Did I make a mistake?

[Rebecca19804]

+1 what Owlie and goldfinch have said about just staying in easy gears at first.

I'm also thinking it's possible that written descriptions of what shifters do (and what the cogs/gears at the front and back do) don't make a lot of sense to you right now. So, if you can, get somebody to show you. One of you can hold the rear wheel off the ground so it turns freely. Your friend can do the shifting while you turn one pedal with your hand. Watch where and how the chain moves. Then swap round so you do the shifting AND also watch the chain move, while your friend turns the pedal. It'll all start to make sense then.

And then when you're on the bike, as the others have said, just ride around in a safe place and experiment shifting up and down. Focus on using the shifters in just one hand at a time - I agree, do the right hand first. Get really comfortable with knowing how each shift affects how hard/easy it is to pedal. Look down from time to time and see which direction the chain has moved, if you can and if you can't remember from your stationary session with your friend.

The key is, as they say, practice practice practice.

I got my first road bike with STI shifters (which is what you have on the Ruby) at the end of March. I was lucky: my boyfriend (in the nicest possible way) showed me how things work starting from bare basics, assuming I knew absolutely nothing. That foundation was crucial. Within 2 days, the whole thing began to feel intuitive.

Contrast that with a friend of mine. After years of riding her hybrid everywhere, she decided she wanted to join me and my (strictly social, all-speeds-and-abilities-welcome) club on our monthly 50+ mile night rides. She bought a road bike in January. She found riding it strange, uncomfortable, intimidating and just plain hard work. But she was keen to try our 72-miler at the end of April and knew it would be really tough with the hybrid so she gritted her teeth and brought the road bike, even though at that point she'd only ridden it maybe 50 miles in total. She did struggle ("even" with the lighter road bike) and ended up bailing out before the end. BUT she came back the next month for a shorter (but hillier) ride. That's when the guys who look after the people at the back noticed she wasn't comfortable changing gears, so they explained the basics and tutored her a bit while they were riding along. And then we hit the hills. I've never seen such determination to get up them! And only after she'd clawed her way up the worst of them did we discover that she didn't know she could change gears with her left hand - from the big ring to the 'granny' ring (or how to do it or why she should) . She'd been doing all the hills in the hardest-possible gears!!! Once she discovered those lower gears, she really began to fly - and enjoy herself!

Moral of the story - sometimes people assume you know more than you do or think "telling" you will be enough to get you started and then you'll work it out for yourself. It's always okay to say "hold on, back up a minute, please can you show me what you're talking about"?

P.S. I seriously lust after getting a Ruby myself. We'd love to see a photo if you want to share!