalling speed is the most inefficient method of riding, likewise, constantly moving up & down the gears . Unlike a car engine human efficiency is confined to a narrow range of revs, which for most people on a bike is between 80-100rpm. Next time there is a major cycling event on the box take a look at the proffesionals, yes, they will be turning a big gear, but not slowly.

Try telling that to Bert Grabsch

 

[EYE-TYE-MAD]

Yes, and I don't disagree with you. I turn a high cadence all the time - I have no device to measure my cadence, but have been told be someone behind me who does (and kept theirs at 90) that I keep around 100rpm.

However, for someone who is literally just starting out, without even having an idea how gears work, I still recommend simply pedalling and changing gear when you find it to hard, before sitting down to work out what cadence you 'should' be cycling at. These are considerations for a bit later when you've decided how serious you are going to be.

True, but you would not recommend a learner driver to set off in forth gear, or indeed to ramain in first gear for the duration of a journey. It is equally important to advocate the correct use of gears on a bike, particularly to someone new to cycling.