How To Work Those Gears

Alison has got a new bike, but is not sure how to use the gears; this is a question we are asked regularly. We don’t know which gears she has on her bike, so we run through how they work for her

Question: I have not ridden a bike in a long time, and have just been given one as a present. Please help as I don’t understand the gears. There are gears on the left and on the right. What is the difference? At the moment the pedals just seem to lock. I am longing to get out and ride the bike but these shimano gears are a mystery!

Hi Alison,
Nice present to get a new bike, I’m sure you will get the hang of it with a bit of practice.

First, you don’t say which system of gears you have so I’ll have to guess. The gear levers or twist grip on the left hand controls the front gear, that’s the chain set at the pedals. There are probably three chain rings, the lever or twist grip moves the chain from one to the other, the smallest being the easiest to pedal, the middle one is a medium gear and the big gear is the hardest for going down hill. You will probably use the middle gear most and if you live in a very flat area, you’ll mostly use the big chain ring.

The lever or twist grip on the right controls the rear gear and you have between five and ten gears at the back, probably seven or eight, the lever or twist grip moves the chain from one sprocket to another. At the back the small sprocket is the hardest and for going down hill and the biggest is the easiest for going up hill, the ones in between are the ones you will use most of the time.

The best thing to do is to leave the front gear in the middle and just change between the middle few gears as you need them, the main thing to remember is that you must be pedalling when you change gear, if you don’t then the chain will not move from one sprocket or chain ring to the other. One big trick you will learn is to change gear before you need to, so that you are in the correct gear for what you are about to do, go uphill or down.

If you have numbers on the shifters it is probably numbered like a car, 1st being the easiest and 5th being the hardest. If you have a lever system where there are two levers then the lever that you press with your thumb will make pedalling easier and the lever you press with your finger will make the gear harder for going down hill.

I hope this helps and hasn’t confused you more? The main thing is to remember to keep pedalling as you change gear, other wise it won’t change, have fun.