| It's been a long time since the "10-speed" bike was | | | | So if you want to use just those three gears, you |
| the ne plus ultra of biking sophistication when it came | | | | can certainly do so. But, using the right hand shifter, |
| to gears. These days, especially in mountain bikes, | | | | you can take advantage of the increments of gears |
| you can get anything up to 27 speeds. | | | | available to you. |
| What are all these gears in aid of? Quite simply, they | | | | Rear Derailleur |
| allow you to pedal at the same cadence - regardless | | | | The back chain ring is a cog set featuring seven, |
| of whether you're going uphill, downhill, or cross | | | | eight or nine cogs, depending on how many "speeds" |
| country. | | | | you have (21, 24 or 27). Each cog is of a different |
| However, the main reason why mountain bikes have | | | | size, and again, the smaller size cogs will enable you |
| so many gears is to assist you in climbing up those | | | | to pedal very, very easily - but not go very fast, |
| mountains! | | | | while the larger size cogs will allow you to go further |
| The main thing to remember when shifting is that | | | | with each downward stroke of the pedal. |
| you must always shift while pedaling, otherwise you'll | | | | The best thing to do is to practice, practice, practice. |
| strip the gears. | | | | Take your bike to a parking lot or somewhere where |
| Front Derailleur | | | | you don't have to worry about people, and shift |
| The gears are divided into two parts. There are | | | | from one gear to another, getting used to each one |
| three chain rings in the front, which are controlled by | | | | and how easy or difficult it is to pedal while in that |
| the left hand gear shifter. That's why there are 3 | | | | gear. |
| numbers to choose from on that gear shifter - to | | | | People new to biking might be rather wary of shifting |
| choose which of three front rings your chain will rest | | | | gears. Shifting always was a bit problematic during |
| on. The "derailleur" attached to the gear shifter | | | | the "old days" - when one only had a pair of center |
| moves the chain from one ring to another. | | | | mounted levels to work with, but now gear shifters - |
| When the chain is on the smallest of these three | | | | the twist type - are so easy to use that there is no |
| chain rings (1), pedaling will be very easy. This is called | | | | reason to be afraid of shifting. Again, as long as |
| the granny gear. The second chain ring is for level, | | | | you're pedaling while you shift, you won't hurt the |
| off road riding (2), and the third, or largest chain ring, | | | | gears. |
| is good for riding on pavement. | | | | |