General Cycling Discussion - Nite riding and shifting gears..

A little while back, I commented about a bike light I found...Thought it a great find...Planet Bike's reflecterized ankle braclet with a built in light...
Well...It occured to me..One thing I don't like about night riding is not seeing your chains position in the cogset/chainring.....So Wal La... Wrap this Bike Planet ankle strap about the base of your seat tube..Should be enough light to see your cassette chain position at least...Maybe put in a small safety pin to secure it 100 % to the tube.
Is everyone's sense of where your gearing is, that you don't worry about chain stretch positions at night...? I have exclusively STI shifting on my bikes.

I can feel what gear I'm in. I also count clicks. Not a bad idea though.

With DT levers you can feel what gear you are in.
When I'm riding with Ergolevers I sometimes fnd that I have been in a crossover gear and haven't noticed, because of the traffic or some tricky junction.

I may be confused on this topic. If so, I apologize for my reply up front.

I tell what gear I am in by the amount of effort I am putting forth in the pedal strokes.

If the stoke is too hard for the terrain, I change it. I do not see the purpose of needing to see what gear you are in in order to ride a night.

Catrike Road #116
"Cats just don't feel safe on a moving bicycle, no matter how much duct tape you use"--Author unknown

The jest of the topic...Not unbeknownest to you...Riding with your gears cross over between large chain ring, large cog..Seeing your gears does not help to ward off this problem...?

I wonder if Microsoft could come up with something like Bike Sim 2005 to fill the gap here?

I can usually tell by speed and how fast i'm pedaling what gears I'm in so I don't have to keep looking down.

I have a helmet mounted light so that if I need to look down I can easily see the gears. I know many floks hate this setup but it works for me.

With triples, you can replicate gear ratios with several cog combos. Some of these are usable and some are no-nos due to the crossover chainline which places a lot of lateral stress and wear on the chain and cogs.
If your mind has other things to worry about, you can start in a low gear in the small cog and just run along the rear cassette being in the right gear for your speed and strength, but not for your chainline.

I can hear in my double when I am crosschaining the gears... when that happens big ring. No need to know exact gear unless I am training or racing.

I can usually tell by speed and how fast i'm pedaling what gears I'm in so I don't have to keep looking down.So can most, but that's not the point of this thread... :)

You shouldn't need to know what gear you're in period (flightdeck pfft). If you're crosschaining you'll know it. If you're not, then you got nothing to worry about.

So can most, but that's not the point of this thread... :)

That's so true.. Ok, here's my contribution.
It's a very effective shift light. Plus my own headlight mod.

I'm glad I don't ride with you at nite if you keep looking down to see what gear you are in :)

That's so true.. Ok, here's my contribution.
It's a very effective shift light. Plus my own headlight mod.

I hope you like maglites in your rear spokes

I ride a single gear bike. Always in the right gear, biatch!

I hope you like maglites in your rear spokes

That's not just regular tape, that's scotch magic tape.

I've been riding fixed wheel ,Shiftless and i have to keep pedaling.

A little while back, I commented about a bike light I found...Thought it a great find...Planet Bike's reflecterized ankle braclet with a built in light...
Well...It occured to me..One thing I don't like about night riding is not seeing your chains position in the cogset/chainring.....So Wal La... Wrap this Bike Planet ankle strap about the base of your seat tube..Should be enough light to see your cassette chain position at least...Maybe put in a small safety pin to secure it 100 % to the tube.
Is everyone's sense of where your gearing is, that you don't worry about chain stretch positions at night...? I have exclusively STI shifting on my bikes.


I rarely ever look at my chain position day or night. I'm a little confused why someone would feel that it is necessary.


That said, I do have a small light (it's a common white "blinkie" set on the steady setting) which I set up facing me when I ride at night so I can see where my bottle cages are.

If your chain is not on the cog you will definitely hear it and probably feel it.

Voila!

That's not just regular tape, that's scotch magic tape.

In that case. I take back what I said.

If your chain is not on the cog you will definitely hear it and probably feel it.

Exactly!

The only time I might take a glance down there is if I'm shifting and nothing is happening - I look, and realize that I'm at one end of my gears or the other.

If your chain is not on the cog you will definitely hear it and probably feel it.

If your chain is stretched to the maximum extent, yes - you hear a noise...But one gear in , you don't... But that is still a stretched position..I was told, always stay two gears in from the outermost cog position...When in the biggest chainring...
Riding in traffic...Don't think I am alone is not knowing at all times your gear position...Some do it more than others...I catch myself from time to time, but not routinely....Guess this is a cyclists closest encounter to what motorists say, when they drive 60 miles on the freeway , are so bored- they can't remember a mile of it, they were so deep into concentration..
...Not that I am ever bored while out on the bike. I think most cyclists visually check out their gearing from time to time...Does not take but a nano second.
I think Slvoid solution is one possibility...But probably not require that much lite..Plus, might not this help you in being seen from the side, against those motorists who run red lights.

If your chain is stretched to the maximum extent, yes - you hear a noise...But one gear in , you don't... But that is still a stretched position..I was told, always stay two gears in from the outermost cog position...When in the biggest chainring...



All I've ever been told is that if you're cycling, and there's a grinding noise caused by cross-chaining, you shouldn't ride in that gear for very long . . . but a little while won't hurt.

Nite cycling..Traffic. Needs extra precautions .I would think I am capable of staying in a semi-stretched position for more miles than I would like..

umm...it's called counting, I always know what gear I'm in.

umm...it's called counting, I always know what gear I'm in.

Haha I doubt I can remember what gear I'm in an hour into my ride and 25 miles from home 50 shifts later.

It has never mattered to me what gear I'm in ... I just ride in whatever gear feels right at the moment.

The only time I've had a concern about what gear I'm in is if I'm climbing a hill ... and I run out of gears! :D

I can hear in my double when I am crosschaining the gears... when that happens big ring. No need to know exact gear unless I am training or racing.

I wish I lived in a place where I didn't have to cover my head and ears in the dark in the cold.

In March !! In the SNOW ! :mad:

Wanna switch for a while? :) :)

Fleeting are the evening joys of a grasshopper that knows not the order of a single ring.

Plan A.

A flight deck computer, with a Sigma Sport computer light works 100% of the time, no need to look down, ever.

If you have a helmet light you would only have to look at the computer. You might not need the Sigma computer light.


Plan B.

Ride a bike with only one gear !!!

I can hear in my double when I am crosschaining the gears...

Same here... I don't even look down in the daytime. It takes a while but your ears will tell you when you're in the gear before the bad one by the increase in chainring noise.

Fleeting are the evening joys of a grasshopper that knows not the order of a single ring.


Nice, very nice. I need to borrow this one. :)

I have a helmet mounted light so that if I need to look down I can easily see the gears. I know many floks hate this setup but it works for me.

I agree. I used to use bar mounted lights. But since moving my new lights to my helmet, looking down at my computer or my gears is no problem.

I found mounting the lights on my helmet also provided a way for me to look over to the sides while on trails as well as looking at corners on high speed descents.