Mountain Biking - What gear do you ride in?

Heyy all, sorry for the n00b question :) but I think it is a good question. Anyways what gear do you guys ride in when on the trail? A friend and I went riding the other day and he rides in a fairly high gear. Me on the other hand I like to ride in a fairly low gear but sometimes I feel as if I should be riding in a higher gear. So that's why I am here. I would just like to know what gear you guys ride in.:D

I use whatever gear the terrain calls for. Sometimes I'm in my easiest gear, other times I'm in my hardest gear. I do spend the majority of the time in my middle ring though.

Similar to LowCel, whatever the trail calls for. It can get hilly here in New England, so when I'm on the uphill side, I'm in a much different gear than on the downhill side.

Dont pedal too hard when on the big chainring. It can hurt your knees eventually:D

On smooth sections I sit down and spin an easier gear. On rough sections a harder gear makes it easier to stand up and manuver.

Like lowcel, i spend the majority of my rides in the middle chainring unless im going very fast, or very slow.

Middle ring, unless im spinning up a very long hill.....

I use 2 x high gears. I have lockout so.... yea... But the only time I go medium or low gears is when I go up a steep ass hill and i mean.. STEEEEEEppppp.

Sowee to thread jack but what numerical designations are given to the front and rear gears ie. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 1st rear, 2nd rear, etc?

32 X 20 all the time on my Monocog in the hills

I use all three rings and mostly the bigger 7 cogs in N Florida. In the mountains, the same except I use all the cogs . My big ring is a 42.

Al

Sowee to thread jack but what numerical designations are given to the front and rear gears ie. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 1st rear, 2nd rear, etc?

It's a noob expression, and way too vague to be of any practical use. Better to state your ring and cog size.

First off hey gastro long time no see ;) second I think that whatever gear you feel comfortable in is the right one. sometimes I'll go the whole day on my middle ring (#2) and just use the rest of the gears accordingly but on really steep dirt terrain with roots and fun stuff I might air down and use my small inner ring for the torq. I almost never use the outer ring I think it still looks brand new ;)

14 1/2

On the Kona, 32x15 and none others.

On the Pista 48x16 and none others.

No idea to be honest, just whatever feels right at the time.

heyy all, thanks for all the responses...it helps alot

heyy all, thanks for all the responses...it helps alot

No problem. Try 14 1/2, it's the best gear around.

22 at the front and 11 at the back

I ride in jeans or shorts and a t shirt

I ride in jeans or shorts and a t shirt
You better be in the wrong thread.

22x18 :D

You better be in the wrong thread.
why? he answered the thread's question: what gear do you ride in?

I ride in jeans or shorts and a t shirt rofl.... I wear some trico shorts a t shirt and my hard hat ;)

What gear do you ride in?

Preferably the one with teeth.

my wife likes to mash up hills in harder gears, i downshift and cruise up because i have undiagnosed knee pain. usually in any case i like to have some resistance. i don't like to spin madly and i don't like to mash much.

Shorts, Shoes, & Gloves Reqiured. Helmet & Shirt, Optional.

Shorts, Shoes, & Gloves Reqiured. Helmet & Shirt, Optional.

Gloves required but helmet optional? Sounds great! Can't wait to see your video at Google under the search terms "bike crash, no helmet, brain matter."

HANK REARDEN your avatar picure is trippy.. seriously whats the deal?

25 To Life.

If I'm on flat/slightly hilly roads I'm on the middle chain ring (2) and the 5 smallest gear in the back so my shifters say 25. I just wants a cool way of saying it :P

If I'm on a long up hill, depending on the steepness, I either stay in the middle ring or into the granny ring but in a very low gear in the back.

If I'm riding down (FR FTW) then I'll usually stay in 25 because you normally don't need anything more except a few ratchets every once in a while but say you're on... something like a slopestyle course (Maelstrom, you know...) then you want middle ring and highest gear in the back. Fast pedalling but you still want control.

(Warning: Any and all gear combinations aformentioned in above post are my personal preference and if you try them and don't like them don't complain to me, try something else :))


Gloves required but helmet optional? Sounds great! Can't wait to see your video at Google under the search terms "bike crash, no helmet, brain matter."

That's why his name is street sweeper, he sweeps the street with his cranium every crash.

My bike is soon to only have 8 gears... heheh.