How to choose and use your gears

Most road bikes nowadays have a multitude of gears, and whilst every bike rider knows that their bike has gears, many are not quite sure how to actually use them.

There are a few different types of popular gear systems and in terms of ease of use they can be ranked as follows :

• SRAM AXS
• Shimano Di2
• Campagnolo EPS
• Shimano Mechanical
• Campagnolo Mechanical
• SRAM Mechanical

In terms of long term reliability they can be ranked like this :

• Shimano Mechanical
• Campagnolo Mechanical
• = Shimano Di2
• = SRAM AXS
• = Campagnolo EPS
• SRAM Mechanical

The key elements to selecting the correct gear are :

Terrain

• -Flat
• -Uphill
• -Downhill

Rider pedalling style

• Lightweight spinner
• Heavyweight grinder
• Somewhere in between or a crossover of both.

Desired outcome

• Enjoying your cycle as much as you can.
• Going as fast as you can, for some.
• Staying fresh for as long as possible.

How to choose a correct gear on the flat :

Find a gear that allows your legs to spin at a rate you are comfortable with. For many that is around 90 RPM but some are more comfortable at 100, 80 or even 70 RPM. No matter what anyone says, whatever gear you are comfortable in, is the correct gear for you.

You should feel the tension on the chain but not so much that you might break it.

You should feel relatively relaxed and be able to hold a conversation with the rider beside you.

How to choose the correct gear for climbing :

Listen to your legs and listen to your lungs.

If your breathing is under pressure you need to change in to a harder gear. This makes you use the strength of your legs more and takes pressure off of your breathing.

If your legs are under pressure and your breathing is fine, then you need to change into an easier gear.

If both are equally under pressure the you need to change into an easier gear and slow down a little.

How to choose the correct gear for descending :

Many cyclists go hard when they should be going easy and easy when they should be going hard

This means that many cyclists go too hard up the hill, stop pedalling at the top and freewheel down the other side. This is the most inefficient way to cycle.

You should ride steady up the hill, keep pedalling over the top and ride hardish down the other side.

Over the top of a hill you should be in a gear that keeps tension on the chain but not so high that you get bogged down in it. You should be able to increase your revs rapidly and spin up through gears as the speed increases.

Don’t go straight into your hardest gear but build up along gradually to it.

On the descent itself keep pedalling as much as possible. It keeps your speed up and your bike stable on the road beneath you.

Approaching corners be sure to downshift and be in a gear that you can rev out of the other side of the corner in. Many bike lengths are lost by people trying to horse a big gear out of a corner and taking 500 meters to finally get on top of it.

When to change gear :

When you feel like you are getting spun out and no longer in total control of the pedals, change up into a harder gear.

When you are under pressure change into an easier gear.

How to change gear :

When changing gear you need to slightly ease the pressure off the pedals just as you hit the lever. This allows the gears to change as smoothly as possible.

Try to keep the chain as straight as as possible. This normally means not using the last 2 outer sprockets at the back when on the inside chainring at the front and also avoiding using the last two inside sprockets at the back when in the big ring on the front.

How to keep your gears running smoothly :

Degrease and wash your bike, especially the drivetrain, ideally after every spin, but at least after every 3 spins.

Use just enough but not too much chain lube. 5 drops is usually more than enough for the entire chain to be correctly lubricated but without having so much that it attracts dirt and turns into a grinding paste.

Change your chain every three thousand kilometers and your cassette every 9000 kilometers.

What is up and down?

Some will refer to changing up as changing up the block or cassette as in changing in to an easier gear whilst others refer to changing up as changing up into a harder gear.

Think of it like a car, you change down into first gear for going up St Patricks hill in Cork and then up into sixth gear to be able to do 120 kph on the motorway on the way home.

On a bike, this means that you change down into easier gears and up into harder gears.

Barry