riding bike

Question
can you please explain the gears on my bike, 1st time 1 have had 18gears. what gear to start in what gear for flat road riding, for slopes, hills etc. i know this is a silly question but i am just getting into bike riding for a hobby. im know it depends on the size of hill but a rough guide would be appreciated

Answer
There is no set gear for any situation. It depends on your gearing and your riding skill. But I can explain how gearing works.

Without getting too technical, each combination of front and rear cogs translates to a number which represents the theorectical distance a bike will travel with one revolution of the pedals. The higher this number the harder it is to turn the pedals.

So you want to use lower gears when climbing hills or going into a wind and higher gears when going downhill or with a wind at your back. The larger the rear cog, the lower the gear, the reverse is true with the front cogs.

The key to working with your gears is called cadence or spinning. The idea is to keep a steady pedaling speed or revolutions per minute. For example, as you go downhill pedaling gets easier and you spin faster so you want to use a higher gear. Conversely, pedaling gets harder as you climb, so you want to shift into lower gears to try and keep the same pedaling rhythm.

When you are starting from a standstill, you want to be in a lower gear so its easier to get your spin up. So you shift down when you come to a stop.

If you do a WEB search on BICYCLE GEARING you should find a gear chart and other info.

HTH
Scott<>