I have a Dawes Galaxy 2007 with bar end gear shifters. I can change the rear cog quite happily, because I can feel and hear the click of the lever as it changes. I have difficulty with the changing the triple on the crank, as the lever for that does not click and the only indication I get is when I hear the chain slip to the new position ( by which time I have usually lost momentum) which for me a newbie is most disconcerting. Any suggestions to ease the matter would be helpful.

The other question I have how do you effectively change gear. For example if I am approaching a hill with the chain on the centre cog front and the big cog rear, I can happily change down through the nine gears. When I get to the lowest gear set if need be I then have to change to an even lower gear presumably by dropping to the small cog front, first. This leaves me in the position where I am in an extremely low gear (since my rear cog is also the smallest) and I am left wasting energy by spinning pedals. Is this correct or am I doing something wrong ?