Changing gears and losing momentum

I have been meaning to ask this question for ages but each time I get home from a ride I seem to get busy and forget until Im out on the road again.

Heres the scenario.

Im out riding and start going up a slight but long and gradually steeper incline. Im in my middle ring and start changing down on the back cogs (sorry if thats not the right term) when I cant change down any more I think well hey its time to go to my small ring on the front but this causes - as Im sure you all know- my legs to spin out of control and lose momentum (because now Im on the easiest gear of all). What should I be doing? Should I be changing up a few on my back cogs before changing down to the small ring to keep up speed and maintain cadence?

That's what I do. I shift 2 or 3 coggs higher in the back first, and then, almost simultaneoulsy, shift to the smaller chainring in front. Then I gradually adjust the back cogs to lower gears as needed.

Nina

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Originally Posted by Nina R. Messina

That's what I do. I shift 2 or 3 coggs higher in the back first, and then, almost simultaneoulsy, shift to the smaller chainring in front. Then I gradually adjust the back cogs to lower gears as needed.

Nina

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Hey Nina - thanks I will give it a try on my next ride. :)

yup what Nina said. The other thing I'll do is instead of shifting in the back - when the going gets tough I shift the front chainring first and leave the back where it is.

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Originally Posted by CorsairMac

yup what Nina said. The other thing I'll do is instead of shifting in the back - when the going gets tough I shift the front chainring first and leave the back where it is.

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Thanks Corsair - Ill give that a try as well. :)

I made a small chart which has all my gear inches on it. I taped it to the top tube. I can glance down at it as I approach a climb and set myself up for the climb. The chart has helped me just about eliminate those wild spinning phase that you described.

Hope this helps!

I am learning to stand on hills... or rather to "master" standing... you haven't mentiioned whether you stand as part of your strategy to conquering hills...

Get into a low gear on the hills, and the moment you feel like you need to change down, don't. Try standing for a while and you will be able to keep your cadence without changing down... but if you haven't done much standing, than I suggest you don't try it in the middle of a big hill because when you sit again, your legs will feel very tired.

But with practice, standing becomes a useful part of the repertoirre, and certainly means I am starting to move up hills more quickly (not a lot more, but every little bit helps...)

I don't use a triple chain ring, so I can't really offer suggestions for that. I am always in my small chain ring when I begin though...

Actually when I stand up on a hill, I find it is more satisfying to even shift one gear up right before getting out of the saddle to avoid this nasty "bottomless spinning" feeling - of course for those killer hills, the smallest gear and standig is in order but I am out of the saddle before that.

Also, you want to avoid riding "crossed over" i.e. on the big ring in front as well as the biggest in the back. It kills the cogs, and the chain, I've been told?

Switch to the middle (if you have it) in front while you are going up an easy hill - and then to the smaller when the going gets tough....

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Originally Posted by alpinerabbit

Also, you want to avoid riding "crossed over" i.e. on the big ring in front as well as the biggest in the back. It kills the cogs, and the chain, I've been told?

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This is also a really good way to for the chain to fall off too...

[QUOTE=alpinerabbit]Actually when I stand up on a hill, I find it is more satisfying to even shift one gear up right before getting out of the saddle to avoid this nasty "bottomless spinning" feeling - of course for those killer hills, the smallest gear and standig is in order but I am out of the saddle before that.

Aha! I remember standing up hills as a kid, back in my ol' 1-speed days, and now I can't seem to get it to work for me. Too little resistance, too high a ... is it called cadence? So maybe gearing up is the answer. Thanks for the tip! I'll try it, weather permitting, on Sunday.

bikeless sis,

are you clipless? or toe clipped? amd why do we call it clipless when their really are clips?

I find that really helps when standing, at least toe clips. Otherwise i don't feel attached to the bike.

If you go clipless the spin class can help you learn to do that without too many FU's (failure to unclip).

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Originally Posted by bikeless in WI

Aha! I remember standing up hills as a kid, back in my ol' 1-speed days, and now I can't seem to get it to work for me. Too little resistance, too high a ... is it called cadence? So maybe gearing up is the answer. Thanks for the tip! I'll try it, weather permitting, on Sunday.

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I sometimes gear up as much as 3 cogs just before I stand up, depending on what my cadence is before I stand up. I certainly can't spin my legs at 90 rpm when standing...

Of course not - the whole idea of standing (correct me if I am wrong) is to go on when it really gets tough. On an 11% slope there's no way I can have 90 rpm :eek: - yeah, yeah, tell me about my knees.

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Originally Posted by Trek420

If you go clipless the spin class can help you learn to do that without too many FU's (failure to unclip).

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*blushes*
I read " FU's " and had already decided what the letters stood for before I got to the bracketed explaination...
*spanks own bum*
Naughty Raven, naughty girl

:cool: :p