If it's any consolation, I've been riding for years and I frequently forget how many gears I have, and I never know which one I'm in unless it's the lowest or the highest. Ok, I can remember (pretty easy to see) how many I have in front, but out back I just see a mess of cogs. One, two, many. On my Trek I had.. 7, on my Kona I have 8, on my road bike I have 9, on my new Nakamura I forget. I just count when it's time to buy a new cassette