Gears- when to move front chain ring

[Firm Button]

Hi all, still waiting for my bike, so in the mean time i am preparing for its arrival with some research...

A question on gears-

Using the graphical gear calculator with my Sram Apex i came up with this-

http://www.gear-calculator.com/#KB=34,50&RZ=11,12,13,15,17,19,22,25,28,32&GR=DERS&TF=90&UF=2099&SL=2

It looks like, in order to gradually gain speed and keep my cadence in the ideal range, i start off with the small front and large rear cog, then work my way up the rear cogs until i am at 6, 7 or 8th cog, then, if the road surface is pretty much at the same incline, simultaneously go to the large front cog and drop 2 rear cogs...then i am at the next speed quite smoothly...? is this thinking correct in reality?

Steve

 

[the snail]

Basically, yes!

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Hi all, still waiting for my bike, so in the mean time i am preparing for its arrival with some research...

A question on gears-

Using the graphical gear calculator with my Sram Apex i came up with this-

http://www.gear-calc...90&UF=2099&SL=2

It looks like, in order to gradually gain speed and keep my cadence in the ideal range, i start off with the small front and large rear cog, then work my way up the rear cogs until i am at 6, 7 or 8th cog, then, if the road surface is pretty much at the same incline, simultaneously go to the large front cog and drop 2 rear cogs...then i am at the next speed quite smoothly...? is this thinking correct in reality?

Steve

Yep that is correct

 

[Matthew_T]

I might have a go doing that with my bike. Got to get lots of specs though.

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

That gear calculator is great!

Seems I'd not been dropping down far enough when going on to the big ring and also leaving it too late; no wonder I was struggling!

Thanks for the link.

 

[MrHappyCyclist]

Damn, I wish I'd seen that calculator before I went to the trouble of building my own spreadsheet.

 

[Firm Button]

Its a fab site, i got my cog specs from Sram's website and just dragged the cogs to the corect positions as the Apex isnt on the list of included cog combos.

Steve


Propa link- http://www.gear-calculator.com

 

[Norm]

It looks like, in order to gradually gain speed and keep my cadence in the ideal range, i start off with the small front and large rear cog, then work my way up the rear cogs until i am at 6, 7 or 8th cog, then, if the road surface is pretty much at the same incline, simultaneously go to the large front cog and drop 2 rear cogs...then i am at the next speed quite smoothly...? is this thinking correct in reality?

Steve

I generally find that one on the front means two on the back, but it depends where you are on each end as the proportion you move from 1-3 might be different to the move from 5 to 7.

This is a personal thing. If you need to know in that level of detail, it looks like you've got it about right, but it's very different from the way that I do it "in reality", though. I'd suggest that you are hugely over-thinking it.

I very seldom know exactly what gear I'm in, I seldom consider whether to go up with the front or the back (on my triples, it's middle ring unless I'm heading up / down a big hill) and I never work my way up through the cogs like that, unless my bike has an internal combustion engine.

I set off in one gear, go up a couple when I'm moving and might go up a couple more when I'm at "cruising" pace.

 

[CopperCyclist]

Do I do it wrong then? I just always stay on the big cog at the front, and only ever drop to the small one for a really steep hill. Only been cycling since April, mainly commuting though I have caught the bug bad and am doing longer runs on my days off.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Do I do it wrong then? I just always stay on the big cog at the front, and only ever drop to the small one for a really steep hill. Only been cycling since April, mainly commuting though I have caught the bug bad and am doing longer runs on my days off.

If you use the smaller front cog you may find that your legs don't have to work as hard. Give it a try and see

 

[Rubber Bullets]

in order to gradually gain speed and keep my cadence in the ideal range, I start off with the small front and large rear cog, then work my way up

Hi Steve,

As has been said you are basically right in your theory, and thanks for the link, it is interesting.

From this part of your post though I wonder if you are imagining starting in your lowest possible gear. In reality this will be very low, in the Apex groupset especially, and trying to start in this gear will be tricky*. A bike isn't like a car, where you almost always start in 1st, you are more likely to start in a gear roughly in the middle of your range, for me about 55 - 60 gear inches (according to your link ). If I am setting off uphill then a gear or 2 lower, or a downhill start a gear or 2 higher.

RB

*I remember hearing years ago that when stopping and leaving a bike for moment in public that it is a good idea to leave it in the lowest possible gear. The idea is that if someone leaps on it and tries to pedal away at great speed then the very low gearing means that their legs fly around uselessly and then they fall off! I have no idea whether this has ever worked, and I would rather trust a good lock, but I liked the idea enough to have retained it, in my sieve of a brain, ever since

 

[Norm]

[QUOTE 1530772"] Not at all, keeping a good cadence is good cycling. [/quote] Really? You start off in first and ride through every gear on your way up? To maintain exactly the right cadence on every pedal stroke? I'm impressed.

 

[the snail]

Really? You start off in first and ride through every gear on your way up? To maintain exactly the right cadence on every pedal stroke? I'm impressed.

People are spoilt these days, bikes have ridiculous numbers of gears. If I had to go through all my gears sequencially I'd lose the will to live.

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

A high cadence is more effective than "grinding": mechanically it is more efficient and it is less fatiguing; but hey, what do professional cyclists know...

 

[Firm Button]

I have been concentrating on cadence with my pre-bike work outs on the cycle, I started at 80 and am now up to 90 no trouble...the cadence music really helps though. In the old days I'd just pedal hard and slow, but thanks to this forum I now know to pedal faster not harder! Knowing what gears and the best combos to be in should help me keep the cadence up when I eventually get my bike. I do tend to think about stuff, over thinking maybe, but its certainly not a bad thing.

Steve