Originally Posted by 8bitevolution
And finally gearing. I scanned some articles but a lot of them went way more technical then I would like. First, a lower gear essentially is made up of the smaller gears of the chainwheel, correct? So your smallest gear on the chainwheel and rear tire would be your lowest gear and the biggest gear on your chainwheel and rear tire is the highest, correct?
Nope,
Lowest == smallest chainring [front] x largest cassette ring [rear]
Highest == largest chainring x smallest cassette
Second, when riding on flatland, should I be using a middle gear or lower gear or what?
You just got your bike. On flatland you should keep the front on the middle ring and change the rear up or down to adjust whether it's too hard or too easy for you
A low gear usually feels like I'm pedaling too much and getting no power. A higher gear gives good power but I feel like I'm wearing myself out rather quickly. I've read that when coming up on hills, it's better to switch to a lower gear and lose speed but maintain the same pedaling speed (cadence). Is this true? What's the benefit to maintaining a consistent cadence?
Depends on the length of the hill, some steep hills when have low energy will gear down to lower easier gear before starting up because know it will cost me more effor if wait to switch part way up the hill when I'm wasted.
You always want to be about the same cadence, at least when starting out. You'll probably be in the 70 to 80 rpm range. You don't want to drop below 70 and don't want to go above 110. Later you can work on improving cadence. Benefit of constant cadence is you're using slow twitch muscles which go and go and go. If you power with pushing, fast twitch muscles, you get more force but they are like turbo's and can only fire so long before they need a rest.
Should my legs be burning after a 10 or 15 minute ride without too many hills due to a lack of exercise or am I just riding my bike all wrong? As I said, the seat height and pedal thing I know I was doing wrong so I can only assume I'm getting gearing all wrong, too. If this is due to a lack of exercise, how often should I be riding? Is there anything I need to do to help rebuild muscle after riding?
I know this is a lot to ask but I'd really appreciate any help or advice. Thanks again.
-Sean
No, you're pushing it too much. You don't want to create an injury that will take a long time to recover from. Expect not to feel great riding until you have at least 500 miles under your belt. First get your positioning fixed. Have the store you bought it at double check it's fit. It sounds like it may be a little off. Oh, old days, proper height of saddle was so leg was fully extended on down stroke. Now it's almost extended but never extended.