A Complete Idiots Guide to Bicycle Gears & Shifting

Posted by Levi on September 25, 2008 in Road Cycling Articles gearing | shifting Comments(28) and

Moving from a one speed bicycle to one with multiple gears is a big step. Not only do you have to learn how to shift the gears, you also have to learn what gears to use, and figure out when to shift into which gear! I was reminding of this when I received this plea for help I have a 28 speed and knowing when to shift, and what gear to shift to is driving me nuts! I need an idiots guide to shifting! Help!!! Well, you got it! Here is the Complete Idiots Guide to Bicycle Gears & Shifting to explain everything a beginner needs to know about using a multi-speed bicycle.

Introduction to Gears and Terminology

Ever since bicycles came with more than one sprocket on the front and back, they were usually referred to as the number of gear combinations that were offered. For example, a road bike with two chainrings up front and a five-speed freewheel on the back was a 10 speed, since the five rear sprockets could be matched with either of the two front chainrings. (25=10, its just simple math.) But once you learn more about gearing, youll see that that is actually a confusing way to describe things. So to start things off, lets get the terminology straightened out:

The front sprockets that are attached to the crankarm are called chainrings. If you have two chainrings (a big ring and a little ring,) that setup is called a double. If you have three chainrings (big, middle, and little,) you have a triple chainring setup.

The gear cluster on the rear wheel is either a freewheel or a cassette. If your bike has five gears on the back, it probably has a freewheel. If your bike has eight to ten gears on the back, it has a cassette. Each ring on the cassette is referred to as a cog. (The difference between a freewheel and a cassette makes no difference in this article, so dont worry about that.) For this article, our example bicycle will be a modern mountain bike with three chainrings and an 8-speed cassette. Some people would call this a 24 speed, but most avid cyclists and bike mechanics refer to this simply as an 8 speed.

Discover How the Shifters and Derailleurs Work

Having gears wont do you a bit of good without understanding how the shifting works, so heres a look at that Shifting starts at the shift levers, which are usually located on the handlebar beside the grips. When you move one of the shift levers, a cable pulls or releases one of the derailleurs which moves the chain from one gear to another.

In typical setups, the left shifter is matched to the front derailleur (so it shifts between the chainrings.) The right shifter is matched to the rear derailleur (which shifts between the cogs on the cassette.)

Lets talk about the shift levers (shifters) first Each shifter will have numbers on it to indicate which gear you are in (this is the gear indicator.) In this example, our left shifter shows numbers 1-3, while our right shifter shows 1-8. The lower the number, the easier the gear is. So if both the gear indicators show 1 then you are in the easiest gear the bike offers. If the left shifter is at 3 and the right is at 8, then you are in the hardest gear on the bike.

On the left shifter, you will see numbers to indicate which gear you are in 1, 2, or 3. The number 1 corresponds to the little ring, 2 is the middle ring, and 3 is the big ring. For the front chainrings, bigger chainrings equal a harder gear.

On the right shifter, the numbers 1-8 are all there. The number 1 corresponds to the biggest cog, while number 8 corresponds to the smallest cog. When it comes to the cassette, bigger cogs equal an easier gear. Lets not forget the derailleurs

This is the easy part though, because once you shift the levers, the shifter cable will relay your instructions to the derailleur. What happens when you shift is the derailleur cage (which the chain runs through) will move to either side. Lets say you shifted the front shifter to an easier gear. The front derailleur will move to the left, thereby derailing the chain onto the smaller chainring. As long as the derailleurs are adjusted properly, they will do their job just like that, and you can concentrate on shifting!

Types of Shifters
Before moving on to shifting and gear selection, lets take a quick look at the various types of shifters out there. (Well concentrate on the three types that are most common on modern bicycles.) First, grip shift. With this type of shifting, there are no levers. You shift by twisting a section of the grip forward or backward, depending on whether you want a harder or

easier gear. It is very simple to get the hang of it, so it comes on most mountain bikes in the $100-300 price range. Note: Pictures in this article are grip shifters. Second, trigger shifters. These are also very common on mountain bikes, but also on road bikes, in different form. (They are usually called Shimano RapidFire or Shimano STI.) In this case, youll have two triggers beside each handlebar grip. There are two triggers on each shifter because the triggers only move in one direction. On the left trigger shifter, the small trigger shifts to a smaller chainring, for an easier gear. The bigger shifter will shift up to a bigger chainring, for a harder gear. On the right trigger shifter, the little trigger shifts to a smaller cog, which gives you a harder gear. The bigger shifter will shift up to a bigger cog, which gives you an easier gear. (Trigger shifters do sound complicated, but they arent a problem once you practice with them a little bit.)

