How To Use Your Gears On A Bike | Beginner Series Ep. 3
How To Use Your Gears On A Bike | Beginner Series Ep. 3
How do I change gears? What gear should I use and when? If you’re asking these questions, then this is the video for you! Manon & Conor explain everything you need to know about bike gears and share a few top beginner tips to make changing gear when cycling feel easy!
0:00 Intro
0:50 The basics
1:51 How to change gear
3:10 What gear to use & when
4:12 Shifting on climbs
5:00 Right gear when stopping
5:40 Changing between chainrings
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Do you have any other top tips for using your gears? Let us know in the comments below! 💬
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Thought you couldn’t cross chain Di2 small-small?? Anyway that’ll help the newbie on their Claris geared bike and no mention of trim (does Di2 have it??), and which gears are optimum for each chainring and where the point crosses over….
The style of shifters on these kinds of bicycles I did not know existed till ten or so years ago..remember looking at one road bike in a shop located in Edmonton Alberta Stratcona district and was perplexed as to why there was no mechinisim on the lower bar, nor rapid fire shifters visible.
Been riding mountian style bikes pretty much the whole life.. don’t have the budget to try new stuff out, and have not been in the bike shop to look at what’s advanced since the 1990’s. Must say these little computers do make a differance in these matters, at least get to see new products without having to spend extra just making the trip.
So much has changed in a short period of time..
Like a lot of what is out there, but still have a soft spot for the old tech.
Do you have any other top tips for using your gears? 👇
I prefer lower gears for climbing so that I can spin more. Doing this helps me to climb during a century and double century ride. Great video.
What are the buttons on Di2?
I have many questions, but the only one which is pertinent to the topic of this video is, "Why ON EARTH is it so complicated?". My gravel bike has only one front gear and I find that easy to understand and master. But this looks very complicated. I guess it’s a matter of getting used to, but still, it looks like everything is made as complicated as possible.
Since most beginner cyclists would be using mechanical shifting, perhaps a video using pivoting shifters would be more helpful than electronic buttons or paddles. Also, many beginners will have trigger or twist shifters. Given the focus on drop bar road bikes, maybe just a quick mention of other systems would be good. Otherwise, very helpful.
I think it was a very bad idea using electronic gears in this episode. It was difficult to see what you were actually doing and which shifters to use when changing up or down gears.
A more in depth guide on suggested gear ratio’s and what to aim for might be helpfull as well.
I guess it depends alot of on different variables, but it might help some.
Manon in shorts and Conor in leg warmers. Come on Conor, man up lad.
As someone who has switched from Shimano 105 mechanical to SRAM eTap, I much prefer SRAM’s shift logic (right lever shift up/left lever shift down/ both for large mech). It’s so much more logical, and no fumbling to only depress a certain portion of the lever. Especially when wearing gloves.
no mention of internal gear hub? i think you should also talk about that. pretty sure the way you switch gears on internal gear hub is completely different. i think you are meant to stop pedaling before you switch gear and only after you have switched gear you should continue pedaling.
I really HAVE to start showing my smaller chainring a little more love – I’m WAY too often cross-chaining to my larger sprockets because I don’t ENTIRELY trust my front derailleur (even though I’ve finally learned to set it up properly).
Can’t believe this has to be taught! I learnt this pre internet days and without a instruction manual . 🤷♂️
it blows my mind that people don’t know, maybe just me, but it seemed pretty intuitive, you want not struggle when biking, that’s why it’s one of the best energy to movement (idk right term) ratios in all human powered locomotion, better than skateboards, or scooters. at least for me I want to be able to spin my pedals comfortably all the time, idk why someone wouldn’t want to
can an aluminium frame take some rocky roads and some bumps ???
OK, my question is, when I’m at a stop light, do I shift down to the smaller chain ring on the front, or do I stay on big front ring and shift up in the back?
Maybe I missed it, but one rule to always follow is be pedaling when you shift.
If the gears aren’t turning they can’t shift.
One trick I picked up recently that’s to do with shifting is that when you shift in the front and your chain falls off, you can get your chain back on the chainring just by shifting back the other direction and doing another pedal stroke or two – the derailleur pulls the chain back on for you. For years when that happened I would just get off my bike and fix it with my hands (which results in some really black, greasy fingers for the rest of the ride).
This is a really nice series you’ve been doing here! I think a lot of beginners will find it useful – I’m pretty well versed in cycling by this point, but I’ve been watching to see if I can pick up any new little tidbits.
I can’t believe that you (GCN) have done this again. A beginner video on shifting and all you can scrounge up is a high end bike with Di2? Hank did a similar video a year a two ago and he had the exact same problem – Di2. When I bought my first modern road bike in 2011 with 105’s, I had to get on line and find a video on how to use the shifters. The one I found used mechanical shifters because that is what most “beginners” buy. The first time you shift from the small ring to the big ring takes a fair amount of effort and and a much greater push than one would expect. But you can’t share that because you are using Di2. I love you guys, but really, how can you be so clueless?
What sunglasses is Conor wearing? Are there any you guys recommend for cycling?
All I heard from this video was change, chain, change, chain, change ,chain ,change ,chain change, chain, change ,chain.
