Gear Shifting

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A Complete Idiots Guide to Bicycle

Gears & Shifting

Posted by Levi on September 25, 2008 in Road Cycling Articles Comments(28) and

gearing | shifting

Moving from a one speed bicycle to one with multiple gears is a big step. Not only doyou have to learn how to shift the gears, you also have to learn what gears to use, andfigure out when to shift into which gear!

I was reminding of this when I received this plea for help

I have a 28 speed and knowing when to shift, and what gear to shift to is driving me

nuts! I need an idiots guide to shifting! Help!!!

Well, you got it! Here is the Complete Idiots Guide to Bicycle Gears & Shifting toexplain everything a beginner needs to know about using a multi-speed bicycle.

Introduction to Gears and Terminology

Ever since bicycles came with more than one sprocket on the front and back, theywere usually referred to as the number of gear combinations that were offered. Forexample, a road bike with two chainrings up front and a five-speed freewheel on the

back was a 10 speed, since the five rear sprockets could be matched with either ofthe two front chainrings. (25=10, its just simple math.)

But once you learn more about gearing, youll see that that is actually a confusingway to describe things. So to start things off, lets get the terminology straightenedout:


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The front sprockets that are attached to the crankarm are called chainrings. If youhave two chainrings (a big ring and a little ring,) that setup is called a double. If youhave three chainrings (big, middle, and little,) you have a triple chainring setup.

The gear cluster on the rear wheel is either a freewheel or a cassette. If your bike hasfive gears on the back, it probably has a

freewheel. If your bike has eight to ten gears

on the back, it has a cassette. Each ring on the cassette is referred to as a cog. (Thedifference between a freewheel and a cassette makes no difference in this article, sodont worry about that.)

For this article, our example bicycle will be a modern mountain bike with threechainrings and an 8-speed cassette. Some people would call this a 24 speed, butmost avid cyclists and bike mechanics refer to this simply as an 8 speed.

Discover How the Shifters and Derailleurs Work

Having gears wont do you a bit of good without understanding how the shifting

works, so heres a look at that

Shifting starts at the shift levers, which are usually located on the handlebar besidethe grips. When you move one of the shift levers, a cable pulls or releases one of thederailleurs which moves the chain from one gear to another.


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In typical setups, the left shifter is matched to the front derailleur (so it shifts betweenthe chainrings.) The right shifter is matched to the rear derailleur (which shifts

between the cogs on the cassette.)

Lets talk about the shift levers (shifters) first

Each shifter will have numbers on it to indicate which gear you are in (this is the gear

indicator.) In this example, our left shifter shows numbers 1-3, while our right shiftershows 1-8.

The lower the number, the easier the gear is. So if both the gear indicators show 1then you are in the easiest gear the bike offers. If the left shifter is at 3 and the right isat 8, then you are in the hardest gear on the bike.

On the left shifter, you will see numbers to indicate which gear you are in 1, 2, or 3.The number 1 corresponds to the little ring, 2 is the middle ring, and 3 is the big ring.For the front chainrings, bigger chainrings equal a harder gear.


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On the right shifter, the numbers 1-8 are all there. The number 1 corresponds to thebiggest cog, while number 8 corresponds to the smallest cog. When it comes to thecassette, bigger cogs equal an easier gear.

Lets not forget the derailleurs

This is the easy part though, because once you shift the levers, the shifter cable willrelay your instructions to the derailleur.

What happens when you shift is the derailleur cage (which the chain runs through)will move to either side. Lets say you shifted the front shifter to an easier gear. Thefront derailleur will move to the left, thereby derailing the chain onto the smallerchainring. As long as the derailleurs are adjusted properly, they will do their job justlike that, and you can concentrate on shifting!

Types of Shifters

Before moving on to shifting and gear selection, lets take a quick look at the varioustypes of shifters out there. (Well concentrate on the three types that are mostcommon on modern bicycles.)

First, grip shift. With this type of shifting, there are no levers. You shift by twisting asection of the grip forward or backward, depending on whether you want a harder or


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easier gear. It is very simple to get the hang of it, so it comes on most mountain bikesin the $100-300 price range.

Note: Pictures in this article are grip shifters.

Second, trigger shifters. These are also very common on mountain bikes, but also on

road bikes, in different form. (They are usually called Shimano RapidFire or ShimanoSTI.)

In this case, youll have two triggers beside each handlebar grip. There are twotriggers on each shifter because the triggers only move in one direction.

