Fib

So, I'm new to this whole thing about bikes having gears. The bike I have right now is the first bike I've had that has gears. I'm gonna be using my bike mostly just for commuting and exercise, or just for riding for the fun of it... But I consider exercise and "riding for the fun of it" both the same thing. I'm working on getting back in shape and also strengthening my legs so I can actually make the commute to and from where I need to go, and it was suggested to me that for my rides, I should start with an easy gear to warm up and slowly bring the gears up. I'm planning to try it, but right now I really don't understand gears. I'm pretty sure the smaller ones (1, 2, 3. I think you get what I mean) are the easier ones, and the bigger ones are harder. I was riding today, and for my last couple of rides I've just been switching my gears randomly and just trying to figure them out and get familiar with them, but I'm getting the feeling that there are some bad "combinations", ones that are just like a big no no lol. I switched gears earlier today, and I don't know what I did but it did not sound good. From what I've read, I can really damage my chain or something, if I do something wrong. I switched the gears and it was making a really loud noise, likes the chain was hitting other parts of the bike. I didn't stop (but maybe I should have?) I just changed the gears until I was riding smoothly again and the noise stopped. I think I read that you don't want to do big gears with other big gears, or small gears with other small gears but I'm not sure. So, could anybody kinda explain gears to me please? Like how they work, what I shouldn't do, what I should do and stuff like that. I think you should set it to easier gears when going up a hill (right?), but there aren't hills around here, its mostly flat ground so that's not something I'm really thinking about, I just don't wanna damage my bike.

Oh, one other question I forgot to put in here. This is kind of completely unrelated but anyway, I was told not to pedal backwards while changing gears, or don't change gears while pedaling backwards. Then I started thinking later and wondered why some bikes can even pedal backwards. Is there a reason for that? Like, are there times you should pedal backwards, or like what's the point of it? (I am very unexperienced with bikes. The only experience I have is with riding a bike you can get in Walmart or just like a simple kids bike)

HTupolev

Based on the other thread, you have a derailleur drivetrain, with three sprockets (chainrings) in front, and a cluster of seven sprockets located on the rear wheel hub.

Derailleur gearing is conceptually pretty simple. You have two derailleur mechanisms controller by the shifters; the front is a cage above the chainrings which the chain passes through, the rear is a more complex mechanism below the rear cluster which includes a two-wheel tensioning pulley. To shift gears, they both work by moving to the left or right, to cause the chain to derail from the current sprocket and hop to the next.

What determines the "difficulty" of a gear is the ratio in tooth count between the front chainring and the rear sprocket. A 52-tooth chainring on a 13-tooth sprocket is a 4:1 ratio, typically considered fairly high. Whereas a 28-tooth chainring on a 28-tooth sprocket is a 1:1 ratio, a pretty dang low gearing ratio that some bikes don't even go down to, and which would typically only come into play while climbing a steep hill. The bigger the ratio, the farther the bike will move with each pedal revolution, and the higher the gear. To make your gearing higher, shift to a bigger chainring in front or a smaller cog in back; to make your gearing lower, shift to a smaller chainring in front or a bigger cog in back.

Usually the front shifting isn't quite as smooth as the rear shifting, especially when moving from a smaller chainring to a bigger one. So people frequently use front shifts to select a "range", such as shifting to the small chainring to set their bike into the low gears when a hill is approaching, but do most of their shifts on the rear cluster.

When you use a small chainring with a small cog, or a big chainring with a big cog, the chain is running fairly diagonally, a condition called "cross chaining." This can make noise and increase wear on the drivetrain. To solve this, you can shift in front and rear at the same time to find a combo that will have a similar ratio without the cross chaining; for example, large chainring and large rear sprocket will often have about the same ratio as one of your gears in the middle chainring and a middle rear sprocket.
Big-big is frequently even more problematic than small-small. Because the chain is being stretched around two large sprockets, the rear derailleur's tensioning mechanism can sometimes be getting pulled to its limits. The resulting "binding" can introduce noticeable friction and a whole lot of noise. In very extreme cases, where people have set their bikes up with chains that are super short, you could even rip off the rear derailleur by shifting into the big-big combination.

As far as what gear you should be in, it depends. Typically people will aim for a certain pedaling cadence; typically appropriate cadence varies by intensity, where higher-intensity cycling demands higher cadence. So, if you're trying to maintain constant intensity, you'd shift down when you get to a hill because there's more resistance.
There are other complicating factors; for instance, pedaling out of the saddle effectively lowers your body's gearing, making it appropriate to use higher gears on the bike and pedal at lower cadence to maintain similar intensity.
People tend to figure out pretty good gearing strategies naturally as they get more experienced with cycling. What feels awesome is usually not that far off from what's appropriate.

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Also, never refer to what gear you're in with a "number" like 1/2/3/etc. Tooth counts, words like "high" and "low", and words like "big" and "small" are all intelligible. Describing your gears in gear inches or distance of development is also intelligible, but only to people who know what they're talking about. If you use 1/2/3/etc notation, we're going to yell at you.

