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Hills and sped and gears, oh MY!

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Hills and sped and gears, oh MY!

Old 09-19-11, 10:22 PM
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Hills and sped and gears, oh MY!

Can someone explain to me, in plain English, when I should be in different gears? I mean, lets say going UP hill, should I be in a lower gear to make pedaling harder or in a higher gear to make pedaling seem like I'm spinning? Im just so confused with this gear thing. It seems like when Im going uphill, I try to make it as easy as possible, but then it seems like I am pedaling a hundred miles per hour, but going nowhere. Is this how it is SUPPOSED to be done?

GOD, Im a NOOB!
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Old 09-19-11, 10:35 PM
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You should gear down as far as you need in order to maintain a normal cadence... or if you're weak like me you just put it in the first gear and hope for the best
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Old 09-19-11, 10:46 PM
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First of all, a "lower" gear means an easier to pedal gear so shifting "down" means shifting to an easier gear.

Spin up those hills in a nice low gear. I frequently am in the lowest.

Here is a great thread on the issue of cadence, that is, how fast you turn those pedals: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...light=candence
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Old 09-19-11, 10:47 PM
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You've got it backwards. Lower gear you spin the pedals easier, high gear requires more effort. You should be spinning the pedals at a fairly steady cadence. Use whatever gear it takes to keep that cadence. If that means the granny ring moving 3mph uphill, then fine. In the beginning, think of the front chainrings as ranges, and use the back to fine tune. Try using the middle ring on the front on level ground, the small ring uphill and the big ring downhill. Once you are stronger you will spend most of your time probably in the middle and big rings, but don't try to get there too early, keep the pedals spinning at least 60rpm. 80 or 90rpm is better, but will take some conditioning to get there.
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Old 09-19-11, 11:02 PM
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So, small ring on front is which gear? 1 or 3? I know two is the middle.
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Old 09-19-11, 11:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Allen55
So, small ring on front is which gear? 1 or 3? I know two is the middle.
On most shimano systems smallest is 1, middle is 2 and largest is 3.
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Old 09-20-11, 04:37 AM
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Originally Posted by Allen55
So, small ring on front is which gear? 1 or 3? I know two is the middle.
If your shifters have a numeric indicator, shift onto either the smallest or largest and then look at the indicator to see which it is. If your shifters don't have a numeric indicator, it doesn't matter what they're labeled. You could call them Lucy, Ricky and Ethel for all it matters.

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Old 09-20-11, 04:37 AM
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spinning uses more anerobic (sp?) while gearing up (harder gears to pedal) uses muscle power. There is no right or wrong anwer to this because it depends on the rider and to be frank, its a tweaking thing. For me, with my weight, its much easier for me to drop down some gears and spin and when I go up hill, I am just slow and I am ok with that. Climbing for me I think comes down to 1) pacing myself 2) pulling up on the pedals on the up stroke 3) breathing pattern and 4) keeping my mental voices in check which usually means keeping my head down and focusing on the "now" and not how long I still have to do on the clib.
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Old 09-20-11, 04:41 AM
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Originally Posted by chefisaac
spinning uses more anerobic (sp?) while gearing up (harder gears to pedal) uses muscle power.
Spinning is aerobic. Mashing is anaerobic.
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Old 09-20-11, 06:17 AM
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A spinner is a winner....which one feels better?
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humans can be so....rude
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Old 09-20-11, 07:06 AM
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Originally Posted by Allen55
Can someone explain to me, in plain English, when I should be in different gears? I mean, lets say going UP hill, should I be in a lower gear to make pedaling harder or in a higher gear to make pedaling seem like I'm spinning? Im just so confused with this gear thing. It seems like when Im going uphill, I try to make it as easy as possible, but then it seems like I am pedaling a hundred miles per hour, but going nowhere. Is this how it is SUPPOSED to be done?

