Newbie shifting question

AdrianTX said:

Hello everyone,

I am a complete newbie. I just bought a Trek 1000 and went on my first ride today. I had some difficulty with the shifting. I couldnt find it in the manual so I thought I would see if anyone could explain it to me. I would call the bike shop but they are closed right now. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Oh and btw I think I am hooked. Even with the difficulty in the shifting I still had a blast.

Regards,

Adrian

Glad you are out enjoying your new bike!

Presume you have Shimano Sora shifters, as on my #4 son's Trek 1000.
Shift only while bike is in motion and you are rotating the pedals (not backpedaling).
Left shifter controls front chainrings; right shifter controls rear.
Pressing thumb lever shifts to smaller chainring or rear cog.
Pressing brake lever toward center line of bike (i.e., pressing right brake lever to left or left brake lever to right) shifts to larger chainring or rear cog.

Small in front=easier to spin
Small in rear=harder to spin

To start out, you may find it easier to spend most of your time on the middle front ring and concentrate on mastering your rear shifting, then add in large or small when conditions (and your level of conditioning) permit or require it.

Does this answer your question?