- Today we are talking about bike gears.
Now, they might sound complicated
but if you learn to use them properly,
can make a significant difference.
- Hang on, Heather.
I'm really sorry but what on earth is
so complicated about bike gears?
- Mark, I don't want to be the one to point out,
but you are currently cross chaining
and there is a hill that we're about to go up,
so you might want to change that.
- It's a little bit harsh, Heather.
I was actually just about to put it into my small ring.
- Well, if you don't know quite what we're on about here,
don't worry, we're going to be explaining
everything about gears to help you ride more effectively.
(upbeat music)
Let's start by taking a closer look at the gears.
Now, the front set of gears here by the right hand pedal
are the ones that can make a significant difference.
Usually hear them called the chain rings,
and a bike can have one, two,
or sometimes even three chain rings.
And the chain is then shifted between the chain rings
by the front mech, which is found just above here.
And that's then controlled by shifters,
usually on the left hand side of the aero bars,
the base bar or the handlebars.
The smaller the chain ring, the easier the gear.
- But over at the rear of the bike we have the cassette,
which has more cogs, meaning more gear choices,
and therefore smaller changes between the gears.
Now I've currently got an 11 speed on my bike,
meaning 11 cogs, but you may have a 10 speed,
a nine speed, an eight speed, or maybe even a 12 speed
if you've got a nice fancy one on your bike.
Now, unlike the chain rings, actually the smaller cog,
which we have here, is actually the hardest gear,
meaning the most resistance.
And the largest cog here is the easiest gear,
meaning the easiest resistance.
Then below that we have the rear mech or derailleur,
which allows us to shift between those cogs and gears.
And that is all normally operated and controlled
by controls on the right hand handlebar or aero bar.
(upbeat music)
- Okay let's look at how you actually change
between the gears, because there is a certain knack.
I mean you could just bulldoze your way through
from your biggest cog to your smallest cog in a few seconds,
but your bike components aren't going to thank you.
- No, they're not, and you also do run the risk
of jamming your gears in the process.
So instead, you should try to change one gear at a time,
slowly picking your way up or down through the gears
and making sure you pedal between those changes.
Now, you'll also notice quite a big difference
if you actually ease off the pedals
ever so slightly while you change.
And I know that might sound really quite odd,
particularly when you're trying to push hard
and you're going up a hill,
but you will actually really notice the difference
with a bit of practice.
Now I'm not saying fully come off the gas or off the pedals,
but just a well timed release of pressure on the pedals
will make a world of difference.
- Yeah, and the best way to figure this out
is to go and experiment.
So find a nice quiet road that's just undulating,
and practice changing gear and then changing
the amount of pressure you put down at various points.
(upbeat music)
Whilst we're on the topic of shifting gears,
there's something you want to avoid,
and that's cross chaining,
which Mark demonstrated nicely in the intro.
Now not only is it a big no-no in cycling,
it's actually because it's also going to be
ruining the components of your bike.
- Yeah it is.
Now what's happening when you're cross chaining is,
well you might be in your largest chain ring at the front
and then your largest cog at the rear,
which is obviously your easiest gear.
Or, the opposite, you could be in
your smallest chain ring up front
and then your smallest cog at the rear,
which is your hardest gear.
So essentially the opposite.
So what's happening here is you're putting
your chain through quite a large angle,
which is going to potentially stretch it,
you might damage the components,
and also the risk of dropping or slipping your chain.
- Well now we've covered the basics and the ground rules,
it's time to look at how to optimize our gears,
and that leads me on to cadence.
Cadence is measured in revolutions per minute,
otherwise known as RPM.
And finding the right RPM will in turn
help you to ride better.
- Yeah, now in short, the higher or the harder the gear,
the higher the resistance.
And generally speaking, unless you're absolutely
flying along when we're descending,
that's going to mean that our legs are going to
turn over more slowly.
So less leg revolutions per minute
and therefore a lower cadence.
But alternatively, if we're in a lower or easier gear,
it's going to have a weaker resistance
and therefore our legs are, generally speaking,
going to turn over more quickly,
we're going to have a higher cadence.
- Yeah well cadence is very much a personal thing.
Some cyclists prefer to have a higher cadence,
other are lower.
But generally speaking, a good kind of figure to aim for
is somewhere between 80 and 95 RPM.
And you'll find that good sports watches or bike computers
should be able to measure this,
and then you can display it so you know
that you're on track.
- Yeah, now over time you will get used to this
and learn your cadence for yourself
and not have to refer to sports watches or computers
quite so often.
And could even get to the point that
you'll be able to adapt, so as your cadence lowers
you might be able to shift quickly into an easier gear,
or as your cadence gets higher and you start to spin out,
you shift into a slightly harder gear.
(upbeat music)
Well it's all very well in theory
but we all know that out in the real world,
out on the road, things can feel a little bit rush.
We don't spot things coming,
we don't realize quite how long a climb is
or maybe even how steep a climb is,
so this is where we need to start
looking ahead and being observant,
and almost preempting those gear changes.
So take this hill for instance,
you shouldn't just come into this hill,
plow in in the same gear that you were on the flat
and just hope for the best,
because what's going to happen is your cadence will lower
and then you'll end up grabbing your gears
and shifting through a load of gears
really quickly and really inefficiently,
and potentially even jamming the gears
as we mentioned earlier.
Instead, you want to enter this hill,
start preempting it and preempting your gear changes.
So as you approach the hill, start changing gear.
That may even mean shifting into your smaller chain ring
whilst you're putting less pressure through the pedals.
And then as you come into the climb
you can start shifting through the rear cassette
and through those smaller gears incrementally
as the hill gets steeper.
- Well shifting through the gears
isn't actually just for the hills,
you also want to consider it if you're
coming up to a junction or traffic lights,
because say you've been steaming along in a fairly big gear,
you then come to a stop.
Pulling away in a big gear is going to be incredibly hard,
so just think about it ahead of time
and shift down a few gears.
- Now the same applies for corners.
Try to read the road ahead of you
and change gear accordingly,
rather than just heading into a corner in the same gear
and then struggling to accelerate out of the corner.
Instead, as you enter the corner as I'm about to do now,
just shift down a couple of gears, go round the corner,
and make my life a heck of a lot easier.
- As we've already talked about selecting your gears,
choosing your cadence is very much a personal preference.
It's not one size suits everybody,
so it's about finding out what suits you.
- Yeah it really can take a bit of trial and error,
so what I suggest is you head out and you try out
a number of different cadences until you find out
whichever one suits your self.
And what you'll probably find is that some cadences
feel a lot more taxing than others,
in which case you'll probably want to
avoid them going forward.
- Yeah, and don't forget you can also
change the gearing on your bike.
You don't have to stick with what it
came with from the shop.
And say you've got a hilly terrain race coming up,
you might well want to change your gear ratio.
The easiest thing is to change your cassette.
Not that I've done it personally,
but Mark has and we've actually got a video
on how to change your cassette just down here.
- Yeah and if you'd like to compliment that
and find a little bit more about gear ratios,
you can see our video on gear ratios explained
by clicking just down here.
And don't forget to like this video and subscribe
to the channel if you're not doing so already.