Basic Fundamentals of Gear Selection

Now you know the basics of shifters and derailleurs, so lets move on to choosing which gears to use. The most important thing here is that there is no such thing as the right gear. Choosing a gear depends on numerous factors, not the least of which is comfort. Really, gearing is personal preference, so you and your friends will probably ride in different gears, even if you are going the same speed on the same road. However, one thing to consider is your cadence. Cadence is another word for your pedaling speed (basically, how fast your legs spin in circles.) This is measured in RPM, or revolutions per minute. Cadence is important because it directly impacts your comfort level. Pedaling at a slow cadence usually means you are using too hard of a gear, and your leg muscles will tire out quickly. It can also hurt your knees. A good rule of thumb is to keep your cadence fairly high, usually in the range of 75-90 RPM. (Here is how to count your cadence.)

But aside from comfort and cadence, the middle of your gear range is a good starting point. Say youre starting out on a flat road at an easy to moderate pace (on the 24 speed bike.) You should be in your middle ring (2) up front, and roughly your fourth largest cog (4) in the rear. (A good moderate gear is pictured to the left.) To make small adjustments to your speed, you will want to shift the rear derailleur. If you need to go a little faster, shift to a smaller cog (5, 6, or 7.) If you want to ease up on the pace, shift to a bigger cog (1, 2, or 3.) But if you come to a steep hill climb, or a long downhill, you will want to make a big jump in your gearing. So instead of shifting the rear derailleur, youll shift the front derailleur first.

An Example of Proper Shifting

Here is an example of how you might shift gears while out on a bike ride. At the start, you are currently in the middle ring and one of the middle cogs. Then Lets say youre coming up to a steep hill climb. You will shift to the small chainring (1) up front. If that gear isnt easy enough, then you will shift the rear derailleur to a big cog (1, 2, or 3.)

Once you hit the top of the hill and the road flattens, you can go ahead and shift the rear derailleur back to a slightly smaller cog, getting to number 3 or 4. Then its time to shift the front derailleur back to the middle ring (2.) If the road remains flat, you could stay in that gear or shift the rear derailleur once again, going to 5 or even 6. But then when you hit the downhill, you need a big change in gears, so youll shift the front derailleur up to the big ring (3.) That should give you a good gear. If you need a harder gear though, you can shift the rear derailleur to the smallest cogs, 7 and 8. As the road changes, keep repeating the process. Just remember: Shifting the left shifter makes a big impact, and shifting the right shifter is to fine tune your gear selection. You will shift the right shifter (for the rear derailleur) much more often than the left shifter.

What to Watch Out For

If you followed along through that gradual shifting process, you might have noticed we only ran through about 12 different gear combinations, when the bike actually offers 24. Why? Well, your 24 speed bike isnt meant to use all the gears. Certain gear combinations are very rough and sometimes dangerous.

See, you need to keep your chain running in a straight line for the bike to ride smoothly. You do that by using certain combinations of gears and avoiding others. (A straight chain line is pictured in a previous section.)

For example, when you are in the small chainring, you will want to use the biggest four cogs, numbers 1-4. When you are in the middle chainring, you can use most of the cogs, but I would stick to numbers 1-6. When you are in the big chainring, you should stick with the smallest cogs, 6-8. This will keep your chain in a fairly straight line. If you use extreme gear combinations, such as the small ring and the smallest cog or the big ring and the biggest cog, thats called cross chaining. This puts the chain at too much of an angle, which makes the chain wear out extra fast. (Youll usually hear some sort of grinding noise coming from the chain if you do this.) It also makes it more likely that the chain will fall off the bike.

When to Shift (A Few More Pointers)

To shift smoothly and easily and keep a constant, comfortable cadence, you want to anticipate your shifts. Its just like the example above. If you are approaching a steep hill climb, you want to shift down to an easier gear before you need to. The steeper the hill, the more gears you will want to shift down. If you wait until you can barely turn the pedals before shifting down, youll have a heck of a painful time trying to climb the hill! Likewise, if you are going downhill, gradually shift up as you gain more speed. Dont wait until your legs are spinning around like crazy! Another thing to anticipate is starting up after you come to a stop. If you are riding in a big gear, you will want to shift down as you slow down and come to a stop. If you stop while youre still in a big gear, it will be very hard to get started again! But if you anticipate that and shift to a low gear before stopping, you will be able to start easily.

