Learning to Shift

All those gears confuse even experienced riders. I’m never sure whether the small cog in back is High gear or Low gear. But as I ride, the feel tells me where I need to be. Sometimes I have to visually check to be sure which gear I’m in and nothing is worse than being caught in too high a gear when the road takes a sudden climb. You not only shouldn’t shift under pressure. You can’t.

This video deals with a 7 speed cassette and a triple crank up front for 21 speeds but as he points out this is really only about 13 different gear combinations. Several are duplicates. This video makes several good suggestions without getting into gear inches or ratios or any of that stuff that make my eyes cross. The links below are to other videos you might find useful.

~ by crosetti on May 25, 2008.

Posted in Bike Month, Commuting, Technique, equipment, repair