GOD, Im a NOOB!
Do you know how to drive a manual transmission vehicle? The theory is the same. Experiment with different gears until you get the 'feel' of where you should be. I rarely use cog #1 unless I am on a really steep incline. I only use the highest gear when going downhill so that I can reach the fastest speeds (31MPH top so far).
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Old 09-20-11, 07:36 AM
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Originally Posted by Allen55
So, small ring on front is which gear? 1 or 3? I know two is the middle.

It's like a car. 1 is lower than 3.

And the smaller the ring you are in in the front, the lower the gear. The larger the cog you are in in the back, the lower the gear. Thus, your lowest gear is the smallest ring in the front and the largest cog in the back. Largest front and smallest back is your highest gear.

Note that some ring-cog combinations may produce the same gears. E.g., the middle ring in the front and the next to largest cog in the back might be the same gear as the smallest ring in the front and the next to smallest cog in the back.

To cut down on drivetrain wear, what you ideally want to do is to avoid combinations that put you chain further away from a straight line as possible. E.g., the largest ring in the front and the largest cog in the back.
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Old 09-20-11, 08:12 AM
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I really wouldn't get too hung up on deciding which direction the numbering goes. Most people I've known have referred to gears as simply "higher" or "lower," and the chainrings as "big" or "little" (plus "middle" for those with triples).
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Old 09-20-11, 08:51 AM
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Sheldon Brown has great articles for beginners, including one on gearing. https://sheldonbrown.com/beginners/index.html
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Old 09-20-11, 11:49 AM
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This is very general, but, with 3 cogs on the front, you should probably be in the 2cnd ring for your flat to semi-flat roads.

On downhill portions the 3rd ring (largest) on the front and for uphill portions use the first cog (smallest) on the front.

This should give you the best chance at maintaining a similar cadence in each circumstance, choosing between the available rear cassette rings to adjust within each of those ranges.

Don't worry about too much about the gear numbers, just think of it as easier vs. harder or as Craig mentioned, higher vs. lower.
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Old 09-20-11, 12:24 PM
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The aim of gearing is to match your pedalling power output to the riding conditions.
Your power output is fixed, when your riding along, you can't press the accelerator.
At any fixed power output, you can vary your pedalling cadence. Spinning faster in a lower gear works your heart and lungs, pedalling more slowly but harder in a higher gear works your legs. Most newbies pedal too slowly for efficiency, you should aim for about 80revs/min in a gear that allows you to pedal freely.

So, you are cruising along at your fixed power, at 80 revs/min. I don't know how fast you will be riding and I don't care and neither should you.

You hit an uphill. You change down to a larger rear cog or a smaller front chanring or both. Now you are pedalling along at your fixed power output at 80revs/min but riding more slowly.

You hit a headwind, you gear down a bit more, pedalling the same, and go more slowly.
You turn around and get a tailwind. You gear up, to a larger chainring and/or smaller rear cog. Using the same power output and pedalling, you now go a lot faster.

You should try to avoid gears that cross the chain to extremes (eg small chainring to big cog, or even the next 2 smaller cogs the the inverse with the big chainring).
You should note the overlap between your 3 chainrings. You can get exactly the same gear using 2 different combinations and it doesnt matter much which you use.
Shifting from one chainring to another is a big step in gear, too much for comfort. You should get into a habit of changing chainrings and rear cogs at the same time to make a small step in gear, ie middle to small chainring so you move to a smaller cog at the rear to give a gear just a bit lower than before.
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Old 09-20-11, 12:40 PM
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I think I'm starting to understand.
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Old 09-20-11, 01:06 PM
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Originally Posted by Allen55
I think I'm starting to understand.
I'm not sure anyone mentioned this yet, but generally speaking you want to pretty much stay in hte same chainring in front and do most of yuor shifting using the rear. The reason is that the difference in gearing is much larger in front.

Most new riders do not thnk of shifting gears when stopping and starting. It is a good idea to downshift when coming to a stop, that way you can start in a lower gear. (Heck for a new rider it is also good practice).

DO NOT shift when stopped. The shifting system is designed for use when moving. Modern shifters are very forgiving, but shift a few gears when stopped and yuo can have problems starting. You can shift when stopped by lifing the rear wheel and then spining the gears using one foot.

