Help with gears and other basic questions

[SwissPea]

Hi all

I've just started cycling after a break of about 20 years, last time I rode a bike it was a childs bike with no gears. I have a Trek 4 series, 3 gears on the left side and 6 on the right. I'm not sure about gear selection, I seem to either pedal like crazy and get nowhere fast or really peddle hard and it's a bit of a struggle. I will mainly be cycling on cycle paths in town or on paths/gravel roads etc, won't be doing much off roading in the near future.

I started off okay today but seemed to struggle after a while, it could be because I have zero cycling stamina but am wondering if my gear selection is making things a bit more tricky for myself than need be. Should I be having to change gear a lot? I started off okay but seemed to lose my rythm and then everything turned into a farce, I was either peddling a lot or peddling was like trying to get through treacle. I'm also not sure what gear I should be aiming for with hills, high or low? And what does high or low mean? Is high 1 or 6? I got off and pushed at one point because I was just going nowhere.

Lastly (for now) how far should I be looking to cycle initially? I cycled for about 30 minutes today and was v. glad to see home Should I try and do better daily or maintain that for a week then aim for longer?

Thanks in advance, sorry for the complete novice questions.

 

[rollinstok]

As a general rule use your left hand gears as follows
gear 1 ( smallest cog ) use for climbing hills
gear 2 ( middle cog ) use for leisurely flat rides
gear 3 ( biggest cog ) use for riding fast

Once you have picked a suitable l/h gear, fine tune it by using your right hand gears... 1 is easier but a little slower, through to 6 which is harder to pedal but faster

Try not to use l/h gear 1 with r/h gears 5 and 6
Try not to use l/h gear 3 with r/h gears 1 and 2
This will cause your chain and cogs to wear faster because the chain will be at an angle that it doesnt like

 

[fatblokish]

As rollinstok states for the gear selection.

As for distance/duration, 30 minutes is fine for a first ride. Just go with the flow. You may choose to pick a variety of routes to get a cycling perspective of your local area, and each will no doubt its own variety of hills (or mountains in your case) and place different demands on your stamina/gluteous maximus. Just make sure you finish your ride wanting more.

 

[fatblokish]

Should also add that it is generally best to relax on the pedals when the gear mechanism is changing, in much the same way as you would use a clutch on the car. Doing this will make the gear changes much smoother and lessen the strain on the gear changers.

 

[SwissPea]

Great, thanks so much for the advice. Nice tip also re. the pedals when gear changing, I did get a bit panicky when I was trying to pedal when changing gear, was a bit clunky and nothing happened for what seemed like ages (but was probably only a second or two).

I do want to keep at it, its a good way to keep fit and get out in the fresh air.

 

[helston90]

and to round it off the number and frequency of gear changes depends on the terrain and your goals. If its flat-ish and you're not stopping due to traffic too much then you shouldn't need to change a great deal. However if you're very hill (looks at your location and realises you could be) then yes you'll be up and down them like a ferret for efficient ups and high speed downs.

 

[Herzog]

Hi all

I've just started cycling after a break of about 20 years, last time I rode a bike it was a childs bike with no gears. I have a Trek 4 series, 3 gears on the left side and 6 on the right. I'm not sure about gear selection, I seem to either pedal like crazy and get nowhere fast or really peddle hard and it's a bit of a struggle. I will mainly be cycling on cycle paths in town or on paths/gravel roads etc, won't be doing much off roading in the near future.

I started off okay today but seemed to struggle after a while, it could be because I have zero cycling stamina but am wondering if my gear selection is making things a bit more tricky for myself than need be. Should I be having to change gear a lot? I started off okay but seemed to lose my rythm and then everything turned into a farce, I was either peddling a lot or peddling was like trying to get through treacle. I'm also not sure what gear I should be aiming for with hills, high or low? And what does high or low mean? Is high 1 or 6? I got off and pushed at one point because I was just going nowhere.

Lastly (for now) how far should I be looking to cycle initially? I cycled for about 30 minutes today and was v. glad to see home Should I try and do better daily or maintain that for a week then aim for longer?

Thanks in advance, sorry for the complete novice questions.

Depending where you are (I'm in Canton Bern where, as you'll know, it can get very hilly), you'll probably need pretty low gears if you're just getting back into it. One of the main things is to gradually increase your distances, not going from 0 to 50km in a week. On the plus side, we have some amazing scenery over here, and the car drivers tend to give you a lot more space than in the UK.

 

[GrasB]

Apologies for splicing your posts.

Lastly (for now) how far should I be looking to cycle initially? I cycled for about 30 minutes today and was v. glad to see home Should I try and do better daily or maintain that for a week then aim for longer?... ...I do want to keep at it, its a good way to keep fit and get out in the fresh air.

If you're just cycling for the sake of cycling without any goals then just as far as you feel comfortable that day. You don't want to make your self feel like it's a chore to do your miles. I've got some serious screws loose up stairs ( <-- me on a 'good day' <-- me on a 'normal day') & do silly milages but I still have days I just go 'I just can't be bothered with this....' & just go home.

Great, thanks so much for the advice. Nice tip also re. the pedals when gear changing, I did get a bit panicky when I was trying to pedal when changing gear, was a bit clunky and nothing happened for what seemed like ages (but was probably only a second or two).

Am I right in thinking that the bike isn't a brand new bike? It may be that it needs a bit of TLC at a good bike shop. You should be able to maintain a reasonable force on the pedals & still change gears, assuming that you don't have a hub gear (6 speeds but only one sprocket on the back of the bike).

Thanks in advance, sorry for the complete novice questions.

You have to learn & until you become an experienced cyclist there's no such thing as a stupid question!

 

[SwissPea]

Im in Zurich, so hilly in some areas but lots of flat too. Im trying to stick to the flat and not do too much at once (not as though my legs will let me anyway).

I dont really have any goals atm, aiming to build up some stamina and confidence so by summer will get a bit further afield.

Bike was brand new at the end of last summer. Had about 4 or 5 outings, none of them very far. Had a few topplings over, and that dented my confidence a little.

 

[Rahul Sapariya]

You could try changing the tyres to nice smooth ones. This should reduce the drag on the wheels and you should be able to coast more with smooth tyres. I'd suggest finding the gear you are most comfortable riding in but my guess would be something like gear 2 on the front and gear 4 on the back. When I had a geared back, I never really used the low gears, even on hills, because I like a good challenge

 

[akb]

Just to add to the excellent advice above, try and work on your cadence and the stamina should come in time. Cadences is measured in rpm (revolution of the pedals per minute) The aim is to keep the cadence constant throughout a ride (well, thats how i learnt anyway) and change gears as neccesary to maintain a constant cadence. You will also suss out which gears you will need all the time. If you are finding pedalling hard, drop down a gear. If you are finding the peddaling too easy, pedals are uncontrolably spinning, change up a gear whilst still trying to maintain the same cadence.