Complete Newbie! Help with Speeds?

[manick0de]

Sorry if this is obvious but I don't have a clue? My last bike only had a few gears.

I've bought a bike and in couple of weeks am going for my first off road ride. I've taken it out once briefly to get familiar with it and it went OK, i'm going for a load more rides before I take it off road but I'm overwhelmed by the choice of speeds.

On the left hand side there's 1, 2, 3. and on the right hand side there's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. What do they mean, how do move through speeds correctly?
I'm really confused!

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[Don Shipp]

Sorry if this is obvious but I don't have a clue? My last bike only had a few gears.

I've bought a bike and in couple of weeks am going for my first off road ride. I've taken it out once briefly to get familiar with it and it went OK, i'm going for a load more rides before I take it off road but I'm overwhelmed by the choice of speeds.

On the left hand side there's 1, 2, 3. and on the right hand side there's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. What do they mean, how do move through speeds correctly?
I'm really confused!

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

1,2 and 3 on the left are your chainrings. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 8 on the right are the sprockets on the rear wheel.
In general, changing from one ring to another makes a large difference, changing from one sprocket to another makes a small one.
If you have not used derailieurs before, remember to keep pedaling whilest you are making the change. Avoid extreme crossovers, do not attempt to use the largest ring with the largest sprocket, or the smallest ring with the smallest sprocket. Do use all the gears, there is no reason to make hard work of hills and head-winds by staying on the big ring all the time. Learn to spin fast in low gears.
Practice on a quiet bit of road until you get the hang of it.

 

[pm7771]

manick0de-

So you have a 24 Speed bike - I have a Trek 820 with 21

(1-2-3 chaingears on left; 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 gears on the right)

as Don said, avoid crosschaining - this will take awhile of riding & it will come naturally; if you're in-tune with your drivetrain you'll get use to the feel & sound of it. And as well use the little chaingear #1 for climbing, the #2 for general pedalling, and #3 for fast - easy going, where I ride my mountain bike most of the time (I have fast slicks & mostly ride paved roads)

I got my bike in May - and it seemed overwhelming at first but you get out there and get into having a great time riding and it gets all to be second nature pretty quickly. Take good care of your bike; hopefully your LBS is helpful & friendly & it'll reward you with good times, good exercise, and good memories. My last ride I just passed 1,000 miles.

Peter

 

[konaman132]

I would not try shifting while you are on an uphill, it is just so tough on the drivetrain with that much pressure on it and trying to shift at the same time. I try to figure out what gear I am going to need just before I start up the hill!

 

[manick0de]

Thanks you've all been really helpfull and given me a grasp of the basics and I managed to understand all of you.

 

[pm7771]

Thanks you've all been really helpfull and given me a grasp of the basics and I managed to understand all of you.

Post back here after a half-dozen decent rides, then after a dozen more I'll betcha won't believe how smooth your shifting becomes, and it'll start to become 2nd nature!

I found it helpful in my case to think about the shifting process - lightening up on the pedal pressure and up or downshifting so that the gears mesh nice a quietly. At least give it a try & see if it works 4U

Peter