Proper Shifting Technique

There is more to shifting than just twisting some levers. Shifting requires precise coordination between your hands and feet; the better you coordinate your movements, the smoother your shifts will be. The basic principle here is that you have to be pedaling for the bike to shift. The chain needs to be moving forward for the derailleurs to do their job, so always pedal when shifting. But there is a little trick to it. You need to be pedaling lightly and softly for the bike to shift smoothly. Its called soft pedaling. If you are pedaling too forcefully, your leg power will override the derailleurs and there will be no shifting, just grinding noises! (Think about it, your legs are big and muscular, and the derailleurs and chain are just little pieces of metal.)

So heres how to shift: As you move the shifter with your hand, simultaneously ease up on your pedaling for one stroke. You should hear and feel the shift complete smoothly. Then you can resume pedaling with full force. Dont worry, you only ease up for a second, so you wont lose speed just from soft pedaling. Thats all there is to it. Most people I see that have trouble shifting simply need to try soft pedaling. It is a common misconception that you need to pedal hard and fast to get a shift to complete. Proper shifting actually calls for the opposite approach! Just get out there and practice

Getting Started (Practice Makes Perfect)

Now that you know what to do, its time to do it. But it wont hurt to do a few practice runs first! The first thing I would do is run through the gears by hand. Just prop the bike up so the rear wheel is off the ground (if you dont have a repair stand, just hang the bike on a tree branch or something,) and then shift through the gears while pedaling with your other hand. Once you see it in action, head out to an empty parking lot and ride in circles. You just want to get the feel for shifting so that it becomes second nature. You want to be able to go ride and pay attention to your surroundings, without needing to look down at the shifters. Dont feel bad if it takes a while, weve all been there at one point! Its not easy to go from one speed to dealing with 24 or 27! (Think of it like driving a manual transmission car most people dont know how to do that!)

First, let's get our terms straight so we're on the same page
You can think of gears as the same thing as speeds -- a bike with 18 gears is an 18speed bike. Bikes generally have 1, 3, 18, 21, 24, or 27 speeds. (10- and 15-speeds are obsolete and you don't see them on new bikes any more.) Lower numbers are the low gears, and higher numbers are the high gears. First gear is a low gear. Twenty-first gear is a high gear. That's pretty easy, right? Shifting means going from one gear to another. You shift gears by sliding the shifter on the handlebars. On most bikes this shifts the chain onto a different sized ring. On three-speed bikes the gears are inside the hub of the wheel so you don't see them.

Downshifting means going to a lower gear, and upshifting means going to a higher gear. You can also say shift down and shift up.

How do I tell what numbers my gears are?

If your bike has three speeds then telling the gears apart is easy, because there's only one shifter and it's labeled 1-2-3. You can skip the rest of this section and go on to the next one. But if your bike has 10 or more speeds then it's just a little bit trickier, because you have two shifters. Let's say you have an 18-speed bike. Your left shifter will be labeled 1-2-3, and your right shifter will be labeled 1-2-3-4-5-6. This means that for each number on the left, you get six different speeds on the right, for a total of 18. Here's how it works:
Left shifter #1 1 2 3 4 5 6 Right-Hand Shifter (Rear Ring Set) Left Shifter #2 1 2 3 4 5 6 Right-Hand Shifter (Rear Ring Set) Left Shifter #3 1 2 3 4 5 6 Right-Hand Shifter (Rear Ring Set)

Shifting moves the chain onto a different ring. Moving the lever changes where the chain is. The left shifter changes the ring next to the pedals. The smallest ring is 1, the middle ring is 2, and the biggest ring is 3. When you downshift with your left shifter, you're moving to a smaller ring. The right shifter changes the ring on the rear wheel. This is opposite of the front set: On the rear wheel the biggest ring is 1, and the smallest ring is 6. You don't have to worry about the ring sizes if you don't want to, you can just look at the numbers on the shifter. You can downshift with either shifter, moving it from a higher number to a smaller number. You get a bigger change when you shift with the left-hand shifter than when you shift with the right-hand shifter.

