A Guide to Shifting
Whether you have a vintage 10 speed with friction shifters, or a flashy new bike with index shifting and 30 speeds many of the same principles apply.
The gears on the inside (the ones closer the center of the bike) are your low speed gears. You should shift into these just before coming to a stop or just before starting to climb a hill.
The gears towards the outside are your high speed gears. As you gain speed you work your way up into these.
When it comes to riding around town the goal is to move efficiently with a minimum of wear and tear on the bike and you!
If you find yourself standing up to pedal your are in the wrong gear. Putting your full weight into cranking those pedals is hard on the bike, hard on your knees, and when eventually some part of your drive train suddenly, violently fails you will probably lose control of your bike and get hurt. I’ve seen people literally break their faces when this happens. If your bike has multiple speeds you should use them!
What gear should you be in? Whichever gear lets you comfortable stay in the saddle and does not force you chain to run at an extreme angle. That is called “cross-chaining”. It refers to when your chain is in a gear combination that runs the chain very diagonal increasing friction, wearing your components faster.
Assuming that you are starting off in your lowest gear (i.e. your chain is towards the insideas in the picture) you start pedaling as you get up into the saddle.
Spin those pedals until your feet are spinning just a little faster than you would prefer. Now it is time to shift.
First shift the rear derailleur (that should be the shifter on the right).
While shifting you should not press hard on the pedals. Spin them gently! Once you feel the shift happen then go ahead and press hard. (Note that some modern drive trains are designed to shift even when under full power. This assumes that the drive train is in good condition and well maintained. It is a feature intended for racing. For day to day transportation your drive train will last longer if you shift it gently)
Now if you have the room to continue gaining speed you’ll eventually need to shift again. Shift the rear derailleur again while spinning gently. Continue the process until you get near the center of the rear gears.
For example if you have an old school 10 speed, your rear gear cluster has five gears and the center is gear three. Now, still using the 10 speed as an example, you’re ready to shift your FRONT dérailleur. It’s the same procedure as the rear you just use the other lever. Once your up in the big ring up front keep pedaling and for your next shift you’ll go back to your rear dérailleur and continue with it till your chain is all the way to the outside.
Now you’re in your top gear. If you’ve got enough room its time to haul ass!
The previous example used a bicycle with only two rings up front. What if you have three rings like many modern bikes? Well you should just divide your rear sprockets into thirds. Then shift through one third of your gears on the rear, then shift the front, another third of the rear, then out to your third front ring, then shift the back all the way out.
This is a simplified explanation. It is intended as a general guideline for shifting safely, smoothly, and prolonging the life span of your drive train.
To see it in action watch this video: