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#1
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newbie question on gears
I am confused by the gear combinations such as 3x10=30. Am I correct
that in order to use all these gears, one has to alternatively shift the front and rear gears during upshifting or downshifting? And if so, is this the normal way the professionals do it? I have never had any proper training on cycling and found this very difficult to do, now I am only shifting the rear gear until the smallest gear is in use then I will shift the front gear, but this way I only have 2+10=12 gear combinations. What is the proper way to do it? |
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#2
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newbie question on gears
Zonta wrote: I am confused by the gear combinations such as 3x10=30. Am I correct that in order to use all these gears, one has to alternatively shift the front and rear gears during upshifting or downshifting? And if so, is this the normal way the professionals do it? I have never had any proper training on cycling and found this very difficult to do, now I am only shifting the rear gear until the smallest gear is in use then I will shift the front gear, but this way I only have 2+10=12 gear combinations. What is the proper way to do it? Think of it as 2 ranges of gears. One high and one low. There is some overlap where the highest gears in the low range are actually higher than the lowest gears in the high range. So if you are going easy/slow/uphil you would generally leave the chain on the small chainring (the low range) in the front and just move it around on the back as you require to get up hills, etc. If you are going fast/downhill/tailwind you might wish to leave it in the high range (the big chainring in the front) and choose gears in the rear as neccesary to keep a comfortable cadence (pedaling frequency). If you are a beginner, it is recommended that you use the low range to start, and as you get stronger and more comfortable with the whole setup, you can use the high range as well. You can of course switch between the two as you see fit and as the terrain changes. Have fun! Joseph |
#3
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newbie question on gears
Zonta wrote: I am confused by the gear combinations such as 3x10=30. Am I correct that in order to use all these gears, one has to alternatively shift the front and rear gears during upshifting or downshifting? And if so, is this the normal way the professionals do it? I have never had any proper training on cycling and found this very difficult to do, now I am only shifting the rear gear until the smallest gear is in use then I will shift the front gear, but this way I only have 2+10=12 gear combinations. What is the proper way to do it? Think of it this way: The closer the chain is to the frame, the easier it is to pedal. The further away from the frame the chain is, the harder it is to pedal. As a beginner, try thinking of a chainwheel for: 1) Going up hills 2) Going on flats 3) Going down hills Let each # above relate to each of your three chainwheels up front. The one on the left most portion is the easiest to pedal, then the middle one, then the big one (the toughest to pedal). Hope that helps. |
#4
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newbie question on gears
"Zonta" wrote in message ... I am confused by the gear combinations such as 3x10=30. Am I correct that in order to use all these gears, one has to alternatively shift the front and rear gears during upshifting or downshifting? And if so, is this the normal way the professionals do it? I have never had any proper training on cycling and found this very difficult to do, now I am only shifting the rear gear until the smallest gear is in use then I will shift the front gear, but this way I only have 2+10=12 gear combinations. What is the proper way to do it? There are two approaches: a) empirical - if the gear is too hard, choose an easier one, and vice-versa. b) count the various gear teeth and figure out what your ratios are, and memorise the order of gearing combinations. To a close approximation, with front chainwheels that have a small difference in teeth (5) the ratios will alternate front chainwheels before changing the rear; for chainwheels that have a large difference (12) there will be a number of small-front and large-rear ratios before the easiest large-front and large-rear ratio. Do not be surprised if there are some ratios from different gear combinations that are essentially the same. |
#5
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newbie question on gears
On Thu, 27 Jul 2006 00:28:39 -0700, Zonta wrote:
I am confused by the gear combinations such as 3x10=30. Am I correct that in order to use all these gears, one has to alternatively shift the front and rear gears during upshifting or downshifting? And if so, is this the normal way the professionals do it? As you point out, it is necessary if you want to use all the gears. There are inevitably some combinations that are so close to one another in geared effect that you will either use them interchangably or find yourself not using one of them. I have never had any proper training on cycling and found this very difficult to do, now I am only shifting the rear gear until the smallest gear is in use then I will shift the front gear, but this way I only have 2+10=12 gear combinations. What is the proper way to do it? Much smoother is at some point as you're shifting upward, to use your example, instead of just going one click further on the rear, go up on the front and down at the rear simultaineously. From there you can continue upward smoothly. Same with downshifting. Shift the chainring instead of the rear at some point. Usually you do this when you detect a trend. Like you see a big hill coming up. You might shift down on the front and up in the back leaving you with a gear pretty close to what you were already in... but .... now you're on the right chainring for the next part of your ride and you won't have to downshift the front while grinding up the hill. IOW, use the chainrings for coarse (course) adjustments; uphill, downhill, fast, normal, etc. And the rear cogs to get just what you want. Spend some time with this online gimmick: http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/ . Plug in the size of your gears, and experiment having it give results in gear inches, the standard way of expressing bike gears since the invention of the device, or in MPH for a given pedalling rate. Notice where the gears overlap, where there are large steps you might want to avoid and get into bike geek mode. Ron |
#6
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newbie question on gears
On Thu, 27 Jul 2006 00:28:39 -0700, Zonta