Now that you know what the terms mean, let's see how to use our gears

The Rear Ring

1-2-3-4-6-7-8-9 Lower | Higher

Your bike might have only 6, 7, or 8 rings.

Here's pretty much all you need to know about shifting gears:

y y

If you're going uphill and it's too difficult, shift down. If your legs are spinning the pedals way too fast (it's too "easy") then shift up.

That's it, in a nutshell. Of course there are nuances but that's 90% of what you need to know. Here it is with more detail: Let's say you're on a three-speed bike, in second speed. You start to go up a hill, and suddenly your legs can't spin the pedals as fast. You're barely turning the pedals, pushing hard on them, and you're going so slowly you think you might fall over. The solution? Downshift to first gear. How does that solve the problem? First gear moves you a shorter distance for each spin of the pedals, which makes it easier to pedal. Now let's say you've reached the top of the hill, and you start going downhill slightly. Soon you find there's no resistance in the pedals -- you can spin them as fast as you want and you're not really getting anywhere. Solution? Upshift back to 2, and if it's still too easy, then upshift to 3. This works because the higher gears move you farther for each spin of the pedals, making you do more "work", and making it less "easy".

Which shifter to use?

So you've learned the basics: Uphill = shift down, Downhill = shift up. But you have an 18-speed bike and you're wondering which shifter to use, the left one or the right one? It's easy: If you need a big change, use your left shifter. If you need a small change, use the right one. As you ride you'll get a feel for whether you need a big change or a small change.

Don't bend the chain too much

Try to keep the chain in a sort-of straight line between the front and rear sets, rather than going at an extreme angle from left to right. For example, in the very lowest gear the chain will be all the way on the left on both sets. In the very highest gear the chain will be all the way on the right. That's fine. What you don't want to do is to use the left-most ring in the front and the right-most ring in the back, making the chain go diagonally. That stretches the chain and wears it out. Likewise, don't use the right-most ring in the front and the left-most ring in the back. Let's say you're in the easiest gear (left-hand on both rings) and you need to upshift, so you move the chain on the rear set to the middle. That's not enough for you and you want to upshift some more. At this point, don't keep shifting the rear set, since that would make the chain diagonal between the front and rear sets. Instead,

shift the front set from the left to the middle (1 to 2). That keeps your chain nice and straight. Let's have another look at our gearing chart. The green boxes are the combinations you'll use, and the gray ones are the combos you'll avoid.
#1 1 2 3 4 5 6 Right-Hand Shifter (Rear Ring Set) #2 1 2 3 4 5 6 Right-Hand Shifter (Rear Ring Set) #3 1 2 3 4 5 6 Right-Hand Shifter (Rear Ring Set)

So yes, you won't use every gear available to you. You're not supposed to. Which brings us to...

How many gears do I need? Are more gears better?

The ever-increasing number of gears on bikes is mostly marketing hype. For the most part, all the extra gears are useless. My childhood bike had just 10 gears. Then bikes went to 15 gears. Then 18. Then 21. Now we're at 27. Do you really need that many gears? No. What you really need is a good range of gears. You need gears that are low enough for going up tough hills, and gears that are high enough that you can keep pedaling when going down gentle inclines. If your gear range is good, the number of gears is irrelevant. You can't know the gear range of a bike by the number of gears it has. It's true that a bike with more gears often has a wider range than one with fewer gears, but not always, and even if it does, you don't necessarily need the widest gear-range possible. You just need enough of a range. (Think of it like this: There's no use in buying a car that goes 250 mph, because you're not allowed to drive that fast. More isn't necessarily better.) The only way to tell what the gear range of a bike is like is to take it on a test ride, going up the hardest hill you'll be going up in the future, and going as fast as you care to down a gentle incline. In fact, if your area is relatively flat, you might not need gears at all. Or you might be able to get by with as little as three. As I write this, I'm in Osaka, Japan, where most bikes, including mine, have just three gears. The low gear isn't as low as I'd like for getting up hills, but it's good enough. If I were staying here longer, I'd get a bike shop to make the lower gear lower. Yes, you can do that. If you've already got a bike and you're not happy with the gear range, you don't have to get a whole new bike. A bike shop can change either the front or rear rings (usually the front) to give you a higher range. I hope this helps, and have fun with your gearing!