Hey english from England riders, you have the Rear Brake on the Left handle with the Front gears ?
Thank you for a great watch, my question is which gear should you be in when you’re out of the saddle (i know, how long is a bit of string!) – I believe the general rule is to drop down a couple of sprockets to take up the extra power. I’m doing this and still find that I’m slipping/spinning and not getting the right grip. Do you have to keep changing. Conor will know Felden Lane which I struggle to get up. Many thanks.
CS53
This series must be for millionaire beginner cyclists. You don’t even know what gears are, but you’ve bought a bike with electronic shifting. GCN to the rescue!
(Retro Grouch Single-Speeder has entered the conversation…)
One thing you didn’t mention is the "Trim" shift while in the big ring. Depending on your groupset level, some groupsets have a trim shift for the big ring. When you initially shift to the big ring, it is expected you will be in the top half of the cassette. If your not or when you downshift to lower half off the rear cassette, you need to trim shift to get the best performance and vice versa when going from the lower half to the upper half of the cassette. Electronic groupsets typically have a setting that will automatically make these adjustments while riding so you don’t have to worry about it.
Every time I see Conor’s hi-viz shoes I am tempted to ride with hi-viz Crocs in the summertime. Drivers won’t be able to say they didn’t see me anymore.
man your bike tires are inane to me 😅 I have an electric bike with those 4 inch stubby tires
Don’t bother messing with gears on your bike until you’re in Secondary School.
Your mum should buy you a singlespeed for your fifth birthday.
As your maths and physics improves at secondary school, gearing on a bicycle will become understandable.
Through school AND adult life, there should be at least one singlespeed bike in your shed. It doesn’t have to be a fixed wheel. For a man, the gear is 48T ring to 18T sprocket = 72".
Ride this regularly to work all your muscles.
Having lots of ratios to choose from allows you to ride at a pleasant cadence whatever speed the group is travelling.
I think this needs to be redone with mechanical shifters. Way different the electronic shifter. And SRAM and Shimano shift much differently, plus you can move up to three gars when trying to get to an easier gear with both systems. Can’t say anything about Campi, as I have never used them.
I I thought this was quite a useful and helpful. It’s probably a little bit too technical because the actors are using electronic gears which I guess most people probably won’t have full stop the video is obviously targeted at people who are not experienced cyclists so it is essential to keep it simple
Super helpful video Manon and Conor! A helpful tip I learned from a good teacher was:"Think of if the chain is away from the core of the bike it’s harder gears, whereas if the chain is nearer to the core of the bike its easier gears." This saves trying to get your head around bigger/littler sprokets being reversed front to rear. Well done you two! (I noticed that Conor left out the techniques on sabotaging your ‘friend’s’ gears!!) I look forward to "Manon’s revenge "!
More cyclists should consider hub gear sets. I know that purists will say that they are too heavy etc. etc. However, I have owned cycles with 21/27 gears of which I probably used, at most, 6. I have owned a Cube hybrid with a 8 speed Shimano Nexus hub set. There is no maintenance required and, best of all, you can change gear without needing to pedal.
,
Lovely video 🎉
Sorry to say! To whom your channel is really addressed… some fancy music… Probably you are just after money. Thought better of you… Really sorry
Plenty of times cars force me to stop abruptly so most of the times i can’t change gears before stopping. I just slam on the brakes! Then I’m on a high gear which makes it real hard to start pedalling again.
here’s a link to an equally informative video on how to use a microwave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEgAalGlgNA
I jate geared bikes 🤣
Conor, for your own safety, clean your bike before Oli gets mad!
Some of us use an IGH. Same principles apply, but I have no problem with power on upshifting on the flat.
Please, make a video on sensible road riding. If you see a car behind you, pull to the side and let them pass. A red light means stop. Don’t ride across pedestrian crossings. Stop and give way where appropriate.
Far too many riders (bike and scooter) hog lanes, nearly hit pedestrians, and don’t stop to give way where needed to do so.
Nice to see a beginner series….would be nice to see 105 level,bikes as well, Dura Ace Di2 with a handlebar bag on a race bike is sacrilege…a proper saddlebag is a less Fred move….
Being new to road racing (been out 4-5 times) this was a great video. If this had been explained to me upon purchasing the bike, it would have made my first few escapades less troublesome. I’m going to be a bit cheeky here, but would you be able to do a video on how to service gears and eliminate clunking when changing up or down (when not exerting force) … I’m told it’s easy, just winding screws clock or anti-clockwise 😮 Keep up the great content 😊
With the popularity of electronic shifting it would be could to explain Sequential shifting too. This is a game changer for me.
I would love to cycle where GCN does because there are never any cars about. I wouldn’t know what cycling was if it wasn’t a constant life-threatening experience.
It would be interesting to have a video on explaining the advantages and disadvantages of the different crankset ratios, 53/39 vs 52/36 vs 50/34. How much of a difference in everyday riding does that really make?
RE: right gear when stopping, how exactly did biggie smalls become a thing? "Go down a couple gears when stopping, unless you’re taking a picture, in which case go up all the way."
Just another tip… if you realize you forgot to change gears before stopping pull the front brake and push down on hoods to lift the rear wheel off the ground slightly and pedal and change gears as needed (easier with clipless)