Please Explain Gears!!!
 

I know this is not a mechanical question but i did not know where else to post this i have been running into this problem for several years and lately its been happening often which is explain in a simple way how to use gears to customers. I have tried many approaches such as going threw it with them while they are on a trainer or demoing the bike and have explained it hundreds of different ways so i am calling on the bike world to help me teach people HOW TO CHANGE GEARS PROPERLY IN A SIMPLE WAY!!!

1) The gears closest to the frame are the easiest gears, the inside gears are the easiest.
2) You can use the middle chainring for any speed riding but you only use the large chainring when going over 15 mph. This prevents cross chaining and allows a better cadence.
With a triple, you use only the smallest when going very slow as an option, going up hills, or riding on trails.
3) The three most important in real estate is location location location. The three most important words in bicycling is shifting shifting shifting. With shifting at the right times, you will go faster, ride further, and use less energy.
4) Pedaling should be easy. If you have to press down on the pedals, you are either going up an incline, going up a hill, or you are in the wrong gear and you need to shift. If it's not easy, you are in the wrong gear and you need to shift.
5) To shift to the bigger gears, use the big lever (aka brake lever). To shift to the smaller gears, use the little lever. Big gear, big lever; little gear, little lever.

Think of your bicycle as having 3 gear ranges: One for uphill, one for level roads, and one for downhill. Your front chainrings correspond to those three ranges.

Within each gear range you can adjust how hard you have to pedal by shifting the rear gears.

Ratios, F:R, big one spins little one often.
Little one turns bigger one less frequently.

When I was very young my mother explained gears in a car this way: A low gear gives you more power but less speed. A high gear gives you more speed but less power. Simple but true, works for bikes too.

thanks guys this really helps but i think retro grouch really hit it iv tried explaining it like a car before and for some people it works but i they often ask for a better detailed explanation i live in New York everyone here uses auto and manual/standard is almost unheard of unless your really into cars. now if i can only get them to understand the rules.

When we ride a bike, we must do Continuous Work to overcome resistive forces, such as friction, rolling resistance (i.e. resistance to the deformation of the tires against the road), and wind resistance. Continuous Work is measured as energy output per unit time, which we should all know is Power. On a bicycle, our legs must continuously spin the crank arms and this powers the bike and propels it forward. Another key concept that people need to understand is that of Torque = Force x radial length. In any type of conversion for circulating power into locomotion (e.g. pedaling a bike), we always must deal with Torque, and this gives rise to the concept of gear ratios, as we'll read below.

First basic thing to impart is: How fast we go on a bike is determined by the power output of the rider spinning the pedals relative to the resistance forces (friction, wind, gravity, etc.) At any moment in time, the bike/rider's forward speed responds to power output to match the speed of the bike to the power output. So if the rider pedals harder, the bike speeds forward until friction/wind resistance, gravity are in equilibrium. The reverse, if the ride eases off pedaling and coasts, the bike slows down until resistive forces (wind) is low enough to match the reduced power output.

Second basic concept to impart: The maximum (aerobically sustainable) power humans can deliver by spinning pedals occurs in a narrow range of 60 - 90 RPM. Many other factors are required to allow a rider to produce optimum power, such as frame size, seat height/leg extension, crank arm length, stem height, stem extension, hip position over the pedals, foot position, physical fitness, etc. But for any properly sized bicycle, and at any level of physical fitness, we will observe that a rider can aerobically sustain pedaling only within this narrow range of RPM. Much has to do with bio-mechanics, and things you'll read about include muscle twitch speed, aerobic recovery time, lactic acid build-up, etc. But in general, too slow a cadence and the muscles cramp up, and too fast of a cadence one wastes energy controlling the form of his spin and impart less to force at the pedals. Individuals do vary in power and fitness. But for any individual, the maximum sustainable power they can achieve without going into oxygen debt is achieved in the narrow range usually between 60 - 90 RPM.

