Learn to plan ahead, downshifting before you get to a hill or before your come to a stop. That way you can easily make your shift without doing it under load, and be in the right gear to take on the hill or take off from the stop.
Learn to pull back or forward on the right lever (rear derailleur) far enough to get the chain to move to the next cog, then trim the derailleur by moving slightly in the other direction so the chain doesn't go tick-tickety-tick on the cog.
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My C&V Bikes:
1972 Bottecchia Professional, 1972 Legnano Olympiade Record,
1982 Colnago Super, 1987 Bottecchia Team C-Record,
1988 Pinarello Montello, 1990 Masi Nuova Strada Super Record,
1995 Bianchi Campione d'Italia, 1995 DeBernardi Thron
Last edited by CroMo Mike; 10-11-15 at 12:32 PM.