General purpose gears?

Question

If I'm riding a 21 speed bike, what gear should i put it on for flat and hilly riding?

I'm really rather fit and i can run a mile in 8 minutes
the area where i live in is hilly and flat
i have a 21 speed bike and don't wish to upgrade

Answer 1

Depends on your leg strength, your ability to breathe (i.e. overall fitness level) and the speed at which you're trying to travel. It also depends on the cadence (how fast you want to move your feet).

If you're comfortable moving your feet quickly (a "high" cadence of 90-100 rpm), choose a gear that allows you to sustain that pedal speed regardless of the terrain. If you like a slower cadence (65-80 rpm), you'll likely pick a larger gear ... meaning you move the bike farther per revolution of the pedals, but the slower foot speed cancels it out somewhat so that you move the same wheel distance in the same amount of time as a higher cadence rider.

Generally, short steep hills are best attacked in the same gear you use on the flats leading up to it. You put more effort into pedalling for a short time (i.e. the climb) and your feet probably slow down their cadence a little, but you make it to the top. You might even have to stand up, but you're over the hill quickly. This method is sometimes referred to as "mashing".

Longer hills (or potential sore knees) might mean you prefer to "spin" up the hill. This means you shift into an easier gear and rev up your foot speed. You'll probably be on the hill a little longer, but you won't damage your knees in the process.

A heavier person (or a heavier bike) tends to favor the spinning approach, while a lighter person (or bike) favors the mash approach.

Basically, there is no "right" or "wrong" gear choice ... do what feels best for you. Or whatever makes you able to stay with the other riders in your group, if that's what you're trying to accomplish.

Answer 2

You must have an older triple (3 X 7) road bike. My advice is to upgrade to 24 or 27speed, because getting 7spd stuff is getting near impossible. Harris Bicycle has some 7spd stuff. NASHBAR and Performance bike has some parts. For real hilly rides, you want a 28 tooth rear(possibley even a 32 if your derailer will let you) and the smallest mtn bike small front ring the will fit. You will generally need a long cage derailer for this. For flat rides, you want a 52 front and a 12-21 rear.

Answer 3

This can either be a very simple answer or a very complicated one. So let's keep it simple. Since you have 21 speeds, you have three chain rings. For flat cruising, you should be in the middle ring. Use the rear derailleur to fine tune to maintain a cadence you like. Use the big chain ring for aggressive riding, bursts of speed on flats, or going downhill. Conversely, use the smallest chain ring for climbing hills.

Answer 4

That's a tough question to answer, since, as the other answerer's mentioned, it depends or your ability to sustain power, the terrain, your bike fit, and your particular bio mechanics.

The short answer is to put it in whatever gear you feel most comfortable in. No one here can tell you which one that is, but here are a few guide lines.

As mentioned, you have three gears on your pedal arms. These gears are known as 'chainrings', and the pedal arms are known as 'cranks' or 'crankarms'. The entire assembly is known as a 'crankset'.
The smaller chainring is used when pedalling is hard, such as going up hill or through mucky/tricky terrain.
The middle chainring is for general purpose: moderate hills and maintaining comfortable speed on flat ground.
The big chainring is used for going fast. Not recommended for going uphill.
In a nutshell, the small chainring makes pedalling easier, but with slower speed, and the big chainring makes pedalling harder, but with faster speed.

The gears in the back work exactly opposite from the front. These are called 'cogs' and the entire set of seven that you have can be generically referred to as a 'cluster' or 'cogset' (may also be referred to as a 'cassette' or 'freewheel', but lets stick with 'cluster').
Smaller cogs make pedalling harder, but with more speed, and bigger cogs make pedalling easier, but slower speed.

So, for going up steep hills, you'll want to use the small chainring and a bigger cog.
For general riding, use the middle chainring and what ever cog you feel comfortable riding, smaller cog for speed and bigger cog for slight to moderate climbs.
For going downhill, or speed workouts on the road, use the big chainring and a smaller cog.

If you find yourself consistently riding in the middle ring and a smaller cog, go ahead and start using the big ring more often.

NOTE: DO NOT USE A SMALL CHAINRING/SMALL COG OR BIG CHAINRING/BIG COG COMBINATION!!!!.

This is what is known as 'crosschaining'. It may cause your bike to shift on it's own depending on how good/bad the alignment is. It also creates excessive wear on the drivetrain, which can make the chain actually skip over the cogs and in the worst case break the chain.

Other tips - get yourself 'fit' properly on the bike, proper seat height, and handlebar height and extension. You won't want to ride the bike if it's not comfortable.

Make sure the brakes work.

Keep you tires inflated to the max rated pressure for road riding, and in the middle of the range on the sidewall for off, road (more pressure for heavier riders).

oh, yeah....wear a helmet.

Answer 5

low gears r easy to ride with when its hilly and windy but higher gears can make you go much faster they r also much harder to pedal though

Answer 6

first off...
on the front gears
1-up hills
2- flats
3-downhills

now the rear gears
just alternate until your have a steady speed
i go 2-2
2-4
2-6
and thats about it...for flats (4.2-24mph)