Am I the only one who forgets gears?

[cream*caffeine]

Please tell me I'm not. :) I'm a biking noob. (just like my message says!) My friend, Lauren, infiltrated my mind, and now I have come to bike for fun. GAH! :D Living in the NW, one has lots of hills to overcome - so, you go down (3-2-1) in gears to go up steeper hills, and when you're on the level (haha) about 3, and going down, lower (4-5-6), right?

(all of those are coming from the point of view of a 6-speed.)

And btw, hello to ya'll! I'm rather excited to be part of this community!

[Grog]

Why not just do what feels best? Nothing can really get broken if you go wrong... If it feels too hard, change gear until it feels easier... If it feels too easy, change until it feels just right. No?

All systems are a bit different, and some don't have gear numbers or indicators at all.

Good luck! And welcome to TE!

[Zen]

I have no idea what gear I'm in. Never. Ever.

[Yen]

Please tell me I'm not. :) I'm a biking noob. (just like my message says!) My friend, Lauren, infiltrated my mind, and now I have come to bike for fun. GAH! :D Living in the NW, one has lots of hills to overcome - so, you go down (3-2-1) in gears to go up steeper hills, and when you're on the level (haha) about 3, and going down, lower (4-5-6), right?

Did you mean higher? Gears 4, 5, 6 would be higher gears than 3, 2, 1. On flat ground, you'd usually ride somewhere in the middle. When you see a hill coming, prepare to down-shift to a lower gear as you get to it, making it easier to climb the hill. When you get to the top and level out (or start going back down) then you can shift back up to a higher gear. The idea is to maintain your cadence (the rhythm of turning the crank) so that you're not spinning too much (pedaling too fast all the time) or too hard, but somewhere in between, as much as possible.


(all of those are coming from the point of view of a 6-speed.)

And btw, hello to ya'll! I'm rather excited to be part of this community!

Welcome! I'm relatively new here too, and somewhat new to cycling (just returned a year ago) so if someone wants to set me straight, I'd appreciate that. :)

[kat_h]

When I got my new bike I was really happy to finally be getting up hills without walking, then I couldn't make it up one and was quite disappointed. I got off and walked the rest of the way, then when I was getting back on I noticed I was still on the middle chainring. D'oh!

[SouthernBelle]

The only time I have a real idea of what gear I'm in is when I'm climbing, it's getting hard, and I'll look down hoping to see many more to shift down to.

[cream*caffeine]

So just kinda go by ear? :) (or legs, in this case!)


Did you mean higher? Gears 4, 5, 6 would be higher gears than 3, 2, 1. On flat ground, you'd usually ride somewhere in the middle. When you see a hill coming, prepare to down-shift to a lower gear as you get to it, making it easier to climb the hill. When you get to the top and level out (or start going back down) then you can shift back up to a higher gear. The idea is to maintain your cadence (the rhythm of turning the crank) so that you're not spinning too much (pedaling too fast all the time) or too hard, but somewhere in between, as much as possible.

Yes, I meant higher. I knew that. I know I did. :p

[salsabike]

Yeah, by ear. I never know or look either. The only thing I always try to remember is to make sure that if I'm going to shift out of the middle ring, that I'm vaguely in the middle in back, so that I don't crosschain, which would be SO annoying. Otherwise, I do everything by feel.

[MM_QFC!]

Yeah, by ear. I never know or look either. The only thing I always try to remember is to make sure that if I'm going to shift out of the middle ring, that I'm vaguely in the middle in back, so that I don't crosschain, which would be SO annoying. Otherwise, I do everything by feel.

Exacto, Ms Salsa! Same here...by feel and sound...and soon, you learn which gears you prefer, and which hills bring your gratitude quotient for your low gears waaaaay up and when you are in the wrong one, etc...

welcome to TE and you're in the NW? Question, do you carry that equation thing around with you? :)

[SouthernBelle]

I'm curious as to what you exactly mean by 6 gears. Do you have 2x3? i.e. 2 rings on the front and 3 on the back. Or maybe 1x6?

Or something else. Just checking to get us all on the same page here.

[uforgot]

I have no idea what gear I'm in. Never. Ever.

Me either!

[uforgot]

I'm curious as to what you exactly mean by 6 gears. Do you have 2x3? i.e. 2 rings on the front and 3 on the back. Or maybe 1x6?

Or something else. Just checking to get us all on the same page here.

Twice I have seen bikes advertised on Craigslist that claim to be 13 speeds. Not sure how they calculated that!

[mimitabby]

i often discover i am on the big chain ring right before i have to climb up a hill.
i look. a lot.
and sometimes I throw my chain because i did NOT look.

welcome to TE, i'm a Seattle girl too. (well, not really a girl...i was one half a century ago)

[Yen]

Twice I have seen bikes advertised on Craigslist that claim to be 13 speeds. Not sure how they calculated that!

