Question
 

What is the gear switcher on the left for? It says friction i've tried using it and it made it harder to pedal but when i tried using it going downhill it messed up my chain and now im getting a new bike.

front derailer

The left shifter operates the front derailleur, which switches the chain to the different chain rings, which makes it easier ior harder to pedal.

Big gear in the front for level terrain and going downhill. Little gear in front for going uphill or maybe into a head wind.

Avoid having big in front and big in the back at the same time or small in the front small in the back. It's called cross-chaining and it makes the bike noisy and wrecks the chain.

If using the left shifter, which controls the front derailleur resulted in messing up your chain, either the shifter or the derailleur was already messed up, and the chain was a victim of the poor mechanical condition of your bike. It's hard to imagine a situation where a damaged chain would necessitate getting a new bike. But if the bike is cheap enough, with lousy components, and a lousy cheap frame, then having malfunctioning components might be enough reason to get a new bike. I've had a few times where a neighbor will bring some hand-me-down big-box-store bike over and ask if I can help fix it. Some of those times the answer has been, "You need a new shifter, and I don't think you're going to find this no-name thing in a bike store, so you'll probably need to either settle for this being a one-speed bike, or buy a different bike."

It's possible that your bike is in that category.

Heck, with this level of knowledge, might not even know he could just swap out the chain and cassette and keep a perfectly decent bike.

One more post and [MENTION=493233]ImTrynaSkid[/MENTION] can post photos. Maybe a picture of the bike might help us give advice that fits the bike.

It's the seat ejector. Use caution. It's hard to put everything back together after blowing it off.

Don't even mention explosive QR bolts. It will just confuse things.

Are you RyanF's little brother?

Don't feed the TROLL!! :trainwreck:

I really can't make my mind up on that.

If this is a troll, it's pretty low, because I really want to help someone who obviously needs this level of help.

I've decided that if this is someone who is trying to play us, there really would be no shame on our part for trying to be helpful, and if it's a sincere person, I would feel bad if I didn't try to help.

New to the Internet are you?

Nope, I go way back to the usenet.

This is a "fool me, shame on you" situation if I ever saw one.

Or baby bike bolts.

http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/v...ssingBolts.jpg

https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycl...ng-temper.html

We laugh about stollen baby bolts, but it's only funny until baby's arms fall off.

Lots of misinformation in this thread.

I owned a baby once and I never found any bolts on her. However...

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/748...e-was-a-little

Check his other thread! https://www.bikeforums.net/general-c...ng-manual.html

Well the chain snapped and the piece under the back chain was bent but the bike was also terrible, I was bound to buy a new one.
When should I shift the front derailleur, and when should I not. (This is directed towards anyone reading lol)

Im not trolling in any way. Im only 16 so im completely new to mountain bikes, I just found out yesterday I dont even have a mountain bike. I have a 'hybrid bike'
The questions im asking are 100% serious.

Okay im getting tired of the kids on here saying im a troll and answering with stupid answers.Stop being childish. Im actually being serious, if you think im not, stop replying smh.

I will send a video of my bike and me trying to do a manual and a wheelie.

OK, this is an easy one. Big front gear basically makes you go faster per revolution, but it makes it harder to pedal. You definitely want to use it if you're going downhill because it will add to your speed while the little front gear will not.

You definitely want to be on the small one if you're going uphill, or if you're riding into the wind. The big one is just going to be too hard to pedal, so you won't be able to maintain much speed without wearing yourself out. On level ground with not much wind, try it both ways and see which way feels better for you.

Do you know how to use the rear gears? It's basically the opposite-- small is hard to pedal but faster, big is easier but slower.

I kinda suspected you were a young guy after a few posts, so again sorry about the teasing--I did think you were kidding at first.

If you can do tricks on a hybrid, congratulations! Not a lot of people can do that.

Kids?

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,when you get your new bike make sure it doesn't have that left switcher because of it does then you're gonna have to buy another bike,,,,,,Again