General Cycling Discussion - Gear configurations

Hello, as you know I'm a newbie, and this is my second post so my questions might sound dumb, but then again: I'm a newbie! lol

Anyway, here are two questions:

1)

How often should I change the gear?

2)

When should I need to change the gears and what the best config.? (i.e. 1 front, 1 back)

Thanks.

Nobody can tell you when you need to shift, that's up to you and the condition of your legs and lungs. Rule of thumb is to keep your cadence(crank RPM) in the 85-90ish range so you just have to shift accordingly. You can get a cadence counting cyclo-computer for 30-50 bucks that might help.

Question 1 has been answered. Regarding question 2: it depends on the bike you have or, more precisely, its gearing.

Most modern bikes come with a triple with 3 fairly evenly-spaced chainrings (in front, where are the pedals) and 9 equally spaced cogs (on the wheel). For example, on a mountain bike, you have 44-34-22 chainrings, and on a road bike you have 52-42-30 chainrings (give or take 2 teeth). In the rear, you have 11-32 (MTB) or 11-25 (road).

Basically, I would suggest to select the front chainring according to terrain:
- Climbing a good hill or facing a strong headwind? Use the small chainring.
- Riding on a flat terrain or pulling some kind of load (touring?) Use the medium chainring.
- Riding on a slight downhill or benefitting from a tailwind? Use the large chainring.

Then use the right lever to select the rear cog that suits you. For instance, start in the first gear (larger cog) and shift to higher gears (smaller cog) as you gain speed, with the idea of keeping your cadence in the 70-90 rpm range. On the long run, keeping a high cadence is especially important when you face a strong headwind or climb a long hill. With any good watch or even a basic cyclocomputer with seconds, it's easy to count one's cadence.

The above is not a perfect scenario, but it's a good start.

Use your gears to maintain an even force on the pedals, with an even cadence, over all riding conditions. There will be some deviation, esp when climbing, but that should be the general aim of gears.
There is quite an overlap in gear ratios between the 3 front chainrings. Try and maintain the straightest chainline to avoid wear. Dont use the full range of rear cogs with the inner and outer chainrings, avoid the last few cogs which give a diagonal chainline. You may find yourself riding with a crossed chain when your mind is coping with other stuff, but get back to a straighter one as soon as you can.