New Cyclist: When to Change Gears

Use the gears to keep your pedals turning at a constant speed. About 90 cycles per minute is about right.

Something's wrong here, dupre. There shouldn't be that much difference between gears. Don't know your setup, but usually there's one lever to take you between ranges. That one should have have maybe 3 positions. The other will have about 7 if you have 21 speeds. You will normally work within the 7 gears till you reach the end, at which time you will go up or down with the other lever. Of course, when you do, you will need to go the opposite direction with the one with seven gears.

By the way, you should start off from a complete stop in the highest gear you can without wobbling.

And in another week or two, you will be talking about how intuitive it is.

Roger, hi! Thanks for your response.

Turns out the salesman who sold the bike to me had told me the gears shift in the opposite direction from what they actually do. In other words, I was shifting down, when I thought I was shifting up.

LOL!

The joke's on me.

My boyfriend showed me how to do it right.

And he made a great suggestion for me, that I should just change the 3 gears that change the whole 7 for now and worry about the nuances within the 7 later.

I'm really such a new cyclist and the distance I go so short, really, I think that would be just fine for now.

But, OH!, it's so much fun! I never dreamed it would be like this.

What kind of bike do you have? And what kind of riding do you do?

I'd like to get stronger and more skilled and go on a small bike tour through the country with a club. Have you ever done that?

thanks!

Diamondback Response, a lower level mountain bike for city streets. I would almost argue with boyfriend, and have you stay in the midrange and forget the others for a while, but I won't.

Use whatever range you are in when you hit the road, and when you get a hill or a headwind (I hate headwinds) got to the next lower range. When you get a tailwind, go all way up to 3 and 7. Never miss out on a free ride!

roger, thanks! that does simplify it for me.

I do appreciate your response.

Happy trails!

I have learned something here. Thanks dupre for asking the question and thanks to roger for the great answer.