On the left trigger shifter, the small trigger shifts to a smaller chainring, for an easiergear. The bigger shifter will shift up to a bigger chainring, for a harder gear.

On the right trigger shifter, the little trigger shifts to a smaller cog, which gives you aharder gear. The bigger shifter will shift up to a bigger cog, which gives you an easiergear.

(Trigger shifters do sound complicated, but they arent a problem once you practicewith them a little bit.)

Basic Fundamentals of Gear Selection

Now you know the basics of shifters and derailleurs, so lets move on to choosingwhich gears to use.

The most important thing here is that there is no such thing as the right gear.Choosing a gear depends on numerous factors, not the least of which is comfort.

Really, gearing is personal preference, so you and your friends will probably ride indifferent gears, even if you are going the same speed on the same road.

However, one thing to consider is yourcadence. Cadence is another word for yourpedaling speed (basically, how fast your legs spin in circles.) This is measured inRPM, or revolutions per minute.

Cadence is important because it directly impacts your comfort level. Pedaling at aslow cadence usually means you are using too hard of a gear, and your leg muscleswill tire out quickly. It can also hurt your knees. A good rule of thumb is to keep yourcadence fairly high, usually in the range of 75-90 RPM. (Here is how to count yourcadence.)


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But aside from comfort and cadence, the middle of your gear range is a good startingpoint. Say youre starting out on a flat road at an easy to moderate pace (on the 24speed bike.) You should be in your middle ring (2) up front, and roughly your fourthlargest cog (4) in the rear.

(A good moderate gear is pictured to the left.)

To make small adjustments to your speed, you will want to shift the rear derailleur.If you need to go a little faster, shift to a smaller cog (5, 6, or 7.) If you want to easeup on the pace, shift to a bigger cog (1, 2, or 3.)

But if you come to a steep hill climb, or a long downhill, you will want to make a bigjump in your gearing. So instead of shifting the rear derailleur, youll shift the frontderailleur first.

An Example of Proper Shifting

Here is an example of how you might shift gears while out on a bike ride. At the start,you are currently in the middle ring and one of the middle cogs. Then

Lets say youre coming up to a steep hill climb. You will shift to the small chainring(1) up front. If that gear isnt easy enough, then you will shift the rear derailleur to a

big cog (1, 2, or 3.)


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Once you hit the top of the hill and the road flattens, you can go ahead and shift therear derailleur back to a slightly smaller cog, getting to number 3 or 4. Then its time

to shift the front derailleur back to the middle ring (2.) If the road remains flat, youcould stay in that gear or shift the rear derailleur once again, going to 5 or even 6.

But then when you hit the downhill, you need a big change in gears, so youll shift the

front derailleur up to the big ring (3.) That should give you a good gear. If you need aharder gear though, you can shift the rear derailleur to the smallest cogs, 7 and 8.

As the road changes, keep repeating the process.

Just remember: Shifting the left shifter makes a big impact, andshifting the rightshifter is to fine tune your gear selection. You will shift the right shifter (for the rear

derailleur) much more often than the left shifter.

What to Watch Out For

If you followed along through that gradual shifting process, you might have noticedwe only ran through about 12 different gear combinations, when the bike actuallyoffers 24. Why?

Well, your 24 speed bike isnt meant to use all the gears. Certain gear combinationsare very rough and sometimes dangerous.

See,you need to keep your chain running in a straight line for the bike to ridesmoothly. You do that by using certain combinations of gears and avoiding others. (Astraight chain line is pictured in a previous section.)


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For example, when you are in the small chainring, you will want to use the biggestfour cogs, numbers 1-4. When you are in the middle chainring, you can use most of

the cogs, but I would stick to numbers 1-6. When you are in the big chainring, youshould stick with the smallest cogs, 6-8. This will keep your chain in a fairly straight

line.

If you use extreme gear combinations, such as the small ring and the smallest cog orthe big ring and the biggest cog, thats called cross chaining. This puts the chain attoo much of an angle, which makes the chain wear out extra fast. (Youll usually hearsome sort of grinding noise coming from the chain if you do this.) It also makes itmore likely that the chain will fall off the bike.

When to Shift (A Few More Pointers)

To shift smoothly and easily and keep a constant, comfortable cadence, you want toanticipate your shifts. Its just like the example above.

If you are approaching a steep hill climb, you want to shift down to an easier gearbefore you need to. The steeper the hill, the more gears you will want to shift down.