It is also a good idea when comming to a hill to get in the right chainring in front. Much easier to get in a smaller front ring before the hill than half way up when you realize you have run out of gears in back.

Also for Clydes is is even more important on uphills to shift BEFORE you have to. Keep in a comfortable gear when climbing. If yuo find you have energy left you can upshift and work the last part extra hard. Much better than being in too high a gear and running out of gas.
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Old 09-20-11, 01:12 PM
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When your lungs are burning, go into a "more difficult" gear, and when your legs are burning, go into an "easier" one.

( The quotes are because it's easier to be in an appropriate gear, even if it's a higher one. )
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Old 09-22-11, 04:49 PM
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I feel like a retro-grouch. I started riding a long time ago before indexed shifting. And even today, I still ride friction most of the time. I sort of drop all nomenclature for gear numbers and basically ride on each bike I own often enough so I get familiar with what gives me the right torque at the pedals for me to push effectively.

Some notes on my experiences that might vary for others:

1. My body is non-linear. I may be able to output more power honking for a mile uphill in a taller gear, than to sit and spin and struggle in lower gear. For folks that have ridden a lot, you'll be familiar with "rider fatigue" due to too much time in the saddle in the same position. So spinning isn't always the solution. Sometimes, honking out of the saddle for a mile can be more effective. And for some of us, this is still aerobic exercise. Anaerobic exercise is when you cannot process sufficient oxygen to supply the demand the muscles are requesting, and so you breathe harder and harder but finally have to stop after a minute or so. Aerobic exercise is when your output can be sustained until you run out of blood sugar to burn with that oxygen.

2. Biometrically, they did studies long ago on human physiology. And for many riders, like in the Tour de France, on individual time trials, the optimal power/distance is achieved using LONGER cranks and slower cadence (around 65 - 70 rpm) as opposed to 80 - 90 that many folks recommend. I used to ride with 170mm cranks because I have a long torso and short legs and through the 80's and early 90's that's what came on most bikes. But after studying the biometrics of Miguel Indurain and how he won the TdF, they said he rode 175mm and possibly longer cranks. I switched to 175mm after that and it makes a huge difference. I could honk 11 miles mostly out of the saddle and do some amazing climbs on a road bike and I felt more refreshed after a ride like that than spinning. So if you're riding a lot and you can't achieve the torque you're looking for, 5mm of length might make a noticeable difference.

3. For riding hills, get a bike that offers a wide range of gear ratios such that for most 26 inch and 700c tires, one turn of the crank can push you between 1.8meters (low gear) - 10meters (high gear). This is sometimes expressed as "gear-inches" (gear ratio between front and back x diameter of rear wheel in inches). But a good rule of thumb is that the small ring on the front crank should have fewer teeth than the biggest cog on the rear so you have a low gear ratio of less than 1 (around 0.8), and a top gear ratio between 4 and 5.
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Old 09-22-11, 06:11 PM
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what keith said about changing into an easier gear before stopping is a great piece of advice.
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Old 09-22-11, 06:30 PM
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My bike stays in the smallest ring in the front for the vast majority of my rides. The cassette I switch all the time but like to keep it at 3 to get up the hill in front of my home. Then the road flattens and I switch to 4 and 5 and 6. I rarely use 7. As the hill start up I head back in the cog and reserve 1 for nasty hills and 2 for hills. I like a little bit of resistance to keep my cadence smooth but with no mashing.

Recently I've used the middle ring. I find it much faster but that it's harder to start up on hills except on the second easiest cassette gear (2) but not easy enough for quicker starts at street lights and stop signs.

I'm a big fan of coasting down hill. I very rarely pedal down a hill, gravity is nice help. It also lets me keep the bike at an easy to restart gear when I next have to stop at lights.

Definitely change into an easier gear before stopping! I read that advice in a magazine and immediately began doing that on my rides. I've watched other riders veer into traffic because they were in a harder gear and they leaned into the handlebars to mash the pedals but typically leaned into the lane with a car in it.
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