Am I the only one who forgets gears?

[Trigress]

I have to admit that I look. I always have to check how many rings I have when climbing. Today I went cycling with my The Veteran Road Cyclist (aka my partner) and blimey was I aware of the rings! I'm better now though, now I don't have to ride with my head between my legs for ten minutes in order to count, and I don't fall off my bike as often as I used to either...

[csr1210]

I pretty much know what gear I'm in when I run out!

I'm always (mostly?!) aware of what chain ring I'm in, BUT...I must be a freak or something because I cannot see the rear cogs to save my life when I'm on the bike. I've even tried on the trainer where it was relatively safe to lean and contort to try to see 'em. I think it would be so cool to be able to glance back and see what gear I'm in.

[cyclinnewbie]

I have a stupid newbie question...what the heck is crosschaining and why is it bad? And I can never tell what gear I'm in on the road bike...no numbers to tell me, so I have to go by feel which I'm not really good at yet either. My mountain bike has numbers on the shifter, so I always know what gear I'm in. And thanks to whoever said right was rear.....now I know. I swear, I have never felt so inept as when I first got on my road bike....And that was only on SATURDAY!!

[Melalvai]

I have a stupid newbie question...what the heck is crosschaining and why is it bad? And I can never tell what gear I'm in on the road bike...no numbers to tell me, so I have to go by feel which I'm not really good at yet either. My mountain bike has numbers on the shifter, so I always know what gear I'm in. And thanks to whoever said right was rear.....now I know. I swear, I have never felt so inept as when I first got on my road bike....And that was only on SATURDAY!!

Keep riding, it'll be second nature to you in no time.

I've been riding for a couple years and I had no idea that road bike shifters don't have numbers. I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Crosschaining is when the chain is on the biggest gear in front, and the biggest gear in back. If you look, you'll see that it is as far to the right as it can be on front, and as far to the left as it can be in back. Or, smallest and smallest, then it's as far left and far right front/back.

If you only have two chainrings up front, I think it doesn't matter? But if you have 3 chainrings, it's bad to have it in those extremes, because it can cause chain stretch, which will wear out the teeth on the thingies, I mean the sprockets, and then you won't be shifting smoothly. You don't need to use those extremes, because they overlap with gear ratios you can achieve using the middle chainring.

[cyclinnewbie]

Ohhhhhhhhh gotcha. Ok one more thing to remember. I had no idea biking was so involved. I thought you got on and rode till your butt hurt, then you turned around and came home!

[SouthernBelle]

Ohhhhhhhhh gotcha. Ok one more thing to remember. I had no idea biking was so involved. I thought you got on and rode till your butt hurt, then you turned around and came home!

Well, you can do that too. But I discovered some knowledge leads to more enjoyment. Things like going faster, hauling a** down a big hill, taking a big curve fast and smooth.

[Melalvai]

Ohhhhhhhhh gotcha. Ok one more thing to remember. I had no idea biking was so involved. I thought you got on and rode till your butt hurt, then you turned around and came home!

That's why you get a brooks saddle, so your butt never hurts, and you never have to come home.

[aicabsolut]

Keep riding, it'll be second nature to you in no time.

I've been riding for a couple years and I had no idea that road bike shifters don't have numbers. I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Crosschaining is when the chain is on the biggest gear in front, and the biggest gear in back. If you look, you'll see that it is as far to the right as it can be on front, and as far to the left as it can be in back. Or, smallest and smallest, then it's as far left and far right front/back.

If you only have two chainrings up front, I think it doesn't matter? But if you have 3 chainrings, it's bad to have it in those extremes, because it can cause chain stretch, which will wear out the teeth on the thingies, I mean the sprockets, and then you won't be shifting smoothly. You don't need to use those extremes, because they overlap with gear ratios you can achieve using the middle chainring.

It still matters with a double, but it will be harder to crosschain than with a triple. You just don't want to be spending much time, if any, in your little ring little cog or big ring big cog. There will still be too much chain rubbing on the FD. There's a much smaller range of rear cogs that don't cause you to crosschain when you have a triple up front because of the limitation with the rings and FD position per ring.

[VeloVT]

BUT...I must be a freak or something because I cannot see the rear cogs to save my life when I'm on the bike. I've even tried on the trainer where it was relatively safe to lean and contort to try to see 'em. I think it would be so cool to be able to glance back and see what gear I'm in.

csr1210: it's easier if you look under your leg (between right thigh and toptube), not around to the side. If you can see your chainrings -- just glance straight back without moving your head (just your eyes) and you should be able to see your cogs. I look at my gears probably more than I should (hasn't caused any accidents yet though ). I don't lean or move my torso at all though.

ETA: I have to admit being guilty of a fair amount of small-small (on a double) or small-middle crosschaining. I never crosschain in big-big... But for some reason all of the reasonable big chainring combinations always seem that they will be harder than 39-12 or 42-12. Guess I should spend some quality time with a gear-inch chart . Or maybe I just need to get stronger...