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.
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03-14-2008, 08:37 PM #1
Registered User
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"My predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved;I have been given much and I have given something in return...Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and an adventure." O. Sacks
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03-14-2008, 09:48 PM #2
Tailwinds to you!
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- Puget Sound area, Washington state
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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...
Originally Posted by salsabike
welcome to TE and you're in the NW? Question, do you carry that equation thing around with you?
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03-15-2008, 03:31 AM #3
Queen of All I Survey
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- Jun 2006
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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.
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03-15-2008, 06:32 AM #4
Registered User
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Twice I have seen bikes advertised on Craigslist that claim to be 13 speeds. Not sure how they calculated that! Originally Posted by SouthernBelle
Claudia
2009 Trek 7.6fx
2013 Jamis Satellite
2014 Terry Burlington
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03-15-2008, 06:48 AM #5
I like bikes
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- Apr 2006
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- Seattle
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- 8,548
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)
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03-15-2008, 06:57 AM #6
Surly Girly
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- Jun 2007
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- SoCal
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LOL, good point! Originally Posted by uforgot
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03-15-2008, 07:34 AM #7
A tooth shy of a sprocket
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- Columbia, MO
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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. Originally Posted by uforgot
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03-15-2008, 07:30 PM #8
Can't never could!
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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.
Amanda
2011 Specialized Epic Comp 29er | Specialized Phenom | "Marie Laveau"
2007 Cannondale Synapse Carbon Road | Selle Italia Lady Gel Flow | "Miranda"
You don't have to be great to get started, but you do have to get started to be great. -Lee J. Colan
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03-16-2008, 06:52 AM #9
A tooth shy of a sprocket
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- Columbia, MO
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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.
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03-16-2008, 06:01 PM #10
White bikes are purty.
- Join Date
- Jul 2007
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- 201
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.
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03-17-2008, 05:17 PM #11
Moronacity.com
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- Aug 2007
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- Hancock, MI - North of "Up North"
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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.
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03-17-2008, 06:55 PM #12
I like my bike
- Join Date
- Mar 2007
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- Sierra Foothills, CA
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- 800
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
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