This brings us to the 3rd basic concept: Multiple bicycle gears widen the range of conditions a rider can continue to pedal efficiently by enabling the rider to continue to spin at 60 - 90 rpm. The gears achieve this by allowing the rider to change the gear ratio, and thus change the torque that his pedaling ultimately exerts on the rear wheel. Take the example of a rider on flat road w/ tail wind riding a 52/13 (4:1) ratio on a 700x25c road bike at 80 RPM. This equates to roughly 2 meter circumference x 80 RPM x 4:1 ratio x 60 minutes/hr = 38400 meters/hr = 24 mph. The rider makes a turn, loses the tail wind, and now the road has a 1% slight uphill. The force of gravity and the loss of tail wind means the rider must fight quite a bit more resistive forces. He gears down to the small ring in the front and mid cog in the rear 40/17 (2.353 ratio). His torque on the rear wheel increases to 1.7 times his previous ratio due to gear reduction (ratio of 4 relative to ration of 2.353). This puts 70% more torque to the rear wheel, which helps overcome the new gravitational potential the rider faces going uphill without wind assist. But this increase in torque comes at a cost of speed. Before, we were spinning the rear wheel at 4:1 ratio relative to the RPMs at the crank. Now we spin at just 2.353 revolutions of the rear wheel per turn of the crank. This means if our rider sustains 80 RPM, his forward speed drops to just 14.12 mph. Considering that this is still as fast as someone running in the Olympics for a long distance marathon, it's far better than having to get off the bike to push. If we only had one gear, 52:13 ratio, the extra uphill grade would push us to have to increase force at the pedal about 70%. We couldn't sustain that power output so we'd have to slow down, and then we'd be spinning probably less than 50 RPM, and that would probably require us to stand up and honk on the pedals, further lowering RPMs, and now we've dropped out of our optimal power output range. We'd be doing only 9 - 11 MPH and unable to sit down to sustain the force required to turn the pedals. After 2 minutes, the rider cramps his legs and gets off the bike to rest and sit and wish he had wider gear ratio.

So to recap: 1. Bikes work by using gears to transfer pedaling power into locomotion. 2. Humans exert power at the pedals most optimally spinning at 60 - 90 RPM. 3. Gears allow us to sustain that spinning in the optimal RPM range by changing gear ratios to drive the rear wheel and thus change torque in exchange for speed.

Does that explain things?

Now Part II - How to shift

If we understand the human biomechanics and optimal range for performance from the post above, the next step is to understand how to shift. And this is more dependent on the gearing that the bike has and the ratios it has. For any set of front chain rings, and rear cluster, we can make a chart of gears that looks like the specs found here: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/bridgest...ne-1991-33.htm

The table explains the ratio and distance traveled for each combination of gears for mtn bikes with 3 chain rings front and 6 - 7 speeds in the back.

Notice we have overlap. That is, if we use just the big chain ring and move through the cluster of rear cogs, there are some ratios of (e.g. big ring : big cog) that are a lower gear ratio than the middle ring (e.g. mid ring: small cog).

In an ideal world, we would memorize the exact ratio and switch linearly by ratio, shifting front and rear derailleur to optimize the ratio we are in. But we don't do this in practice. Instead, we leverage the fact that we humans do have some range in optimal power output. We can sustainably output power at the pedals with some difference in RPM between 60 - 90. We can also vary our pedaling force by 0 - 100% depending on how short of a duration we need to do it. So if we encounter a short hill, we could just power up it in the same gear and then return back to a sustainable pace and try to recover. But in general, if we have a change in terrain or environment that lasts more than a minute, we may want to pop out by 1 or 2 gear cog(s) in the back to find a more optimal cadence. And we continue shifting just the rear until we get to the cog adjacent to (but not the actual) smallest or largest gear, and then we shift to the next chain ring.

An example: 12 speed with 52,40 front rings, and rear cogs 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 22T.
We were riding flat out with slight 1% downhill and tail wind, in top gear 52/13.
Road flattens out so we switch to 52/14.
Wind calms so we pop first one gear and try to push 52/15
Can't sustain that so we slow down and push 52/17
We turn a corner and now head into a slight head wind and push 52/19.
A slight grade uphill is ahead. We pop the front now, and push 40/19.
The uphill flattens out. We pop into 40/17, then 40/15
...

The scheme above is a basic approach at avoid "cross-chaining" where the rider would make the chain pull at extreme angles.

Some thoughts:

1. Choose gearing ratios and bicycle types to fit the type of riding and terrain. For example, a commuter bike might be only over relatively flat terrain. Many times, a single speed bike is simpler, lighter, and perhaps more reliable than a multi-gear bike for this purpose. OTOH, if you plan to do a 1000 mile tour through the mountains and plan to pack everything on bike racks/panniers, having a wide range gearing is perhaps the most important. And if planning to compete in an individual time trial or triathlon in mildly rolling paved roads, you may only need single 48T crank up front, and a close range "corn cob" rear cluster like a 12 - 18 straight block and tight short arm RDR.

