Originally Posted by
tracyfrombklyn
I'm a new-ish cyclist who is now commuting to work on my Giant Cypress, and some of it is uphill. On a flat surface, I ride in second gear on the left and third on the right and I usually downshift to second gear on the right when I hit a hill. Each time, it seems like the gear change doesn't "catch" right away...the pedals feel slack as I go around three or four times before I feel the change. And sometimes there's quite a large clunking noise. I have no idea if this normal, but it doesn't feel very efficient, and it doesn't seem to happen when I upshift as I go downhill again. I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong or if something might be wrong with the bike.
Sounds like your gears need some adjustment, if you can do this yourself, there are how to guides on youtube / the Park Tools website. you say you are a new cyclist, how long havbe you had the bike? if new, has the shop you got it from looked at it?
Originally Posted by
tracyfrombklyn
Also, any thoughts on whether the gears I'm using on a flat surface sound reasonable? I seem to be the slowest biker on the road, but if go higher or lower it doesn't feel as comfortable to me.
No pain no gain, what do you mean by comfortable?