| Remember when you didn't think about the gears on | | | | typical shifting system employs both a front and rear |
| your bike? Your bike had a bike sprocket connected | | | | derailleur. Without the derailleur you wouldn't be able |
| to the pedals and a small sprocket connected to the | | | | to shift gears. The derailleur consists of pulleys and |
| back wheel an that's all you needed. Then you got a | | | | the cage, which is the part which actually comes into |
| little older and got your first 10-speed. That bike had | | | | contact with the chain. The pulleys are attached to |
| two sprockets up front and five on the back. In all | | | | the gear cables. There are separate cables for the |
| likelihood, the shifters were a pair of levers | | | | front and rear derailleurs. The gear cables connect to |
| connected to your bike frame near the handlebars. | | | | the gear shifters. |
| As time went on the shifters moved to the | | | | There are a variety of gear shifters available today |
| handlebars themselves and then became | | | | and they cover a wide price range. The gear shifter |
| advanced-looking dials right beside the grips. And next | | | | is what allows you to change gears. The first type of |
| thing you knew, instead of a paltry ten speeds on | | | | shifters were levers known as friction shifters. These |
| your bike, you were riding a 27-speed mountain | | | | worked simply by pulling the cables attached to the |
| climbing machine! | | | | derailleurs. |
| Why all these gears? To make riding faster and | | | | Friction shifters can be troubling because the way |
| easier, of course. Whatever the number of gears | | | | they're designed you can easily get caught between |
| your bike has, if it has 2 or more then there's a basic | | | | gears and accidentally damage your gears or even |
| set-up which almost every bike employs. | | | | wreck. The more advanced variety of shifter is |
| First of all you have your front and rear sprockets. | | | | known as the index shifter. |
| These, along with the chain, form the most basic | | | | Index shifters have specific stopping points and are |
| components of the gearing system. To determine | | | | calibrated to perfectly shift from gear to gear. They |
| your gear ratio you compare the number of teeth on | | | | remedy the drawbacks of the older friction shifters. |
| the front sprocket to the number of teeth on the | | | | Gear shifters may be placed anywhere from the |
| rear sprocket. | | | | frame to the handlebar base to the grips to models |
| If your front sprocket has 52 teeth, and your rear | | | | which seem to be part of the brake levers. |
| sprocket has 20 teeth, then you're looking at a ratio | | | | Mountain bikes have multiple gears to make it easier |
| of 2.6. The higher the ratio the faster the gear. | | | | for you to negotiate difficult terrain. Higher gears are |
| Typically the gears on the front, starting from the | | | | there to help you speed downhill or across the flats, |
| inside, get larger as you move out. On the back | | | | and lower gears are there to help you surmount |
| wheel, though, the largest gear is typically the | | | | those difficult inclines. Remember, it's best to shift |
| farthest inside and they get smaller as you move out. | | | | gears when you're not putting a lot of stress on your |
| The next key component for your mountain bikes | | | | pedals. Shifting when there's heavy pressure on the |
| gears is the derailleur, or derailer. The derailleur is | | | | pedals can damage your shifting system. |
| what moves the bicycle chain from gear to gear. A | | | | |