Quote Originally Posted by KatieJean View Post
Catrin, Your knees shouldn't complain from going into a harder gear. Your legs and lungs may not be able to sustain the effort, but your knees shouldn't be the first casualty. Is it possible that your saddle is too low or too far forward? Adjusting my saddle was what helped my knees when they started to complain.

But to answer your question, if you are spinning fast in a lower gear (you feel like you couldn't spin faster even if you wanted to), that's the time to go into a tougher gear. Just go up one gear at a time until you're spinning fast again, and then go into another harder gear.

Then, when you see that you will need to stop soon (a stop sign coming up, for example), go ahead and down shift one or two gears, so when you are ready to start up again, you will be in the easier gear. Soon, it will become second nature.
My bike is fit properly as far as the saddle/seat post and so forth is concerned - we just went through this rather lengthy process that involved a rather expensive conversion.

I should have explained further. I am not clipped in, so it is difficult for me to spin - I mash gears. In order to gain more speed, I mash harder gears I've been told that I really don't have the option to spin properly as long as I am not clipped in because I can't push/pull throughout the full pedal stroke. I've been told that I have a good pedal stroke from someone who just recently rode with me.

I am trying to focus on cadence, and to keep it between 80-85 on the flats and at least in the 70's when possible uphill. That latter is a goal at this point It is on the flats that I notice the most pressure on my knees - which doesn't make much sense to me unless I need to work with a lower cadence for now