Get in the right gear
Getting in the right gear for cycling doesn’t mean donning your best lycra.
Using the gears on your bike correctly will make cycling easier and more pleasurable, but unfortunately the subject of gears can add a whole new layer of confusion to cycling to the point that many just avoid the subject completely. However, it doesn’t need to be confusing and getting to know how your gears work can bring a new dimension to your riding.
Consider that on a bike you are the engine and the gear you are in affects how your engine performs; lower gears make pedalling easier but as you pick up speed staying in a low gear means your engine will start to over-rev. An example I often see with novice riders is that when they see a hill they instantly change down into their lowest and easiest gear. This causes the rider to lose any forward momentum so they have to use more energy to drive the bike up the hill. Consider how this would feel in a car if you suddenly changed from fifth gear to first gear at the first sight of a hill, and how it would affect your fuel consumption. That is not to say that you shouldn’t use easier gears when climbing, just that you should change down gradually as required. The key is to try and maintain a steady rev-count on your pedal cadence by using your gears and, as with a car where smooth driving can save you fuel, riding in this way will save you energy.
Perhaps the best way to figure out the gearing on your bike is to find a short, quiet stretch of road on a gradient and ride up and down it trying out as many combinations of your gears as possible, feeling how each affects your momentum. A word of advice, however, beware of cross-gearing. This is when you ride with your chain on the outer chainring at the front and on one of the larger cogs of your cassette at the back, thus making your chain run diagonally, rather than parallel to the bike, putting it under strain and potentially causing it to snap.
Gearing is a subject I could write pages about and routinely devote whole coaching sessions to. To gain proficiency takes effort and thought, but don’t let the complexity of the subject put you off finding out more. Once it’s clicked you’ll find a whole new world of riding out there.
Get out and ride.
Scot Tares
Twitter: @SkinnyTyres
Where to ride: Dronley | |
Location: | OS Landranger 1:50,000 Map 54Start at NO343359 Distance: 4 miles/ 7 km return |
Details: | This short off-road cycle route is situated a mile north of Muirhead at the back of Dundee. It’s suitable for children of all ages and follows a section of the disused Dundee to Newtyle railway line |