LOL, good point!

[Melalvai]

Twice I have seen bikes advertised on Craigslist that claim to be 13 speeds. Not sure how they calculated that!
Maybe it's 15 speed, but you don't want to cross-chain, so you don't use the extreme smalls together or the extreme bigs together. Then you've got 4+5+4 = 13.

[Aggie_Ama]

Another clueless one but not a Noob! I just go on feel, when the legs scream I move to a easier one and if I am spinning fast I move to a harder feeling one.

When I am climbing a hill I usually know when I hit my granny gear, otherwise no clue. I do normally know what chain ring am in and without thinking move it back to the middle before switching.

And yes there are people who can tell you what gear they were in, I just don't care to process that. :p

[Melalvai]

I try to keep track of which front gear I'm in, so I don't accidentally go into the extreme crossover (biggest front with biggest rear, or smallest front with smallest rear). At night that gets tricky. I have a twist shifter and the numbers are worn off so in the dark I can't tell at all. So what I do if I forget which front chainring I'm using, is try to shift down without pedalling, and then shift back. If I was in the smallest, then I can't shift down at all.

[teawoman]

Nope. I just started road biking last year and quit last fall with the bad weather. When i got on my trainer a couple of weeks ago, I couldn't remember which hand changed what and what to do to make the biking harder or easier.:p

[Zen]

When i got on my trainer a couple of weeks ago, I couldn't remember which hand changed what and what to do to make the biking harder or easier.:p

Right is
Rear
RRRRRR

[Di bear]

My philosophy: if I'm pedaling slowly because it's difficult, I shift to an easier gear. I like to keep my rpm's at about 90 rpm. If I'm pedaling really fast and I feel I need more resistance, I shift to a more difficult gear.

I start in a harder gear when prepping to go up a hill, and I shift into the next easier gear when my pedaling is in danger of slowing down due to difficulty.

Just do what you need to do. :)

[RolliePollie]

Sometimes I have a vague idea of what gear I'm in, and sometimes I have no clue. I always know which chain ring I'm in though. I have a triple and I use all three on the terrain around here. I try to prepare ahead of time by changing rings if I know there's a big hill ahead. That way, I'm not shifting when I'm pedalling with lots of force. I hate the clangs and bangs that happen when I shift with the chain under too much tension. And I know it's hard on my bike. It took me a while to figure out shifting and to stop dropping my chain constantly. That said, on my next ride I'll probably drop my chain.

The one thing I always know is that when I'm on a really steep hill and I need one more gear, it's never going to be there! I try and try to shift, but nothing happens :rolleyes:

[SlowButSteady]

I have to look.

And then I swerve and almost fall down.

[wackyjacky1]

I have to look.

And then I swerve and almost fall down.

LMAO! Yup, been there. :o

[RolliePollie]

It took me a while to figure out shifting and to stop dropping my chain constantly. That said, on my next ride I'll probably drop my chain.



Unbelievable...I dropped my chain tonight shifting into my small ring. It's either the power of suggestion or I am psychic.

[Trek420]

I have to look.

And then I swerve and almost fall down.

I tried to memorize and keep track but the funny thing is when I can't breath I can't think either :p Used to have Flightdeck which tells what gear and cadence you're in. Now I have Campy and Flightdeck's not compatible with Campy :( Campy Ergobrain is $$$$$$.

I don't miss knowing cadence, that my knees tell me; 90+ bpm - happy knee. Less = grinding to powder ;)

My LBS found a little gizmo that's spliced into the cable on my bar. It tells me rear deraileur gear. I can see if I have another gear or if I gotta just "dig deep" or fall over.

Front I either should know or look down.

[Melalvai]

I got new chainrings yesterday, and new trigger shifters. I had grip shifters. I LOVE my new granny gear. The big gear is a lot smaller than the old big one, but I don't care, because I don't need help getting DOWN a hill!

This evening I missed my old stuff for a moment, just because I was tired of having to THINK about what I was doing. But I'm sure after a few days I'll be as competent at these triggers--and the brakes--as I ever was with the grip shifters.

[aicabsolut]

I almost always know what gear I'm in. :p
When changing rings, I'll double check the rear cog, because my compact likes to cause chain drops, so I am extra careful about which cog I'm in when I go to shift rings to get the cleanest shift possible. Just takes a quick look.

The more hills you throw at me, the more likely I will know exactly which gear I'm in at all times.

