bicycle gears?

Question

i am new to riding bikes in fact i have only ridden my new mountain bike twice the problems is i find it very hard to cycle maybe i just have weak legs or somthing i need the easiest gears possible
my gears are on the lright handle 1-7 and on the left handle 1,2,and 3
p.s i dont know which side is for doing what

so which number are theeasiest gears then? 1 or7

Answer 1

One thing to add- Finding it difficult to pedal can have a lot to do with bike fit. Make sure that the shop you bought your bike from fits you properly to your bike. A general rule of thumb is that your leg should be almost fully extended at the bottom of the pedal stroke. If you ride with your saddle too low, which new riders often do, you will be using only a fraction of the available muscles to turn the pedals. I know it feels awkward, but it really makes a big difference.

Answer 2

The 1-3 side controls the de-railer that governs the 3 gears connected right to the crank. The 1-7 side controls the de-railer that governs the 7 gears on the rear tires hub. By manipulating the 2 levers you can get 1st gear thru 21st gear. The easiest to pedal is 1st gear. That would have the smallest crank gear driving the largest rear hub gear. The hardest to pedal would be 21st gear. That would be the largest crank gear driving the smallest rear hub gear. Use 1st speed to go up hill. Use 21st speed if you are really motoring along with a lot of momentum. I get the de-railers mixed up but I think one is the "rank" and the other is the "file". Keep at it. Go thru all the shifts and see where you are most comfortable. I think most casual riders will mostly leave the front de-railer on the one of the 3 settings that makes the best use of the seven rear gears for them and their leg strength.1-7 for beginner, 8-14 for intermediate, 15-21 for someone with strong legs.

Answer 3

RHS shifters are for your rear gears. LHS are for your front. Sounds like you have standard Shimano pods, so. The lower the number, the easier it is to peddle. So, pushing up a 12% grassy hill, in the mudd would be 1:1. However, roling down an easy hill, where you are just peddling t get a bit of extra speed on road is 3:7. If you are going along a field boundary, or single track 2:5. There are variations on this, but you get the idea.

For hills, rather than standing on the pegs, I would go for an easier gear, but spin faster. This will get you up the hill easier.

Luck

Answer 4

It's all about the size difference between two gears. You've got 3 fairly big gears up front and 7 smaller gears in the back. You can select any front gear to work with any back gear by using the shifters while you are pedaling. The left shifter moves the chain from one front gear to another. The right shifter moves the chain from one back gear to another. The smallest gear up front combined with the biggest gear in back gives you lots of power but not much speed. This is good for going up hills. The biggest gear up front combined with the smallest gear in back gives you lots of speed but not much power. This is good for going down hills. To start, put everything in the middle. Move the chain to different back gears by using the right shifter as your terrain changes. When you run out of gears, move the chain to a diffferent front gear. This is way simplified but should get you started.

Answer 5

okay, the smaller the gear in front, the easier to pedal, where the back is opposite, the larger the gear the easier. what you should aim to do is spin. that means finding a gear where you can turn your legs over easily. over a period of time, that gear will get larger as you build your fitness. many people think the harder they push on the pedals the better it is for you, but that isnt the case. all you do with that is burn glycogen out of your legs and perhaps even injure your knees. spinning allows you to raise your heartrate in a way that you can maintain it over a period of time. that is where fitness comes from. raising your heartrate over and over through repeated exercise forces your body to adapt and become more efficient and that is what lowers your blood pressure and strengthens your heart.

Answer 6

The best thing is to turn your bike upside-down (on a table if you can) pedal the bike by hand and shift it through the gears you will see exactly whats happening. A picture is worth a 1000 words.

Answer 7

if you put your bike on the easier gears, you are not going to get much resistance and it is going to feel like you are pedaling very hard with no result. If you put it on a harder gear, your bikie pulls more with each pedal, making you cover more distance than on the easier gear.

I know it sounds backward, but that's how it works. Give it a try! Good luck!

Answer 8

Not much I can add really. . .is there?

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