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Home » How to Shift Gears on Your Bike to Make Riding More Efficient

How to Shift Gears on Your Bike to Make Riding More Efficient

    For those new to cycling, shifting gears on the bike can seem super confusing. How often should you shift? When is the best time to shift gears on a bike? What gear should you use for climbing? What about flats or descents? If these questions have kept you from touching the gears at all, you’re probably not getting the most from your bike—or your rides. So, we created a guide on how to shift and when to shift your bike gears, so you feel confident the next time you’re out riding. How to Shift Your Gears Here’s a quick, easy-to-digest summary on shifting: 1. To shift onto a different chainring/gear up front, use your left shifter. 2. To shift one of the rear gears (and how you’ll shift most often), use your right shifter. 3. For smoother shifting, pedal lightly while using the shifter. Don’t back-pedal. 4. If you’re pedaling too fast, and there isn’t enough resistance, shift into a harder gear. You’ll also go faster. 5. If you’re pedaling too slow, and it’s hard to turn over the pedals, don’t be afraid to shift into an easier gear. It’s better to ride at a more efficient cadence anyway. 6. Another way to think of it: In both the front and back, moving the chain closer to the bike makes pedaling easier. Moving the chain away from the bike makes you faster. 7. Lastly, practice makes perfect. Play around with shifting, and see how it feels to ride in different gears. While that’s the general overview on how to shift, you can make your rides even more efficient by learning more about changing gears. Know Your Shifters Typically, the left-hand shifter changes the front bike gears, and the one on the right controls gears in back. If you get flustered on the fly, remember this mnemonic device: “right equals rear.” For bikes that only have one chainring in the front (also known as “1x” or “one-by”), you will only have a right-handed shifter, unless you built your bike for the rear to be shifted on the left side. Different brands of shifters all function slightly differently, but all shifters are pretty intuitive. Consult your bike shop at the time of purchase on how yours work or simply jump on your bike, make sure to pedal, and push your shifters to get a sense of how they function. Play Around With the Gears Most geared bikes have one, two, or three chainrings in the front (the rings attached to the pedal crank arm) and anywhere from seven to 12 gears—or cogs—in the back (the cassette attached to the rear wheel). Moving the chain from the smallest rear cog to the largest eases your pedaling effort incrementally. Moving it between the chainrings in the front results in a more noticeable change—pedaling feels easier in a smaller chainring and harder in a bigger one. The best way to get a hang of what your bike gears feel like is to take your bike to a safe place away from traffic, like an empty parking lot, and shift through all the gears in the front and rear to understand how they feel while riding. Cyclists spend most of their time shifting the rear gears to find their cadence sweet spot. When to Shift Bike Gears You want to shift to an easier gear on climbs or when you’re riding into the wind. Use a harder gear on flats or if the wind is blowing from behind (a tailwind). When in doubt, shift before the terrain changes, especially on hills. Don’t wait until you can feel the incline kick in before you shift; shift gears in anticipation of the incline. When you shift, keep pedaling but ease up on the pedals, especially on hills—if you’re pushing hard or if you stop pedaling completely, the chain may skip or fall off. When you’re just getting comfortable on a bike, use only the rear cogs and the small or middle front chainring. This will allow you to get the hang of shifting before you shift into harder gears. If you’re not sure what gear you’re in, you can (carefully) look down. A glance to the front will confirm what chainring you’re in, and a quick glance to the rear will at least give you a sense of whether you’re in a low or high gear. Once you feel more comfortable, you can start playing with different bike gears in different situations. When riding uphill or into a headwind, it’s best to use the small or middle front chainring and bigger rear cogs. When riding downhill, it’s best to use the bigger front chainring and a range of the smaller rear cogs. When riding on flat terrain, it’s best to use the middle or big front chainring and a range of rear cogs. You also want to avoid cross-chaining, where the chain is at an extreme slant either in the big ring up front and the biggest cog in back, or the small ring up front and the small cog in back. This not only stresses the hardware, but it also limits your options if you need to shift again. In some cases, you’ll hear a noise when you’re cross-chaining. What to Do If You Drop Your Chain Cross-chaining can also cause your chain to slide off the chainring, known as a dropped chain. This typically happens when shifting gears between the big and small ring in the front or when you shift under too much pressure. When you’re riding up a climb, and the resistance is so strong that you can barely turn the pedals, it’s a bad time to shift. (This is also why it’s best to downshift before—not during—climbs.) But, if shifting is necessary, the best thing to do is ease off the pace for a moment, cleanly shift gears, and then continue powering on. If you do drop your chain, the first thing to do is slowly and safely pull over and step off your bike. Push the rear derailleur (the mini wheel that hangs below the cogset) toward the front wheel to give yourself some slack, grab your chain, and manually guide it back onto the chainring. Lift your rear wheel off the ground and turn the pedals over a few times with your hand to make sure it’s running smoothly. Fair warning: Your hands will get covered with grease when you touch your chain, so you may want to keep a pair of medical gloves or a packet of hand wipes in your saddle bag for such instances. Sometimes, you can fix a dropped chain without getting off your bike. If you drop it off the small ring, pedal slowly, and use the left shifter to shift into the big ring. If your chain starts to drop every ride, your bike’s derailleurs may need to be tuned. The best thing to do is take your bike to your local shop and have a pro adjust it for you.