2. Training and fitness can help determine shifting patterns for a given terrain/conditions and make shifting second nature or instinctive. Too often, lack of riding results in folks getting lazy and using just two gears - the highest gear, and the lowest. A seasoned rider knows his own fitness and knows to anticipate a shift the moment the terrain starts to exceed a sustainable rate, or even to know he doesn't need to shift because it will only be a short duration and he can power through without shifting, or perhaps, he can power through near the beginning and then settle down and shift with confidence, even under load when some mild fatigue appears.

In short: Figure out what kind of gears you'll need, then make sure you know how to use them.

I think you have to minimise the information you give your customers. You want to sell the damnned bike, not give a seminar on biomechanics. Also do a show and tell rather than just tell.
I would say that gears are their to match your power which is constant to the terrain and conditions, which vary. People dont really have an accelerator pedal, once you are riding you cant produce any more power.
Low gears enable you to ride slowly over hills , rough roads and with heavier loads (put the bike onto a low gear at this point). High gears enable you to travel faster downhill and with a tailwind (shift the bike into a high gear). Medium gears are good for most riding on flatter terrain (stick it in the middle ring and a med rear sprocket). Show them the position of the gear shifter and the chain at each shift.

If you have a triple chainwheel, use the small ring for difficult terrain, the big ring for very easy terrain and the middle ring for most ordinary riding.

If pedalling becomes difficult, change down.
If pedalling becomes too easy, change up.
If you notice that your chain is crossing (show them), change the front ring and find the duplicate gear

Most people can grasp the idea of the rear gears quite easily (perhaps because they last rode a 5-speed as a child) but are confused by the front. I've told people to stay on the middle ring for normal riding, using the whole range at the back, and treat the large and small rings as extensions of the range. Show them how cross-chaining is hard on the chain, and tell them which gears to avoid. The hardest thing is getting people to ride in a gear that isn't too high.

I agree some of the time. There are some things that customers may not understand because they are too stupid. But often, the stupid questions are posed by clients not to learn something, but to gauge the worthiness of the sales person who represents the knowledge of the shop. We don't have to give a seminar in bio-mechanics, but we can spend the 15 seconds to tell them that as engines, humans don't have as wide a range of power that, say an electric or car motor has. We function best in a narrow range of exertion. The gears give us the ability to keep pedaling in that narrow range by changing the gear ratio allowing us to trade off speed for more torque.

The act of shifting could be demonstrated, but with indexed shifting today, it's about proper gear selection and not about shifting technique. Most customers have either some idea already about gear selection, or they will acquire it by practice and through building their own fitness.

In my experience, customers fitting the profile of a "newbie" coming into a bike shop rarely enter alone. They come as a pair - Buyer and Friend/Spouse who is considered more "technical." Good cop and bad cop. The customer might ask about a gear bike. My tactic is to leverage the friend and get them to help sell the bike for me, and the way to do that is to interact with the friend and ask that person to help explain gearing and how it works. Often, it tells the sales person the level of knowledge of the friend and therefore the customer, and what might be motivating the sale. Often, the friend wants to help find a ride. So giving MORE INFORMATION is actually better in these cases. Being a more informed sales person will help explain useful options and accessories that will enhance their riding experience.

I agree that sometimes, we just want to sell the "damn" bike :-). But I don't mind spending a few minutes to given a mini-colloquium on bio-mechanics if that sells a "damn expensive" bike or even two expensive bikes plus accessories.

I wish I had a solution to offer. Some have an intuitive understanding of gears. For others, they are a complete mystery. Even shifter operation can be a mystery. Earlier this week I was coaching someone on shifting and realized that I also had to explain the concept of pushing the trigger far enough for it to click. He had just sorta been poking at the trigger with his thumb without actually pushing it. The rider simply had no mental model at all of how the whole system worked.

Here's one random bit that works well for me though. I tell new riders to "pedal slower than the bike is moving" when they shift. I've had pretty good luck using those words to prevent people from shifting under power.

I find that people don't always understand "bigger gear, smaller cog etc) I explain using numbers

As the numbers move down, it gets easier to pedal,
As the numbers move up it gets harder to pedal
If it feels like you are pedaling too hard, shift down to a lower number
If it feels like you are pedaling too fast and not gaining speed, shift up to a higher number
Avoid Low Number/High Number combinations of gears (For example, 1,8 or 8,1) If they ask why you can explain cross chaining or just say "it's bad for the bike"
Better to to up a hill in lower gear slower then overstress yourself.

That's about all a newbie needs to know IMHO, they will learn as they ride

I like Retro Grouch's description as well. The less you tell the customer, the better off you will be. Keep it as simple as possible but still cover the basics. Tell them too much or get too technical, their eyes will glaze over or they will feel intimidated and you may lose the sale.