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If the rear sprocket seized against back-tension on the chain rather than freely spinning backwards, you'd wreck the rear derailleur: the chainring would be yanking chain away from the tensioner, but the rear sprocket wouldn't be giving the tensioner new slack to work with, so the pulley would basically get ripped forward and right off the bicycle. So, derailleur gearing is incompatible with fixed gears and coaster brakes.

A freewheel that allows backpedaling is also the simplest design for a freewheeling mechanism. Unless there's some extra feature that works against it, such as a coaster brake, a freewheel that allows the rear wheel to turn forward without pushing on the chain will also allow the chain to turn backwards without affecting the rear wheel.

CliffordK

As far as backpedalling... it is probably not necessary.

However, if you have a bike with a modern rear derailleur, it must be able to coast. No coaster brakes or "fixies", as the derailleur is not designed to take up braking tension.

There are a few times that backpedalling can be convenient such as re-installing a dropped chain. I also like to backpedal to get the pedals right for starting (easy when the foot is attached to the pedal (clipless pedals)).

Fib

Thank you for replying, but I honestly didn't really understand it because I don't know what anything is that you're talking about. I know some of it, but like... I don't know.

Fib

Sorry for referring to them like that, but I don't know what else to call them. Like I said, this is my first bike I've had with gears and I'm just trying to figure it out. We haven't been able to take it to a shop or whatever yet, where somebody who knows about bikes and stuff can explain this stuff to me in person with my bike there, and I don't see how we will because we don't have a car big enough to fit my bik. But anyway, I'm using what I have access to to try and figure out my bike so I can use it properly. Sorry if I refer to a few things incorrectly/in a way you don't like.

ypsetihw

ok ok, lets keep it super simple - how hard it is to pedal depends on the combination of sprockets the chain is running around. generally speaking, the big gear on the front, connected to the pedals, or cranks, is called a chainring. there are usually 2 or 3 of these. generally speaking, the bigger the front ring, the harder it will be to pedal. so like on flats you usually roll around in the big ring, or "3" if your shifter has numbers printed on it. if you're climbing a hill you might go down to 2 or 1, which are progressively smaller, and provide easier pedalling.

on the rear, the opposite is true - bigger gears mean easier pedalling, smaller gears mean harder pedalling. on a bike like yours, "1" will be the easiest to pedal, and the largest actual gear with like 28 teeth, "7" will be the smallest gear with like 11 or 12 or 13 teeth and will be the hardest to pedal.

you pick your "gear" by selecting both a front AND rear gear, which gives you the overall "ratio." because there are 2 or 3 gears in the front, but 7 or more in the back, it is easier to shift the rear because the steps between the gears are smaller. this also makes it easier to fine tune your cadence, or how fast you are spinning your feet. some people like to spin their feet faster or slower depending on conditions, resistance, personal preference, fitness, etc.

so think of this way - you select a "bucket" of gears up front depending on how hard it is to pedal down the road. most of the time on flats you'll be in "2" or "3" only shifting down to "1" in the front when you climb hills. within that "bucket" of gears up front, you will do most of your shifting in the back, using your right hand, between gears 1-7, to make small adjustments in how easy or hard it is to pedal, based on your preference.

generally speaking, keeping the resistance light, with low gears, and spinning your legs fast, is less tiring on your muscles than using large gears, pushing hard or "mashing" while pushing your legs slowly around, regardless of how fast the bike is travelling down the road. the tradeoff is that spinning requires more cardiovascular fitness. if you are really fit but not strong, you would prefer to spin your legs fast. if you are not fit but have strong legs, you may prefer to spin your legs slowly. generally speaking, as you improve both strength and fitness, you will begin to spin more, and spin bigger gears, allowing you to go faster.

Jerrys88

Also trying to keep it simple:

Fib - my suggestion for learning to use your gears:

Go for a ride that includes some hills. Concentrate on picking a pedaling speed and maintaining it, no matter if you're riding on flat terrain or going up or down hill.

The speed at which you're pedaling is called "cadence." If you are a musician and have a metronome, set it somewhere between 80 and 90 and stick it in your pocket. If you don't have a metronome, you can download a metronome app on your smartphone. Start out by picking a gear at which you can pedal one full revolution per beat you hear with a comfortable resistance - not too hard, not to easy (don't be fooled - one full revolution will feel like TWO because it means 1) one foot forward 2) the other foot forward.)

Switching gears has most to do with keeping a steady cadence no matter what the terrain is. In order to keep your cadence steady, you'll find that when you're going up hill, you'll need to shift down to an easier gear, and shift back up for flat or downhill terrain. The clue for when you need to shift will be if pedaling resistance gets too hard to keep up with the beat, or the resistance becomes so easy that you find yourself pedaling faster than the beat.

Just for simplicity, think of your FRONT three chainrings as:

Big Ring = Down Big Hill
Middle Ring = Most Riding
Small Ring = Up Big Hill

Also, for simplicity, since you state that where you live there are no big hills, for the cadence practice I suggested, put the chain on the front middle ring and keep it there. Do all your shifting in the back.

