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! 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.

[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.

[uforgot]

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

Me either!

[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! 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.