[Trigress]

I have to admit that I look. I always have to check how many rings I have when climbing. Today I went cycling with my The Veteran Road Cyclist (aka my partner) and blimey was I aware of the rings! I'm better now though, now I don't have to ride with my head between my legs for ten minutes in order to count, and I don't fall off my bike as often as I used to either... :rolleyes:

[csr1210]

I pretty much know what gear I'm in when I run out!:eek:

I'm always (mostly?!) aware of what chain ring I'm in, BUT...I must be a freak or something because I cannot see the rear cogs to save my life when I'm on the bike. I've even tried on the trainer where it was relatively safe to lean and contort to try to see 'em. I think it would be so cool to be able to glance back and see what gear I'm in.:rolleyes:

[cyclinnewbie]

I have a stupid newbie question...what the heck is crosschaining and why is it bad? And I can never tell what gear I'm in on the road bike...no numbers to tell me, so I have to go by feel which I'm not really good at yet either. My mountain bike has numbers on the shifter, so I always know what gear I'm in. And thanks to whoever said right was rear.....now I know. I swear, I have never felt so inept as when I first got on my road bike....And that was only on SATURDAY!!

[Starfish]

Used to have Flightdeck which tells what gear and cadence you're in.

My stuff is flightdeck compatible, but I have never had it. Would be interested in thoughts on this...feel free to PM if this is a hijack!

I think it is related to this thread... :)

[Melalvai]

I have a stupid newbie question...what the heck is crosschaining and why is it bad? And I can never tell what gear I'm in on the road bike...no numbers to tell me, so I have to go by feel which I'm not really good at yet either. My mountain bike has numbers on the shifter, so I always know what gear I'm in. And thanks to whoever said right was rear.....now I know. I swear, I have never felt so inept as when I first got on my road bike....And that was only on SATURDAY!!
Keep riding, it'll be second nature to you in no time.

I've been riding for a couple years and I had no idea that road bike shifters don't have numbers. I'm not ashamed to admit it. :)

Crosschaining is when the chain is on the biggest gear in front, and the biggest gear in back. If you look, you'll see that it is as far to the right as it can be on front, and as far to the left as it can be in back. Or, smallest and smallest, then it's as far left and far right front/back.

If you only have two chainrings up front, I think it doesn't matter? But if you have 3 chainrings, it's bad to have it in those extremes, because it can cause chain stretch, which will wear out the teeth on the thingies, I mean the sprockets, and then you won't be shifting smoothly. You don't need to use those extremes, because they overlap with gear ratios you can achieve using the middle chainring.

[cyclinnewbie]

Ohhhhhhhhh gotcha. Ok one more thing to remember. I had no idea biking was so involved. I thought you got on and rode till your butt hurt, then you turned around and came home!

[SouthernBelle]

Ohhhhhhhhh gotcha. Ok one more thing to remember. I had no idea biking was so involved. I thought you got on and rode till your butt hurt, then you turned around and came home!

Well, you can do that too. But I discovered some knowledge leads to more enjoyment. Things like going faster, hauling a** down a big hill, taking a big curve fast and smooth.

[Melalvai]

Ohhhhhhhhh gotcha. Ok one more thing to remember. I had no idea biking was so involved. I thought you got on and rode till your butt hurt, then you turned around and came home!
That's why you get a brooks saddle, so your butt never hurts, and you never have to come home. ;)

[aicabsolut]

Keep riding, it'll be second nature to you in no time.

I've been riding for a couple years and I had no idea that road bike shifters don't have numbers. I'm not ashamed to admit it. :)

Crosschaining is when the chain is on the biggest gear in front, and the biggest gear in back. If you look, you'll see that it is as far to the right as it can be on front, and as far to the left as it can be in back. Or, smallest and smallest, then it's as far left and far right front/back.

If you only have two chainrings up front, I think it doesn't matter? But if you have 3 chainrings, it's bad to have it in those extremes, because it can cause chain stretch, which will wear out the teeth on the thingies, I mean the sprockets, and then you won't be shifting smoothly. You don't need to use those extremes, because they overlap with gear ratios you can achieve using the middle chainring.

It still matters with a double, but it will be harder to crosschain than with a triple. You just don't want to be spending much time, if any, in your little ring little cog or big ring big cog. There will still be too much chain rubbing on the FD. There's a much smaller range of rear cogs that don't cause you to crosschain when you have a triple up front because of the limitation with the rings and FD position per ring.

[VeloVT]

BUT...I must be a freak or something because I cannot see the rear cogs to save my life when I'm on the bike. I've even tried on the trainer where it was relatively safe to lean and contort to try to see 'em. I think it would be so cool to be able to glance back and see what gear I'm in.:rolleyes:

csr1210: it's easier if you look under your leg (between right thigh and toptube), not around to the side. If you can see your chainrings -- just glance straight back without moving your head (just your eyes) and you should be able to see your cogs. I look at my gears probably more than I should (hasn't caused any accidents yet though :eek:). I don't lean or move my torso at all though.

ETA: I have to admit being guilty of a fair amount of small-small (on a double) or small-middle crosschaining. I never crosschain in big-big... But for some reason all of the reasonable big chainring combinations always seem that they will be harder than 39-12 or 42-12. Guess I should spend some quality time with a gear-inch chart :). Or maybe I just need to get stronger...