Our biggest customer right now hasn't been on a bike in forever and is most likely shopping for a comfort, hybrid, or sport road bike of some type. Usually with 21 or 24 gears. I tell them that if you can ride a 3 or 5 speed you will have no problem with this. I give them a quick "High, medium, and low" description of the front chainrings first. Select that first depending on your terrain and then work the gears in the back afterward. I show them how the shifters work, which way to go for easy or harder gears, must be pedaling while changing gears, and that's about it. A lot of times tossing the bike in a stand and showing the customer the mechanics of what's going on can work wonders for simplifying things.
Reminding the customer about cross-chaining and easing up a little on the pedals while shifting is added in when sending them out for a test ride.
I stay away from the car analogy as that may conjure up memories of double clutching and the three speed column shift of the customer's first car that they hated. I don't want them thinking "if that car only had three gears imagine how difficult 24 will be..." ;)

Um...

I have a 66 year old lady in my store looking for a bike that's easy to ride and has a "big fat seat". I show her a comfort bike. She wants to know how those "lever thingies" work on the handlebars and what the doodad on the rear wheel does. She hasn't been on a bike since her dad bought her a hand me down JC Higgins 3-speed in 1958. I rattle off the above explanation. What kind of response will I get? :lol::lol::lol:

Manual on the column? How old are you? I'm 49, and I remember growing up watching my parents drive a car with an on-the-column shifter. Then everything seemed to pretty much go to floor-mount. By the time I was driving, anything manual was on the floor. I have not seen an on-the-column shifter in forever.

Chevy and Ford pickups used these well into the 70's. I learned in a 79 Chevy shortbed with a straight 6. These were actually fun until the linkages got some wear and they would jam in 2nd gear. :eek:

And I used to drive our dump truck that had a 5 speed on the tree... talk about hunt and peck.

I can sympathize trying to teach gears to people who haven't ridden in a while. My ride buddy did a 30 miler, never shifting off the small chainring. He couldn't figure out why I was going faster than he was... Lately the challenge is teaching a gym-rat Spin class teacher how to shift so she can enjoy the ride and not wear herself out. Her first road ride she stayed on the big ring till I noticed how slow her feet were moving. I am going to put her on the rear seat of the tandem so she can feel how the gears should feel. I hope she can translate that experience to her half-bike. Those who ask about gears, I tell chain closer to bike slower, away from the bike go-fast.

Most people that ride around for a week or two will get it,some people just need IGH's.I tried to get my friends wife to understand how to shift,ain't gunna happen.Bought her a bike with IGH,problem solved.

Good luck with that customer:-). Make sure she understands that osteoperosis and bikes don't mix if she falls. Note the indemnifications and warning tags on the bike! LOL!

But seriously, my post wasn't meant for each customer. It was meant to educate the sellers so they could re-package information as appropriate. Clearly, I don't think you folks have closed big deals before. I've bought a lot of bikes in my life, and I've sold bikes an closed some huge deals on other equipment. At the high end of the price range on anything, you need to really educate your customers if you expect them to appreciate their purchase. And you don't know. Maybe she's 66, but helped her son or her dad rebuild that old Ford engine, so she might know far more than you think, and she's simply testing you.

I recall my shop days and it was a LOT of work to make money off novice riders with limited budgets. If we sold them a derailleur bike, we'd lose money often because they'd want a cheap one. The cheap ones have parts that don't usually last and so in the first few months, it wouldn't be bulletproof, and we'd get the bike in on warranty service of some kind or another, and all it takes is a 2nd shop service and profits on such bikes disappear. It's important to find and identify the enthusiasts and empower them with skill and education in cycling. Because they won't just buy one bike. They will buy multiple bikes on the high end and then accessorize them. And if you look at boutique shops, they've mostly left the low end to Walmart and Costco. The service the upscale riders who "get it."

The sales pitch is what it is. A pitch. But to pitch the strike, you need to be armed with all the techniques and understanding and be able to explain it. You need to be prepared with knowledge. Frankly, I've answered the gear question posed by the OP, many times. I never had an issue explaining to whatever level of depth the customer wanted to. I think it's helped me sell bikes. YMMV.

I can't agree with that. All of the information I've seen in writing has shown that a range of 85 - 105 is more efficient and sustainable. I'm 68 and have no problem maintaining 85 to 100 for at least 100 miles. My wife rides at 95 - 110 rpm for at least 2 hours.