Cycling has gotten complicated with all the gear and training methods flying around. As someone with extensive cycling experience, I learned everything there is to know about this topic. Today, I will share it all with you.
Bike Gears: How They Work and How to Use Them
Gears confuse a lot of new cyclists. But the concept is simple once you get it.
The Basic Idea
Lower gears = easier pedaling, slower speed. For climbing hills.
Higher gears = harder pedaling, faster speed. For flat ground and descending.
You’re trading effort for speed. That’s all gears do.
How It Works
Front chainrings (the big rings by your pedals) and rear cogs (the cluster on your back wheel) determine the gear ratio.
Big chainring + small cog = hardest gear (fast, lots of effort)
Small chainring + big cog = easiest gear (slow, easy pedaling)
Everything else is somewhere in between.
Using Your Shifters
Right shifter controls the rear. Left controls the front (if you have multiple chainrings).
Most shifting happens in the rear – that’s where you have the most options. The front is for bigger changes – small ring for climbing, big ring for speed.
Shift before you need to. Don’t wait until you’re struggling up a hill to find an easier gear. Anticipate and shift early.
Cadence Matters
Cadence is how fast you’re pedaling (RPM). Most efficient range is 80-100 RPM for most people.
Grinding slowly in a hard gear (low cadence) burns out your legs. Spinning super fast in an easy gear (high cadence) wastes energy.
Use gears to keep your cadence relatively consistent across different terrain.
Cross-Chaining
Avoid big chainring + biggest cog, or small chainring + smallest cog. The chain runs at a sharp angle and wears faster. Modern drivetrains handle this better than old ones, but it’s still not ideal.
How Many Gears Do You Need?
Modern road bikes have 11 or 12 speeds in back. Mountain bikes too. Some have 1x (single chainring) drivetrains which simplify things.
More gears means smaller jumps between ratios. Nice for fine-tuning, but you’d barely notice jumping from 10 to 12 speeds.
Don’t obsess over gear count. Any modern bike has enough range for most riders.