If you wait until you can barely turn the pedals before shifting down, youll have aheck of a painful time trying to climb the hill!

Likewise, if you are going downhill, gradually shift up as you gain more speed. Dontwait until your legs are spinning around like crazy!

Another thing to anticipate is starting up after you come to a stop. If you are riding in

a big gear, you will want to shift down as you slow down and come to a stop. If youstop while youre still in a big gear, it will be very hard to get started again!

But if you anticipate that and shift to a low gear before stopping, you will be able tostart easily.

Proper Shifting Technique

There is more to shifting than just twisting some levers. Shifting requires precisecoordination between your hands and feet; the better you coordinate your movements,the smoother your shifts will be.

The basic principle here is that you have to be pedaling for the bike to shift . The

chain needs to be moving forward for the derailleurs to do their job, so always pedalwhen shifting.

But there is a little trick to it. You need to be pedaling lightly and softly for the bike toshift smoothly. Its called soft pedaling.

If you are pedaling too forcefully, your leg power will override the derailleurs andthere will be no shifting, just grinding noises! (Think about it, your legs are big andmuscular, and the derailleurs and chain are just little pieces of metal.)


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So heres how to shift:

As you move the shifter with your hand, simultaneously ease up on your pedaling forone stroke. You should hear and feel the shift complete smoothly. Then you can

resume pedaling with full force. Dont worry, you only ease up for a second, so youwont lose speed just from soft pedaling.

Thats all there is to it. Most people I see that have trouble shifting simply need to trysoft pedaling. It is a common misconception that you need to pedal hard and fast toget a shift to complete. Proper shifting actually calls for the opposite approach!

Just get out there and practice

Getting Started (Practice Makes Perfect)

Now that you know what to do, its time to do it. But it wont hurt to do a few practiceruns first!

The first thing I would do is run through the gears by hand. Just prop the bike up sothe rear wheel is off the ground (if you dont have a repair stand, just hang the bike ona tree branch or something,) and then shift through the gears while pedaling with yourother hand.

Once you see it in action, head out to an empty parking lot and ride in circles. Youjust want to get the feel for shifting so that it becomes second nature. You want tobe able to go ride and pay attention to your surroundings, without needing to lookdown at the shifters.

Dont feel bad if it takes a while, weve all been there at one point! Its not easy to go

from one speed to dealing with 24 or 27!

(Think of it like driving a manual transmission car most people dont know how todo that!)

First, let's get our terms straight so we're on the same

page

You can think of gears as the same thing asspeeds -- a bike with 18 gears is an 18-speed bike. Bikes generally have 1, 3, 18, 21, 24, or 27 speeds. (10- and 15-speeds areobsolete and you don't see them on new bikes any more.)

Lower numbers are the low gears, and higher numbers are the high gears. First gear isa low gear. Twenty-first gear is a high gear. That's pretty easy, right?

Shiftingmeans going from one gear to another. You shift gears by sliding the shifteron the handlebars. On most bikes this shifts the chain onto a different sized ring. Onthree-speed bikes the gears are inside the hub of the wheel so you don't see them.


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Downshiftingmeans going to a lower gear, and upshiftingmeans going to a highergear. You can also sayshift down andshift up.

How do I tell what numbers my gears are?

If your bike has three speeds then telling the gears apart is easy, because there's onlyone shifter and it's labeled 1-2-3. You can skip the rest of this section and go on to the

next one.

But if your bike has 10 or more speeds then it's just a little bit trickier, because youhave two shifters. Let's say you have an 18-speed bike. Your left shifter will belabeled 1-2-3, and your right shifter will be labeled 1-2-3-4-5-6. This means that foreach number on the left, you get six different speeds on the right, for a total of 18.Here's how it works:

Left shifter #1 Left Shifter #2 Left Shifter #31 2 3 4 5 6Right-Hand Shifter

(Rear Ring Set)1 2 3 4 5 6Right-Hand Shifter


(Rear Ring Set)

Shifting moves the chain onto a different ring. Moving the lever changes where thechain is.

The left shifter changes the ring next to the

pedals. The smallest ring is 1, the middle ring is2, and the biggest ring is 3. When you downshiftwith your left shifter, you're moving to a smallerring.

The right shifter changes the ring on the rear

wheel. This is opposite of the front set: On therear wheel the biggestring is 1, and the smallestring is 6.

