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Changing Gears
Gears, if used properly, help you to pedal with a minimum
of effort, thus allowing you to go farther with more endurance.
Bikes come with a variety of gearing and usually have from
3 to 18 gears. There are of course bikes with higher numbers
of gears than 18. The three-speed bikes have the gears housed
in the hub of the rear wheel. Bikes with a higher number
of gears have what is called derailleurs that move the chain
to a different sprocket (called a cog in the rear and a
chainring in the front) each time you shift gears. The number
of gears is found by multiplying the number of chainrings
times the number of cogs. For example, a “seven-speed
bike” has seven gears and has one chainring and seven
cogs. A 21 speed bike usually has 3 chainrings and 7 cogs.
The rear derailleur (which moves the chain to different
cogs) is the most instrumental bike component in making
the ride easy. It is used more often than any other component
you control while riding. The derailleur not only moves
the chain from cog to cog (or chainring to chainring), but
it also keeps the tension on the chain at the correct level
as the amount of chain wrap on the cassette cog changes.
Thus, you have a smooth changing of gears.
To change gears on a bike with a derailleur, continue to
pedal (maybe with slightly less pressure) and move the gear
shifter. The chain will “shift” to another cog
and thus the bike will be in a different gear. The smaller
cogs are on the outside of the hub and thus when you shift
to one of these small cogs from a larger cog, the pedaling
will tend to be harder, and you are in a higher gear. In
this higher gear (smaller cog), you will be able to attain
higher speeds as the rear wheel will be turning more revolutions
per front chainring revolution. In the lower gears (larger
cogs) you will have more power for going up hills.
You should change to a larger cog (lower gear) to get more
power when you see an approaching hill. Try to shift at
the bottom of the hill before you begin to climb. Also,
when going down a hill, change to a higher gear (smaller
cog) as you coast to the bottom and are about to begin pedaling
again.
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