Beginnner questions

nv said:

Hi guys

I hope you don't mind some silly questions - I'm new to mountain biking.

My bike has 24 gears, which is good. But what do I do with them all?!
Right now I have the left shifter on 2 and I keep it there. I then shift
between 1 and 8 on the right shifter. I guess this is a really braindead
way to ride but it's all I can handle. I feel as though I'd be too busy
shifting to actually enjoy the ride if I started using all 24 speeds!

I do most of my geared riding in the middle ring. It sounds like you're
doing alright, so I wouldn't worry about it too much unless it's too
hard to pedal in the easier gear or too easy (spinning too fast) in your
hardest gear. In those cases, you'd eant to drop to the little (for more
spin) or go up to the big ring (for more power).

Quoted message said:

Also, when I change the left shifter to 1 something bad happens with the
chain and I have to shift back to 2 to recover. Sometimes, too, when I
shift on the right the shift doesn't go well and I get ominous clicking
noises from the back before it "bites". I'm sort of worried I'll be 3
miles from home and break the thing if I shift too much. Does something
need readjusting or is it me? 🙂

Sounds like your drive train may need some adjustments. Is it new? If it
is and you got it from a bike shop you can usually bring it back for
some free maintenance within the first year or at least the first few
months (varies by shop). Since it's an 8-speed cassette (the gears in
the back) I would guess it's either older or a department store bike, in
which case you will either need to learn to fix it yourself or pay to
have it done at a bike shop (because the place you bought it isn't
likely to be able to help you if it was somewhere like WalMart).

Quoted message said:

Finally, reading this forum I've heard talk of single speed mountain
bikes <drool>. But - well, how does that work? Wouldn't the rider of
such a bike be constantly slogging to get anywhere?

Singlespeeds are great for those who like the simplicity. The tradeoff
is that you have to be able to power up things that geared riders would
downshift for (or walk) and spin fast on things the geared riders would
shift up for.
I love mine, but they aren't for everyone. Some base leg strength is
required to ride one comfortably and practically on the terrain around
here. That being said there are some rides I won't take it on because
they are too steep for me - I take my geared bike on those rides.

Quoted message said:

Thanks for any input.

You're welcome.

Matt

MattB said:

nv wrote:

<snip>

Hi Matt

Thanks for the great advice!

nv

nv said:

Hi guys

I hope you don't mind some silly questions - I'm new to mountain biking.

My bike has 24 gears, which is good. But what do I do with them all?!
Right now I have the left shifter on 2 and I keep it there. I then shift
between 1 and 8 on the right shifter. I guess this is a really braindead
way to ride but it's all I can handle. I feel as though I'd be too busy
shifting to actually enjoy the ride if I started using all 24 speeds!

Also, when I change the left shifter to 1 something bad happens with the
chain and I have to shift back to 2 to recover. Sometimes, too, when I
shift on the right the shift doesn't go well and I get ominous clicking
noises from the back before it "bites". I'm sort of worried I'll be 3
miles from home and break the thing if I shift too much. Does something
need readjusting or is it me? 🙂

It's you. What is happening when you shift the left shifter to 1 is
that the angle of the chain from the cogs at the front to the cogs at
the back is at a real steep angle - the chain goes from the big cog at
the front to the biggest cog at the back. When shifting you should try
to choose combinations that keep the chain kinda parallel to the frame.
For example, the chain is on the small cog at the front and the big cog
at the back, or big at front and small at back so the chain goes nice
and straight like this

---------------------- .

You're making the chain go like this:
----
-----
------
-----

The chain can't shift properly over the cogs when it's at a sharp angle
and that is what is happening.

With 24 gears you only really use a few at a time. For example, when
the left shifter is on 1, use only 1-4 on the right shifter. When the
left is on 3, use 5-8 on the right shifter. This stops you getting the
chain confused. In reality, because you never use all the possible
combinations to avoid the problems that you are getting, your 24 speed
bike is actually closer to 12 speeds.

The ominous clicking that you get sometimes is when the chain is on the
verge of shifting up a gear and kinda lifts a little, catches a little
and then drops back down. You should find that one more click on the
shifter will make the bike change gears. It's likely that your gears
need a slight adjustment so that the chain sits nicely on each cog
without trying to "ghost shift". You can do this with the cable
adjuster knobs where the cable goes into the shifter or where the cable
goes into the derailleurs. It's likely that this will go away if you
learn to shift properly and avoid that left in 1/right in 8 technique too.

Quoted message said:

Finally, reading this forum I've heard talk of single speed mountain
bikes <drool>. But - well, how does that work? Wouldn't the rider of
such a bike be constantly slogging to get anywhere?

Yes they would be. But that's the point. Weirdos that they are... :-)
--
Westie

Branch out son and your get to use all those 24 gears.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Branch out son and your get to use all those 24 gears.

couldnt have said it better westie..

they even tell u in the pamphlet u buy with bikes not to 'stretch' the
chain like that