Comments on: In a double gear shift which gear do you change first?

By: Back to 1992!!!

Back to 1992!!! — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:41:59 +0000

are you serious? you can shift from small chainring to the big chainring without going through the gears in the back. bicycle gears are fairly intuitive. you shift to the gear that is easiest to spin and the most optimal when it comes to efficiency. this is the dumbest question i have ever read honestly. it sounds like you dont even have the intelligence to ride a bike and shift gears so most likely you are better off running for exercise instead.

personally on a 53-39 chainring I start on the 39 chainring ONLY because thats how I store my bike. I always dismount the bike with the chain on the 39 chainring. However within a few pedal strokes I engage the 53 chainring and use the 3rd largest in the back or maybe the 4th….which are 3rd closest to the rear hub or the 4th. This is for flats. I spin with good efficiency on these gear ratios. On slight inclines or going into headwind I would use the 2nd largest on cassette or maybe even the largest sometimes. I only use the 5th, 6th or 7th when I am sprinting. And 8th, 9th and 10th when I am going downhill. The small chainring (39teeth) is usually for climbing. most people dont use the small chainring on flats.
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By: Master

Master — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:20:59 +0000

Just leave it on the smaller front chainring. If you come to a downhill coast.

On a properly geared road bike a beginner should not attempt to pedal in the big ring for the first 500 miles.

Pedaling in the lower range will teach you proper cadence and save your knees. Never let your cadence drop below 70.
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By: Ron S

Ron S — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:37:59 +0000

For a triple (with 3 gears in front). The middle gear is for everything (stops/starts, cruising with this gear). The large gear is for fast riding (sprinting, or downhills), the small gear is for when I see a steady hill coming up. Short hills I would stay in middle. So, the type of riding dictates what gear I use in the front, then make adjustments on the rear whenever I feel. For example, if I was at a fast downhill coming to a red light, I would shift from largest front gear to the middle, and then go lower on the rear gears so I can start easier. When coming to a light always shift to a gear that you'll start with before stopping.
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By: sno f

sno f — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:14:59 +0000

when you get to 4-5 cog(rear) change front to big ring. using all gears on 1 ring only won't damage anything at first but it puts extra strain on chain and gear teeth which if continued will wear out faster.
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By: Bob A

Bob A — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 11:30:59 +0000

The human body is most efficient at pedaling at 70-90 rpm’s with a lite pressure on the pedals. That will allow your body to use it’s slow twitch muscles that use fat as a fuel and wont wear out you legs.

You want to shift only when you are pedaling and let up on the pedals when you do. You want to use the small chain ring on the front with the first 6 gears on the rear for starting out and climbing hills. You can use the large chain ring on the front for faster speeds and going down hill and use the 6 higher gears. You want to remember to shift to the gear you want to start out with before you stop.

http://bicycletutor.com/gear-shifting/
http://sheldonbrown.com/gears.html
http://hollandsbicycles.com/page.cfm?pageID=508
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By: Fun Skater

Fun Skater — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 10:40:59 +0000

Unlike a car, you normally don’t shift through the gears in order. Just jump to the gear that is appropriate for cruising with the wind, speed, and road conditions. If you don’t want to start in your cruising gear, just drop the rear derailleur a couple gears before you stop and step them up as you pick up speed.

If you play with them a little (or calculate the ratios, tooth count front / tooth count rear) you will find that the gear ranges on the front shifts overlap quite a bit. The front is basicaly a high and low range (many bikes have a third "granny gear" that is a really low range for going up steep hills).
To go through the gears in "order" you will find yourself doing double shifts every few gears. The order of shifting the two rings really doesn’t matter as long as you are doing them both.

Ride for a while a get a feel for which front ring you are most comfortable in for riding on level trails without hills. That will be your primary ring. Leave it there except as you get towards your limit because of wind (against you or with you) or hills (up or down).
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Got my first "good" bike in ‘71
I am an engineer that likes to understand how and why things work.

By: mtlbiker

mtlbiker — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 10:18:59 +0000

Although on paper you have 18 different gears, in practice you have fewer. Normally, while riding on the small chain ring in front you would not use the two smallest cogs on the back. The reason is that on those two cogs, the chain is a too large an angle, and will wear rapidly. The same thing goes for the large chain ring. When on the large chainring, you would not normally use the two largest cogs on the back. When you are starting off, unless you are going uphill, there is no need to use the easiest gear, a bike is not like a motorized vehicle where you have to use all the gears. Start off on the small chain ring with the chain on a cog somewhere in the middle of the cassette in the back. As you ride along, switch to a gear where you can ride turning the pedals at about 80 rpm. When changing from one chain ring to another, you normally switch both gear changers at the same time. When going from the small ring to the large ring, go 2 gears easier on the rear. When going from the large ring to the small, go 2 gears harder at the rear, this will keep you spinning at about the same speed as you change gears. The goal is to keep spinning the pedals at about the same speed no matter how fast or slow you are going so that you don't bog down.
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By: Coach Levi

Coach Levi — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 09:39:59 +0000

There are certain gear combinations you should use moreso than others.

For example, when you are in the small chainring (on the crank) you want to use the 5 biggest cogs (on the back wheel.) Before you get the whole way to the smallest cog, you should shift the front to the big chainring.
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http://coachlevi.com/cycling/complete-beginner-guide-to-bicycle-gears-shifting/

By: mt75689

mt75689 — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 08:49:59 +0000

Don’t worry ~ you’re not going to damage the bike, but there are a couple of things you want to avoid…

Don’t ride in gear combinations that put the chain in an exteme angle ~ large chainring and large cog, and small chainring and small cog. You should be riding with the chain somewhere in the middle of the the 9 gears on back. Select the chainring on the cranks that allows you to stay in that optimum combination.

Another thing to consider is your cadence ~ or how fast you are pedaling. You should be spinning the cranks anywhere from 70 to 90 RPM’s. Select the gear combination that allows you to do that. This is why there are so many gears on today’s bikes. There are only one or two tooth differences between gears which allows a cyclist to make subtle changes in order to maintain his or her spin.

Also, it is not necessary to go through all of the gears while you’re riding. It’s not like driving a car or riding a motorcyle ~ where you start out in first gear and then go to second, and so on.

This is how I ride ~ I start out on the small chainring with a gear selection that places the chain somewhere in the middle of the rear cassette. Once I get moving pretty fast, and where my spin is near the top of my desired RPM’s, I shift to the large chainring and make whatever adjustments are necessary so that I can maintain my spin. I shift back down to the small chainring in the front before coming to a stop. Then I start the same way I did before, and then shift back to the large chainring. If I find that I have to keep making adjustments that bring me close to the large cog on the rear wheel, then I shift back down to the small chainring in front, and find a gear combination on the rear wheel that allows me to maintain my spin.

Hope that helps.
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