Re noise you heard, yes - you probably cross-chained:

Front Small Ring + Back Small Sprocket
or
Front Large Ring + Back Large Sprocket

Either one will put your chain at a severe angle and will likely make noise. Try to avoid them.

Fib

Ok. Thank you, I understand it a lot better that way. Sorry you had to dumb it down for me. I'm still learning, but that's why I joined this forum because I know there are people who know a lot and can teach me a lot.

fietsbob

"gears" are Math. a Ratio.
the chainring (tooth count number ) turns the rear wheel ( count those teeth too )
Same number its a 1:1 Ratio.

front 2x as large as the rear , it's a 2:1 ratio..


then you have wheel size the Diameter..

and the having the diameter, another calculation gets you Circumference..

that, combined , can indicate how far down the road you get for every pedal rotation..





...

Fib

Ok. Thank you.

mcours2006

I am thinking OP is a visual learner. What he should is watching some Youtube videos on how to shift:



And other such videos.

Jerrys88

Note - I made a correction but it didn't register before you quoted my text. Should read:

In order to keep your cadence steady, you'll find that when you're going up hill, you'll need to shift down to an easier gear, and shift back up for flat or downhill terrain.

Fib

Who is OP? Are you referring to me? I learn better from seeing and doing, so yeah, kinda a visual learner (I'm a girl btw). I'll check out those videos. The reason I haven't been watching videos though is because since there's like a bunch of different bikes, I would look up what I need to know and all the videos would be for bikes that work differently than mine, and I couldn't find anything for the specific bike that I have.

Fib

Ok

Fib

The videos were very helpful. Thank you for linking them.

mcours2006

Almost all bikes work exactly the same way. They may look different. Some will have more gears than yours and some will have fewer. Shifters might be trigger, twist, 'brifters', even electronic, but they also work the same way. So if you can understand the basic principles everything else is just a variation of it.

Fib

Ok. Thank you

fietsbob

a decade, of use, including several International bike Tours . My drive train
50-40-24t on the crank 13, 15, 17, 20, 24, 28, 34t, on the rear wheel hub.
[Shimano K cassette is 13,15,17,20 ,24, 29, 34]

sheldon gears

rmfnla

OP is Original Poster. Yes, that is you. It is OK that you are a girl; some of my favorite people are, too.

My suggestion is ride with someone who knows what they are doing so they can show you.

Best way to learn that I can think of...

Fib

Ok. I was just mentioning that I am a girl because the person who posted the reply referring to me as OP, said "he" when I am a "she", not a big deal though just wanted to clarify it. Yeah, it probably would be good for me to ride with someone who knows a lot about bikes and stuff but I don't know anyone who does. I know one person, but he's mad at me for some reason that I don't know, so oh well. I can learn by looking stuff up online and asking questions on here.

shafter

My advice- Just take it easy and shift around till you are not pedalling too hard and still going as fast as you want.

It's really easy to get caught up in the details. Just enjoy yourself and use the gears that feel good!

12strings

Simplest solution:

1. Remember that Shift changes only happen when you are pedalling.

2. Shift the front to the middle ring. Leave it there unless you are climbing a steep hill...in which case go to the smallest front gear.

3. Just use the back shifter to make it easier or harder to pedal until you are pedalling at a comfortable pace.

Fib

Thank you. The reason I posted this though, is because some of the details are important. Like when I was riding my bike and I did something wrong with the gears and it started making the loud noise. I wouldn't know what I did wrong if I didn't look it up or ask on here, and I wouldn't know about how much damage I could cause if I do that again. So sometimes it's good to get caught up in those details before you go out and have fun. Like how you need to read the instructions for something before you use/do it. You're not gonna have fun if you get confused and/or accidentally break your new item, are you?

Classtime 

Fib, I sugest that you use the left (front) shifter to put the chain on the middle gear (front one by your pedals). Leave it there. Ride for several days while only shifting the right (rear) shifter. Stay on level ground and feel what happens when you shift. Next week, put the chain on the middle gear in back and go for a ride while only shifting the left (front).

If you want to see what is going on, suspend your bike from hooks on the wall or the garage rafters or have someone hold it up while you pedal with your hand and shift. This is very instructive. You can watch what is happening when all that noise is going on and figure out what to do to make it run quietly.

What model bike do you have? Can you post a picture?

VegasTriker

One of the better places to learn about how your bike works and what you need to do to keep it in good working order is the late Sheldon Brown's website. He has a section on gearing that is worth reading: How To Shift Your Bicycle's Gears

One important thing to remember while using a multi-speed bike is to anticipate the need to change gears and do it slightly before you actually need to do it. That means shifting into an easier gear before stopping the bike. Ditto just before you start up a hill. Shifting up in anticipation of needing a higher gear is less important. My trike has 30 gear selections and if you asked me to tell you what gear I was in I would not be able to give you an answer. Once you ride for a while, shifting becomes automatic and you don't have to even consciously think about it. You just do it.