You don't have to worry about the ring sizes

if you don't want to, you can just look at thenumbers on the shifter. You can downshiftwith either shifter, moving it from a highernumber to a smaller number. You get a biggerchange when you shift with the left-hand shifter

than when you shift with the right-hand shifter.

Now that you know what the

terms mean, let's see how to

use our gears

Here's pretty much all you need to know about shifting gears:

The Rear Ring

1-2-3-4-6-7-8-9

Lower | Higher

Your bike might have only 6, 7, or 8 rings.


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y If you're going uphill and it's too difficult, shift down.y If your legs are spinning the pedals way too fast (it's too "easy") then shift up.

That's it, in a nutshell. Of course there are nuances but that's 90% of what you need to

know.

Here it is with more detail:

Let's say you're on a three-speed bike, in second speed. You start to go up a hill, and

suddenly your legs can't spin the pedals as fast. You're barely turning the pedals,pushing hard on them, and you're going so slowly you think you might fall over. The

solution? Downshift to first gear.

How does that solve the problem? First gear moves you a shorter distance for eachspin of the pedals, which makes it easier to pedal.

Now let's say you've reached the top of the hill, and you start going downhill slightly.Soon you find there's no resistance in the pedals -- you can spin them as fast as you

want and you're not really getting anywhere. Solution? Upshift back to 2, and if it'sstill too easy, then upshift to 3.

This works because the higher gears move you farther for each spin of the pedals,making you do more "work", and making it less "easy".

Which shifter to use?

So you've learned the basics: Uphill = shift down, Downhill = shift up. But youhave an 18-speed bike and you're wondering which shifter to use, the left one or theright one?

It's easy: If you need a big change, use your left shifter. If you need a smallchange, use the right one. As you ride you'll get a feel for whether you need a bigchange or a small change.

Don't bend the chain too much

Try to keep the chain in a sort-of straight line between the front and rear sets,rather than going at an extreme angle from left to right. For example, in the verylowest gear the chain will be all the way on the left on both sets. In the very highestgear the chain will be all the way on the right. That's fine. What you don'twant to do

is to use the left-most ring in the front and the right-most ring in the back, making thechain go diagonally. That stretches the chain and wears it out. Likewise, don't usethe right-most ring in the front and the left-most ring in the back.

Let's say you're in the easiest gear (left-hand on both rings) and you need to

upshift, so you move the chain on the rear set to the middle. That's not enough foryou and you want to upshift some more. At this point, don'tkeep shifting the rear set,since that would make the chain diagonal between the front and rear sets. Instead,


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shift the front set from the left to the middle (1 to 2). That keeps your chain nice andstraight.

Let's have another look at our gearing chart. The green boxes are the

combinations you'll use, and the gray ones are the combos you'll avoid.

#1 #2 #31 2 3 4 5 6Right-Hand Shifter



(Rear Ring Set)

So yes, you won't use every gear available to you. You're not supposed to. Whichbrings us to...

How many gears do I need? Are more gears better?

The ever-increasing number of gears on bikes is mostly marketing hype. For themost part, all the extra gears are useless. My childhood bike had just 10 gears. Then

bikes went to 15 gears. Then 18. Then 21. Now we're at 27. Do you really need thatmany gears? No. What you really need is a good range of gears. You need gearsthat are low enough for going up tough hills, and gears that are high enough that youcan keep pedaling when going down gentle inclines. If your gear range is good, thenumber of gears is irrelevant.

You can't know the gear range of a bike by the number of gears it has. It's truethat a bike with more gears often has a wider range than one with fewer gears, but notalways, and even if it does, you don't necessarily need the widest gear-range possible.You just need enough of a range. (Think of it like this: There's no use in buying a carthat goes 250 mph, because you're not allowed to drive that fast. More isn'tnecessarily better.) The only way to tell what the gear range of a bike is like is to takeit on a test ride, going up the hardest hill you'll be going up in the future, and going asfast as you care to down a gentle incline.

In fact, if your area is relatively flat, you might not need gears at all. Or youmight be able to get by with as little as three. As I write this, I'm in Osaka, Japan,where most bikes, including mine, have just three gears. The low gear isn't as low asI'd like for getting up hills, but it's good enough. If I were staying here longer, I'd geta bike shop to make the lower gear lower.

Yes, you can do that. If you've already got a bike and you're not happy with the gearrange, you don't have to get a whole new bike. A bike shop can change either thefront or rear rings (usually the front) to give you a higher range.

I hope this helps, and have fun with your gearing!

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