Help with gear changing

[Bsa_Rob]

I have recently bought a Raleigh pioneer venture, see picture. I think its from 1990's and is in really good condition. My problem is that I cannot get the hang of which gear I should be in. Its more by luck than good judgement that I get the right gear combination sometimes. Is there an easy way to get into the right gear for the various roads. Thanks Rob

 

[Ian H]

You can treat the front rings as low/normal/high ranges. Put it in the middle ring for now (lefthand changer). The right changer controls the rear gears, of which you have probably 7 or 8. Use these to maintain a comfortable cadence (leg-speed) which should be something more than 60rpm.

If you come to a steep hill, change the front to the inner ring and proceed as above.
On a downhill or fast stretch, change to the outer ring, etc.

 

[tom73]

Find a quite road and just have a play around at what they do.
You soon get to know what and when.
Though you will at times still get it wrong

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I would guess that Pioneer was made around 1992 or thereabouts, so it looks decent enough for it's age.
Generally, on my Pioneers, I tend to use the big front ring the majority of the time when riding on flattish tarmac and I try to come to a halt in second gear, so I can get decent acceleration when the traffic starts moving again. That's the important thing with derailleurs; you need to make a point of changing down before you come to a halt, so you are in the correct starting gear for when you next need to move. It's no good stopping in a high gear, then trying to pull away in a high gear and making a grinding downchange in the middle of a road junction. Unlike a Sturmey Archer 3-speed, where you can pull up at a red light in top gear and change down to 1st whilst stationary before moving off, with a derailleur you always have to be thinking one move ahead. Sometimes, it makes more sense to make a front ring change rather than changing a rear gear, especially if you might run out of gears on the back and need to make a front change later anyway. If I'm approaching the start of a gradient say in the big front ring and the third gear on the back, rather than change to the second gear on the back, I'll usually leave it in the third gear but change to the middle ring. That means if I need to make a further downchange halfway up the gradient, I've still got gears in reserve. You never want to have to do a double-change involving both a front and rear cog at the same time, whilst climbing any sort of gradient as the extra time needed will kill your momentum stone dead.

 

[slowmotion]

Just ride in a nice easy gear to start with. It's really bad for morale to grind to a halt on an incline. I always change to an easy gear when coming to a halt. It makes starting off better. If you're on the flat, just experiment and see which cadence you seem comfortable with. Experts like to ride like hamsters on a wheel to put out as much power as possible, but I've always aimed for enjoyment rather than peak performance, and go for a slow cadence and a fair bit of torque. It's not efficient but I enjoy it. Here's one tip for beginners from Simon Legg who used to lead the Night Rides. We were at the bottom of a short, famously steep hill outside Brighton. " Get in your lowest gear at the start and stay there. That way you don't have to worry about changing gears."
Brilliant advice! It won't win me the TdF but it was very good for morale when I got to the top without stopping for the first time since my first of five attempts in the intervening thirty years.
Just experiment and see what you're comfortable with. Have fun.

 

[Crankarm]

I would suggest you consider enrolling on a Bikeability course in your local area to refresh your bicycle riding skills so you can control and handle your bike safely, both off and on the roads.

 

[alicat]

Looks like a nice bike.

@Ian H has it right. Go to a flat road in any old gear. Use the left changer to get onto the middle ring at the front (or left most ring if there are only two) then the right changer to get to the middle ring at the back. Leave the left changer alone and use the right changer to go up a gear, down a gear until you find a comfortable starting point and notice the difference as you are experimenting. Most of your time spent riding will involve the right changer. Only use the left change when you come to a fairly big uphill or downhill.

Oh and above all, have fun!

 

[MichaelW2]

Use your gears to keep your work rate more or less steady in terms of pedalling speed (cadence) and pedslling force.
As the road gets harder, gear down for easier pedalling, as the road gets easier gear up.

 

[alicat]

Just one more thing, don't use extreme combinations like big at the front and big at the back or little at the front and little at the back. It puts too much stress on the chain. Just try it once when the bike is stationary and you'll see what I mean.

 

[CXRAndy]

With Triples, its important to get the front gear correct before starting a climb. You don't want to be dropping from the big chain ring down to the smallest in a panic, because your legs cant turn the pedals.

Simple rule

Bigger gear at front faster
Bigger gear at back slower


With all bike gearing, there is overlap, where combinations are the same ratio. Its more about chain management-IE not dropping or jamming the chain with poorly timed shifts

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Just one more thing, don't use extreme combinations like big at the front and big at the back or little at the front and little at the back. It puts too much stress on the chain. Just try it once when the bike is stationary and you'll see what I mean.

That's why I advocate doing a front ring change at the start of a gradient, rather than a rear cog. Most Pioneers with triple chainsets are 18-speeders, with a 6-speed freewheel. So, when riding on the big front ring, you only really have five gears to choose from, because the large front/large rear combo gives a poor chainline, and is considered bad practice. So if you are on the third gear on the rear using the big front ring, you only really have one lower rear gear in reserve for climbing, whereas all six rear gears are useable when in the middle front ring, so you have two more lower gears in reserve plus you are already in a lower gear to start with.

 

[boydj]

With a triple chainset, you'll find the middle ring should give you a usable gear on all but the steepest hills. There should be no need for swapping rings at the front very often. If you are faced with a big climb, then get onto the granny ring before you really have to start pushing hard.

 

[Bsa_Rob]

Thanks everyone for your advice which is starting to make some sense. I have tended to stay with the middle front gear and just use the rear to change when going up hill, but then changing front and rear at random when I am running out of speed. I will try a stay with the middle front gear and then use the rear to change down. I should have realised that its good practice to change down before approaching a hill or coming to a stop,its the same principle as riding my motorcycle really. One of the problems I have is that we live on a hill and most of the roads I need go on are up hill as well! Even if I go down hill first, I am faced with another uphill road before reaching level ground - so I do need to sort out my gears properly!
I will attempt to put the suggestions into practice over the next few days and I'll let you know how I get on.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

With a triple chainset, you'll find the middle ring should give you a usable gear on all but the steepest hills. There should be no need for swapping rings at the front very often.

For pootle speeds, the middle ring will have enough gear range, that is true. However, there is a good reason to make use of the big ring under favourable road conditions; it distributes the wear more evenly across the chainrings and maximises the mileage you'll get before the chainset gets so worn it needs replacing. A lot of the cheaper triples have non-replaceable individual rings, and if you get into a habit of riding everywhere on the middle one that will get worn out whilst the big ring and granny ring are still like new.
That will take thousands of miles, but bear in mind a Nottingham-built Raleigh Pioneer like that pictured by the OP could be anything up to 31 years old already, since the very first ones appeared in 1989 (with caliper rim brakes and conventional forks). The OP's bike is no earlier than 1991, but it's still a good few years old.

 

[Bsa_Rob]

For pootle speeds, the middle ring will have enough gear range, that is true. However, there is a good reason to make use of the big ring under favourable road conditions; it distributes the wear more evenly across the chainrings and maximises the mileage you'll get before the chainset gets so worn it needs replacing. A lot of the cheaper triples have non-replaceable individual rings, and if you get into a habit of riding everywhere on the middle one that will get worn out whilst the big ring and granny ring are still like new.
That will take thousands of miles, but bear in mind a Nottingham-built Raleigh Pioneer like that pictured by the OP could be anything up to 31 years old already, since the very first ones appeared in 1989 (with caliper rim brakes and conventional forks). The OP's bike is no earlier than 1991, but it's still a good few years old.