Newbie Uphill/Downhill Shifting

Congratulations on your new Bike!!

I would say the best thing to do is practice on a flat Bike Path, somewhere with no Traffic....

Put the front Gears (Chainring) onto the middle ring and just worry about changing the rear gears for now, as you get towards the SMALL cog you'll feel more resistance on your Pedals, as you change towards the BIG cogs you'll feel LESS resistance...

Just remember "Small for downhill" "Large for Uphill"

It just takes practice..and remember when changing gears to carry on pedaling forwards with less pressure on the pedal untill the gear engages...otherwise you'll "Clunk" into gear....

Once you've mastered the rear gears you can start changing the front...this is a little more complicated because you have to work the front and rears together...

klanda20 said:

Hey everyone,

I just bought my first road bike a week ago and took it out twice this week. I never had a bike where shifting was sooo important. Going up even the slightest of hills is an immensly hard task. ( I realize even being in the right gear isn't going to make it "easy" but i'm pretty sure I have no idea what I'm doing! )
Also going downhill, when I pedal I'm not getting any pressure on the pedals and therefore not generating any extra speed, again I'm definitely not in the correct gear.

I have three gears in the front and eight in back.

Any help would be immensly appreciated!!! (Putting technical terms in your reply will probably only confuse me further, so feel free to use terms such as "small gear", "large gear", etc.)

Thanks in advance,

Kyle

Sounds like you have Sora group set.

The larger rings on the front or pedals\cranks will give you the higher gears used for flat or downhill.

Do this until you get used to the bike and different riding conditions. Just remember:

Left = front (brake and gears)

Right = rear (brake and gears)

Step 1 -Get on the bike and pedal. Shift the rear shifter until the chain is in the middle of the rear cassette\sprocket and leave it there until you get comfortable shifting. Focus on using only the front derailer and chainrings for awhile. Moving the chain down to the small ring for hills, in the middle for small inclines and windy flats and use the big ring for flats and downhill’s.

You could reverse this and put the chain on the middle front ring and only use the back sprockets to vary your gears but save that procedure for step 2 . That way you won't have to keep looking back at the rear derailer to see where you are (we all do it now and again), looking back will be distracting while you are learning the bike so focus on step 1 first.

Step 2 - This will be the opposite of step 1. Use the Right shifter and rear cassette to vary the shifting and keep the chain in the middle chainring on the front. You will notice the gears work different on the rear.... The big sprocket on the rear you will use for low gears (hills), and the smaller gears for flats and downhill’s.

Just try and get the hang of it first, be patient.

Jaguar27 said:

Congratulations on your new Bike!!

I would say the best thing to do is practice on a flat Bike Path, somewhere with no Traffic....

Put the front Gears (Chainring) onto the middle ring and just worry about changing the rear gears for now, as you get towards the SMALL cog you'll feel more resistance on your Pedals, as you change towards the BIG cogs you'll feel LESS resistance...

Just remember "Small for downhill" "Large for Uphill"

It just takes practice..and remember when changing gears to carry on pedaling forwards with less pressure on the pedal untill the gear engages...otherwise you'll "Clunk" into gear....

Once you've mastered the rear gears you can start changing the front...this is a little more complicated because you have to work the front and rears together...

And they say Socal and Norcal will never agree on anything....😄

lw

Agree with the others, find somewhere flat and quiet and practise changing gears. Depending on your fitness and whether or not you have ridden a bike before, you may find even the smallest slope a big effort - I know I did when I first started riding.

An easier way to remember the effect of changing gears is...the closer you move the chain towards the bike, the lower the gear and the further away you move the chain from the bike the higher the gear.

Changing the front gears gives you big changes in pedal effort and speed, changing the back gears gives you little changes.

Going uphill for example, you keep changing gears so the chain moves in towards the bike to make it easier to pedal. (of course, your speed drops as you do this)

Geeze...how hard can it be to learn to change your gears?

The main thing is you want the right cadence (that is your rpm at the crank). Go for about 90 rpm, and change your gears (up or down depending on terrain and wind) to keep it about there.

90 rpm!!! I,m doing good to get 60 but then I'm an old geezer with a past history of couch potato itis.

So where are the old folks that just like to peddle?🙂

The main thing is you want the right cadence (that is your rpm at the crank). Go for about 90 rpm, and change your gears (up or down depending on terrain and wind) to keep it about there.[/QUOTE]

No, with 90rpm he's going to feel like a lab rat on one of those wheels. A better cadence as a newbie is 80, and even that will feel a little fast initially.

First of all, however, he has to get his gear changing right - then we can tackle the finer points of performance cycling. 😉

lwedge said:

And they say Socal and Norcal will never agree on anything....😄

lw

I disagree....I did agree with someone from Norcal once...
😄

Thank you everyone for your advice and tips!