Need some help, just got some Mtn Bikes...



G

G

Guest
Okay, be gentle but it been 15 years since I rode a bike and it was a bmx
bike. I never did ride a multi-speed controled bike. But my wife wanted to
bike ride again. She wanted me to come with her to. But she doens't remeber
what the numbers represent on a bike. I have no idea I never rode a bike
like this. I almost miss my bmx bike.
So could some one explain what the highers numbers of gears do? Plus we have
another controler on the left handle it has horizontal bars as indicators.
They get longer in size, what do they do?..
Also could some one direct us to some better bike seats they hurt our
assests bad...

Thanx for helping a newbie mtn biker...

--




G."Laptop"
 
Higher numbers are for higher speeds. The left shifter
usually controls the front gears (the ones by the pedals).
There are usually 3 of them. The right controls the rear
gears (usually 7, 8 or 9 gears).

You need to be in motion to shift gears. The pedals should
be rotating but don't push hard while shifting. Once you
get rolling shift the left control to the middle (assuming 3
front gears). Now shift the right to give you the most
comfortable pedaling rate for your speed. If you get to the
max on the right shifter and you want to go further up or
down, shift the left side.

After you ride a while you will be able to do it without
thinking.

Finding a comfortable seat is more art than science.
Beginners usually like wide soft seats but they are not the
best for long distance riding. If you want to try a "cushy"
seat Walmart sells one made by Schwinn that is inexpensive.
Comfortable narrow seats are not cheap and the best source
is a bike store. If you go to a store that sells
Specialized brand bikes they can custom fit one to your "sit
bone width". Even with a quality narrow seat it usually
takes several rides to get used to them.

G wrote:
> Okay, be gentle but it been 15 years since I rode a bike and it was a bmx
> bike. I never did ride a multi-speed controled bike. But my wife wanted to
> bike ride again. She wanted me to come with her to. But she doens't remeber
> what the numbers represent on a bike. I have no idea I never rode a bike
> like this. I almost miss my bmx bike.
> So could some one explain what the highers numbers of gears do? Plus we have
> another controler on the left handle it has horizontal bars as indicators.
> They get longer in size, what do they do?..
> Also could some one direct us to some better bike seats they hurt our
> assests bad...
>
> Thanx for helping a newbie mtn biker...
>
 
On Fri, 19 May 2006 16:53:44 GMT, Bill S wrote:
> If you get to the
> max on the right shifter and you want to go further up or
> down, shift the left side.


One other point: it all works better if the chain is relatively
straight...e.g. if the front gear is all the way to the right and the rear
gear is all the way to the left, it'll usually make a lot of chattering
noise and won't work very well. So if you on 1 on the left side (front
gears), you won't want to go past ~4 on the right side (that's the point
where you'd shift into gear 2 on the left). If you're on 3 on the left
side, you won't want to go below ~3 on the right. The middle gear in the
front can usually span the whole set of rear gears.

Gears may seem strange to anyone who's never driven a manual-transmission
car. Basically the smaller gears give you more power but less speed, and
the bigger gears give you more speed but less power. The ones in the front
make a huge difference, the ones in the back make a smaller difference. So
you'll start in front-1, rear-1; as you speed up you'll start increasing
the right gears until you're in front-1, rear-3 (or maybe 4), then shift
the front gear into 2 and start working the rear gears up; once its maxed
out you shift the front into the 'big ring' (3), and use the rear gears to
tweak the speed/power tradeoff. You shouldn't ever need to mash on the
pedals a lot - you'll get more power by shifting down into a gear where
you can more easily spin.

As Bill said, you get used to it quickly and its not long before you
hardly give it a thought.

--
-BB-
To e-mail me, unmunge my address
 
G wrote:
> Okay, be gentle but it been 15 years since I rode a bike and it was a bmx
> bike. I never did ride a multi-speed controled bike. But my wife wanted to
> bike ride again. She wanted me to come with her to. But she doens't remeber
> what the numbers represent on a bike. I have no idea I never rode a bike
> like this. I almost miss my bmx bike.
> So could some one explain what the highers numbers of gears do? Plus we have
> another controler on the left handle it has horizontal bars as indicators.
> They get longer in size, what do they do?..
> Also could some one direct us to some better bike seats they hurt our
> assests bad...
>
> Thanx for helping a newbie mtn biker...
>

Good general bike info can be found at:

http://sheldonbrown.com/beginners/index.html

A lot to learn. If you're pretty fit already, you could avoid all the
gears and just get a single speed:

http://sheldonbrown.com/beginners/index.html

Shawn
 
Shawn wrote:
> G wrote:
>
>> Okay, be gentle but it been 15 years since I rode a bike and it was a
>> bmx bike. I never did ride a multi-speed controled bike. But my wife
>> wanted to bike ride again. She wanted me to come with her to. But she
>> doens't remeber what the numbers represent on a bike. I have no idea I
>> never rode a bike like this. I almost miss my bmx bike.
>> So could some one explain what the highers numbers of gears do? Plus
>> we have another controler on the left handle it has horizontal bars as
>> indicators. They get longer in size, what do they do?..
>> Also could some one direct us to some better bike seats they hurt our
>> assests bad...
>>
>> Thanx for helping a newbie mtn biker...
>>

> Good general bike info can be found at:
>
> http://sheldonbrown.com/beginners/index.html
>
> A lot to learn. If you're pretty fit already, you could avoid all the
> gears and just get a single speed:
>
> http://sheldonbrown.com/beginners/index.html


Forgot. The best way to learn is by riding with someone who already
rides a lot, and can teach you. Check with your local bike shop (LBS).

Shawn
 
thanks again for all the info. That should help us out....

I don't anyone in our family that does bike.

Can you raise the hand bars in the front? It feels to low or something...


"G" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Okay, be gentle but it been 15 years since I rode a bike and it was a bmx
> bike. I never did ride a multi-speed controled bike. But my wife wanted to
> bike ride again. She wanted me to come with her to. But she doens't
> remeber what the numbers represent on a bike. I have no idea I never rode
> a bike like this. I almost miss my bmx bike.
> So could some one explain what the highers numbers of gears do? Plus we
> have another controler on the left handle it has horizontal bars as
> indicators. They get longer in size, what do they do?..
> Also could some one direct us to some better bike seats they hurt our
> assests bad...
>
> Thanx for helping a newbie mtn biker...
>
> --
>
>
>
>
> G."Laptop"
>
 
G wrote:
> thanks again for all the info. That should help us out....
>
> I don't anyone in our family that does bike.
>
> Can you raise the hand bars in the front? It feels to low or something...
>
>


You can, but it sounds like maybe you need some help with fit. If you
got the bikes at a bike shop, try taking them in and see if they can
help you dial in the fit.
Raising the handlebars can be done by swapping out for different bars,
or swapping out for a different stem, or in some cases just raising the
stem or rotating the bars.
Raising the existing stem isn't always an option, so this is where a
shop employee can help a lot. Doing this wrong could make your bike very
unsafe.

Matt