wrote: I am confused by the gear combinations such as 3x10=30. Am I correct that in order to use all these gears, one has to alternatively shift the front and rear gears during upshifting or downshifting? And if so, is this the normal way the professionals do it? I have never had any proper training on cycling and found this very difficult to do, now I am only shifting the rear gear until the smallest gear is in use then I will shift the front gear, but this way I only have 2+10=12 gear combinations. What is the proper way to do it? Hi, here is a helpful website, that will give you all kinds of good info. Gear shifting: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears.html For all things beginner [although also helpful to the oldtimer]: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/beginners/index.html Although there are no absolutes in gear use, there are a few guidelines. It is not a good idea to use the extremes, such as the smallest chainring with the smallest cogs in back, ot the largest chainring with the largest cogs. This causes, what is called cross chaining and is harder on the drivetrain, totally unnecessary, and inefficient. With a triple, in front, you really don't need to use the smallest chainring, unless you arer going up a hill. I use the middle chainring and only shift into the larger ring, when I'm over 18mph, and am spinning a cadence over about 95rpm. But that is me, using a custom 9-speed cassette of 14-28 with a 30-39-53 up front. Cadence varies amongst riders, 3 years ago, 100rpm seemed crazy, now it is quite comfortable. Another thing that could help you better understand gear overlap and duplication is a simple free program called GearCalc. http://www.machinehead-software.co.uk/gearpro.html All of the above should make you quite knowledgable, then the rest is just practicle experience. The more you ride, you will find what works for you. Life is Good! Jeff |
#7
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newbie question on gears
Zonta wrote:
I am confused by the gear combinations such as 3x10=30. Am I correct that in order to use all these gears, one has to alternatively shift the front and rear gears during upshifting or downshifting? And if so, is this the normal way the professionals do it? I have never had any proper training on cycling and found this very difficult to do, now I am only shifting the rear gear until the smallest gear is in use then I will shift the front gear, but this way I only have 2+10=12 gear combinations. What is the proper way to do it? One of my bikes has a triple (3 chainrings in front) and a 9-speed (9 cog cassette) rear. I find that I almost always use the middle chainring while doing most of the shifting on the cassette. I will occasionally use the little ring in the front for climbing a steep hill and the big ring for descents and tailwinds. You are right about the number of gears. Effectively, your bike only has 12 steps from the lowest to the highest gear. However, there are some intermediate steps available that can be useful for finding just the right gear to work into a headwind or endure a long hill. |
#8
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newbie question on gears
"Dan" wrote in message ... Zonta wrote: I am confused by the gear combinations such as 3x10=30. Am I correct that in order to use all these gears, one has to alternatively shift the front and rear gears during upshifting or downshifting? And if so, is this the normal way the professionals do it? I have never had any proper training on cycling and found this very difficult to do, now I am only shifting the rear gear until the smallest gear is in use then I will shift the front gear, but this way I only have 2+10=12 gear combinations. What is the proper way to do it? You are right about the number of gears. Effectively, your bike only has 12 steps from the lowest to the highest gear. However, there are some intermediate steps available that can be useful for finding just the right gear to work into a headwind or endure a long hill. You cannot say this without knowing the various numbers of teeth the original poster has. It is possible to have many more significantly different (and therefore useful) ration than 12, given 3 x 10. |
#9
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newbie question on gears
"Zonta" wrote in message ... I am confused by the gear combinations such as 3x10=30. Am I correct that in order to use all these gears, one has to alternatively shift the front and rear gears during upshifting or downshifting? And if so, is this the normal way the professionals do it? I have never had any proper training on cycling and found this very difficult to do, now I am only shifting the rear gear until the smallest gear is in use then I will shift the front gear, but this way I only have 2+10=12 gear combinations. What is the proper way to do it? There were a number of good recommendation by other posters but several may be a little too technical for your present needs, One purpose for being able to change gears is to maintain a fairly constant peddling cadence or number of revolutions per minute of the cranks. Top racers maintain a cadence of 125+, many experienced riders pedal at 90+ rpm while beginners may find it difficult to initially keep a cadence of 60 rpm. Working on gradually increasing your cadence will help build up your heart, lungs and legs. The lowest gearing - small front sprocket/ larger rear sprocket combinations are designed for pedaling up hills. In these situations cadence is unimportant for a new rider, just get up the hill. The idea of 30 speeds is more a marketing feature than a reality because there will be a lot of overlapping ratios. Ten sprockets on the rear allows you to make gradual gear changes of around 5% on each shift to adjust to changes in riding conditions that are affected by the wind or road. As some one else suggested, start off on the flat using the middle front sprocket shifting between the middle 4-5 rear sprockets to get a feel for differences in gear ratios. Work on developing a smooth cadence. For best chain and sprocket life you should try to avoid using the larger rear sprockets with the largest front sprocket and the smallest rear sprockets with the smallest front sprocket. Big/big and small/small creates too much chain crossover. You will probably find that you are using 5-8 gear combinations of the flat and 3-5 lower gears for climbing hills. You should avoid using the highest gears except for fast downhill runs while you are developing your cadence. Chas. |
#10
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newbie question on gears
jtaylor wrote:
You are right about the number of gears. Effectively, your bike only has 12 steps from the lowest to the highest gear. However, there are some intermediate steps available that can be useful for finding just the right gear to work into a headwind or endure a long hill. You cannot say this without knowing the various numbers of teeth the original poster has. It is possible to have many more significantly different (and therefore useful) ration than 12, given 3 x 10. I didn't say he only had 12 gears. It is very likely that he has 30 different gear ratios. I also did not say that the other ratios were not useful - in fact I pointed out that they were useful. |
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