tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18676999.post4272055832628415996..comments2024-02-27T01:52:06.519-08:00Comments on Kent's Bike Blog: Shifting Gears: When, Where, How & WhyKent Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906603746565831689noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18676999.post-74925129126788700172012-05-31T14:58:59.565-07:002012-05-31T14:58:59.565-07:00When I was a kid - quite some time ago. A friend o...When I was a kid - quite some time ago. A friend of mine had a fancy new (at the time) digital speedometer. One with wires and magnets and a DIGITAL DISPLAY (wow). This was a time when we still thought digital watches were pretty cool. Anyways, the device he had, had two sets of sensors. - one on the wheel (duh) and one on the pedals (genius). The one on the pedals gave you read out of cadence this was simply the best thing ever. I am no longer such a keen cyclist and so I'm out of touch but this feature does not seem as common today as I'd expect. It was my view at the time (in my youth) that cadence was key to setting pace and lasting a long ride. Ultimately your cadence determined your gearing. I still feel this is true. Unfortunately I don't have such a device on my seldom used bike today, but then I don't struggle with gearing. In other words, my logic, use your gears to maintain a steady cadence (approximately). What ever cadence is good for you. <br /><br />The other nuance to appreciate about how bike gears work (and of course you know this) is that while we all know where the lowest gear is and probably our second lowest gear - the third lowest gear is probably not where you expect. Depending on the size of your rings it may be middle position on the front derailleur and top/first position on the front then third maybe down one on rear but forth maybe lowest ring front and 3rd on rear and so on and so on. It's not necessary to know where they all are but, in my view, it's useful to appreciate the concept.<br /><br />Just discovered your blog (google'd rattlesnake ridge) and it's been almost 20 years since I thought about any of this! Thanks for poking at a dusty part of my brain.<br />Sadly I can't locate my copy of "Richard's New Bicycle Book". Ahhh fond memories.Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18676999.post-33593977615649742452012-05-29T14:08:32.610-07:002012-05-29T14:08:32.610-07:00This was extremely helpful! I've been trying t...This was extremely helpful! I've been trying to grasp the logistics behind gear-shifting for a while having ridden fix geared for a while now. I shifting gears to often bad for riding? I've had times where Ive switched gears frequently, and the pedals seem to spin out prompting me to stop the bike and have to put the chain back into the appropriate gear.Roberthttp://www.solebicycles.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18676999.post-54267864276526439942012-05-28T05:51:13.791-07:002012-05-28T05:51:13.791-07:00Nicely put.
Both myself and my partner have hub-g...Nicely put.<br /><br />Both myself and my partner have hub-geared bikes. This makes it more difficult to understand what it happening, but easier to use. (one of my bikes even has a hub / derailleur combination)<br /><br />I see gears as a way of either:<br />- keeping pedalling speed constant<br />or<br />- keeping effort constant<br /><br />I would add one point which you may have missed (or I may have missed reading the article): always set off in a lower / easier gear. Or its corollary: always change down before stopping.Henzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09005619579990657812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18676999.post-7680574244260724002012-05-26T13:40:31.737-07:002012-05-26T13:40:31.737-07:00Thanks for setting such a sensible tone, as usual....Thanks for setting such a sensible tone, as usual. <br /><br />Another way to think of the relationship between front and rear shifting, assuming the triple up front so common to all-around bikes, is to always start from dead center. If you shift over more than 3 in back, you should probably shift over 1 in the front. Otherwise, you end up "lopsided." But if you keep up the "3, then 1" rhythm, there is a kind of sashay to it that seems pretty intuitive to some.<br /><br />My wife rides infrequently enough that she gets hung up on the numbers as you describe. I am tempted to add small H and E on each shifter for "hard" and "easy." The numbers are rather arbitrary for those who don't think that way.Editorquenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18676999.post-26925938811417209432012-05-24T08:34:03.047-07:002012-05-24T08:34:03.047-07:00My 11yr old son hasn't mastered the subtleties...My 11yr old son hasn't mastered the subtleties of gears but he's got the general principle and only uses two combinations: big chainring + little cog and little chainring + big cog. I can't believe his legs and mind have agreed to this scheme but it's gotten him back and forth to school and his piano practice for a few years so it works for him.Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11698397470514452345noreply@blogger.com