Shifting and gears

SHIFTING AND GEARS

Front derailleur
• Left shifter controls the front derailleur and which chainring your chain is on
• Used less frequently than rear derrailleur
• Shifting requires more attention than the rear derailleur but is done less frequently

Rear derailleur
• Right shifter controls the rear derailleur; this is the fine tuning of the gear range
• Used most frequently to account for minor changes in terrain
• Two or three shifts down is equal to one shift down on the front derailleur

Chainrings up front
• Bikes come with two or three chainrings; three is for mountain biking and touring
• These are low, medium and high range or low and high for road bikes with two
• Small ring is low gear for climbs, middle ring for flats, big ring for descents

Cassette in the rear
• The smaller the cog on the cassette, the harder the gear is to push
• Most bikes have 7, 8, or 9 cogs; rear derailleur moves the chain from one to another
• Many front and rear gear combinations overlap

Pedaling
• Pedal at about 90 rpms both climbing or descending; it’s faster than you think
• Shift into an easier gear before you need it; before a climb instead of during one
• You should be using the same pedal force and cadence to climb as you do to descend