Tips To Shift Gears On Bicycle For Beginners

Sandesh Umate

Bicycles with gears make the ride more comfortable whether you are going on Mountain or peddling on city streets. Understanding the basics of changing the gears of the bicycle can make the ride more comfortable. Below are a few tips to shift Gears on a bicycle for beginners while riding.

How Gears for a bicycle are identified?

You can easily identify if your bicycle has gears or without gears. If it does have gears then how many gears does it have?

1. Count no of gears in front Wheel

If your bicycle has geared it is easy to count how many gears the bicycle has. You can check at the center of the pedal and count the steel ring with teeth on the outside that fit into the chain. These are front gears. Most bicycles will have between one and three front gears.

2. Count no of gears in Rear Wheel

You can check at the backside, you should see the chain run from the front gears over a different set of rings at the center of the wheel. These are the rear gears. Usually, it has more rear gears than front gears. Some bicycles have 7 or more gears.

3. How many gears does your bicycle have?

You can multiply the number of front gears by the number of rear gears. You can also call it Speed. i.e. 7 Speed 21 Speed Bicycle. For example, if you have three gears in the front and six gears in the back, your bike has 3 × 6 = 18 gears. If you have one gear in the front and seven gears in the back, your bike has 1 × 7 = 7 gears.

Shifting Gears

Use the Left hand to shift the front gears.

Bikes with gears almost always have hand controls on the handlebars to use for shifting. There are a few different mechanisms for shifting gears that are common on Bicycles. These include:

Grip shifters that you work by turning your wrist
Small levers above or below the handlebars that you work with your thumbs
Larger levers next to the handbrakes that you work with your fingertips

Use Right Hand to shift Rear Gears

Using the right-hand controls will move the rear derailleur up and down. The rear gears almost always use the same mechanism as the front gears.

Grip shifters that you work by turning your wrist
Small levers above or below the handlebars that you work with your thumbs
Larger levers next to the handbrakes that you work with your fingertips

Gear down which makes pedaling easier.

Shifting gears to lower makes riding easier and less power is needed to pedal. If we shift the gears to lower then pedaling gets much easier.

Gear up for pedaling harder and more powerful

Mostly, shifting gears to the upper side makes pedaling harder and much faster, and more powerful. These gears make it harder to pedal, but each pedal will push you further and make you go faster.

When to Shift Gears?

The most important tip is to shift Gears on a bicycle for beginners while riding the bicycle.
Gradually you should change gears when you increase speed. If you want to build up the speed then you need to change the gears as you’ll find that the lower gears start to feel “too easy” after a while. Usually when you’re roaming on City roads then the middle gear will work well. You can keep second gear from the front and the third or fourth or Fifth from the rear. It should give you a good result.
You should pick lower gear when you start your ride. Whenever you start riding, shift down to fairly low gear to make it quicker and easier to get back up to speed. If you know you’re going to stop riding soon, it’s a good idea to shift into low gear so you can get started easier next time.
Shift the gears down moving on hills. This is an important skill to learn without it, you’ll be stuck walking your bike up larger hills. It’s almost impossible to get up a hill in high gear. However, lower gears let you pump your way up the hill slowly and steadily without too much extra effort.
Shift the gears up when you are moving downhills and on flat ground. Being in high gear is one of the only ways to be able to speed up while you’re going downhill. Lower gears won’t turn the chain quick enough to keep up with the wheels when you’re rolling downhill, making it basically impossible to speed up except on the hill itself.

Do’s

Practice in flat areas, a good way to get hands-on shifting gears is practicing it in the flat area. Try front and rear gears by shifting the gears. Try using one of the hand’s controls to shift up or down.
Change Gears only when you are moving forward.

Don’t

Don’t use the largest front gear with the larger rear gears.
Don’t use the smallest front gear with the smaller rear gears.
Avoid reversing pedals.

How to use Gear Combinations

Front Rear
1. (Uphill) 1 123
2. (Flat Road)2 345
3. (Downhill) 3 567(8)

These are a few tips and tricks for beginners to shift gears on the bicycle. Always ensure you are familiar with cycling safety tips before riding a bicycle and always wear a helmet to reduce the risk of serious injury.

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