    Shifting gears on a bike can be extremely difficult to people who have never cycled. How frequently should you change? When should you change gears on a bicycle? What equipment is best for climbing? What about descents or flats? You’re probably not getting the most out of your bike—or your rides—if these queries have prevented you from shifting gears at all. So that you can feel confident the next time you’re out riding, we’ve produced a guide on how to change and when to move your bike gears.

    How to Shift Your Gears

    Here’s a quick, easy-to-digest summary on shifting:

    1. Use your left shifter to change the front chainring or gear.
    2. Use your right shifter to select a rear gear; this is the way you’ll do it most of the time.
    3. Lightly pedal while using the shifter for more seamless shifting. Don’t retreat.
    4. Change into a harder gear if you’re peddling too quickly and there isn’t enough resistance. Along with moving quicker,
    5. Don’t be afraid to change into a lower gear if you’re pedaling too slowly and finding it difficult to turn the pedals. In any case, it is preferable to ride with greater efficiency.
    6. Another way to look at it is that pedaling is made simpler by bringing the chain nearer to the bike in both the front and the back. You accelerate by moving the chain away from the bike.
    7. Practice makes perfect, as they say. Try out different gears and experiment with shifting to see how it feels.

    While that provides a fundamental overview of shifting, you may increase the effectiveness of your rides by learning more about changing gears.

    Know Your Shifters

    Typically, the left-hand shifter controls the front bike gears, while the right-hand shifter manages the back bike gears. Right equals rear is a handy mnemonic to keep in mind if you find yourself getting anxious on the spot.

    Unless your bike was specifically designed to have the rear shifted on the left side, you will only have a right-handed shifter on bikes with just one chainring in the front, also known as “1x” or “one-by” bikes. Although different shifter manufacturers perform somewhat different operations, all shifters are fairly simple to use.

    If you want to know how yours work, ask your bike store when you buy it. You may also just go on your bike, cycle, and push your shifters to get a feel for how they work.

    Play Around With the Gears

    The majority of geared bikes feature one, two, or three front chainrings (the rings attached to the pedal crank arm) and seven to twelve rear gears, also known as cogs (the cassette attached to the rear wheel).

    Your pedaling effort is gradually reduced as the chain is moved from the smallest to the largest rear cog. It is more obvious when it is moved between the chainrings up front; pedaling is easy in the smaller chainring and harder in the larger one. The easiest approach to learn how your bike gears feel while riding is to take your bike to a safe location away from traffic, such as an empty parking lot, and shift through all of the front and rear ratios.

    In order to find their ideal cadence, cyclists spend the majority of their time changing the back gears.

    When to Shift Bike Gears

    On climbs or when riding into the wind, you should change into a lower gear. When the terrain is flat or the wind is blowing from behind, use a harder gear (a tailwind). When in doubt, move ahead of the changing terrain, especially when it involves hills. You should change gears in advance of the climb rather than waiting until you can feel it begin. When shifting, keep pedaling but lighten up on the pedals, especially on hills, as the chain may skip or fall off if you cycle too hard or stop pedaling altogether.

    Use only the small or middle front chainring and the rear cogs when you’re first getting used to riding a bike. This will give you a chance to practice shifting before moving into a harder gear. You can carefully look down if you’re unsure of what gear you’re in. You can tell what chainring you’re in by looking forward, and a quick glance behind will at least indicate whether you’re in a low or high gear.

    Once you’re more at ease, you can experiment with various bike gears under various conditions. It is recommended to utilize the smaller or middle front chainring and larger rear cogs when cycling uphill or into a headwind. Use a variety of smaller rear cogs and the larger front chainring when riding downhill. Use a variety of rear cogs and the middle or big front chainring when cycling on flat terrain.

    Additionally, you should avoid cross-chaining, which occurs when the chain is at a sharp angle in either the biggest cog or the smallest ring at the front or back of the assembly. In addition to taxing the system, this constricts your alternatives in case you need to change again. Sometimes when cross-chaining, you’ll hear a noise.

    What to Do If You Drop Your Chain

    Cross-chaining can also result in a dropped chain, in which the chain slides off the chainring. This often occurs when changing between the front big and small rings of gears or when you shift too quickly. It’s not a good idea to shift when you’re climbing and the resistance is so intense that you can hardly turn the pedals. (This is also the reason it is advisable to downshift before hills rather than during them.) But if changing gears is necessary, it’s preferable to take a minute to slow down, change gears smoothly, and then pick up speed again.

    The first thing you should do if your chain does come off is to stop your bike carefully and slowly. Give yourself some slack by pushing the rear derailleur (the tiny wheel that hangs below the cogset) in the direction of the front wheel. Then, take your chain and manually direct it back onto the chainring. To check that everything is working well, raise your back wheel off the ground and turn the pedals a few times with your hand. Fair warning: When you touch your chain, your hands will become smeared in grease. For these reasons, you might wish to bring a pack of hand wipes or a pair of medical gloves in your saddle bag.

    A fallen chain can occasionally be fixed without getting off your bike. If you leave the small ring, shift into the big ring using the left shifter while pedaling slowly. It may be necessary to tune your bike’s derailleurs if your chain begins to drop with every ride. The best course of action is to bring your bike to a local shop and have a qualified mechanic adjust it for you.

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