Hybrid not as comfortable as I thought- now what?

[AndyRM]

You say you had been riding a mountain bike before; from the look of that frame, you may need to raise the saddle quite a bit to get a similar position. If your legs never get the chance to straighten you will find pedalling a lot harder.

If you don't need it, perhaps take the pannier rack off? Less weight = less effort required.

 

[phillc]

I agree with Jules if you have the chain on the smallest cog by the peddle, then you need to be using the largest two or three cogs on the rear wheel.

Safe cycling
phill

 

[Kbaby]

Sorry for being so stupid. I went out today on the bike. I changed the gears etc and altered the friction gear as suggested. It made a noise like the gears weren't engaging. Do I have to move both or can I use them independently following the above? Am I right the one by my peddle should be middle and back should be small if I'm cycling on flat ground.

My neighbour also used his compressor pump and both tyres were on 10psi which explains the bumps!

 

[MikeW-71]

Select whichever gear allows you to pedal comfortably. This may change many times on the same stretch of road. It is generally recommended to pedal at a rate of between 80-100rpm, it'll feel like you're pedalling really fast, but it's less tiring on the legs. If you are spinning too fast, change to a smaller cog, if it's getting too hard, change to a larger one.

On flat ground, you'll probably be in the middle of the front chainrings, then change the rear gear to suit. You can use the full range of rear gears from the middle ring.

The large front ring comes into play when going downhill. When on this ring, avoid using the largest rear cog.

The smallest front ring is for climbing steep hills. Avoid using the smallest rear cog.

As you get stronger, you will find you can push higher gears than before. After a while, you might find that you are using the big chainring much more on the flat. Gear selection is something you get used to and with some practice you will be able to predict what gear you will need at any given point.

 

[tribanjules]

the clickety clackety noise suggests yr gears need a tweak - this is normal on a new bike !

 

[mustang1]

Use the middle ring by the pedals. Then at the back start with the largest cog. This is the easiest/slowest cog. Then move to the next smallest cog and so on until you find the cog you like best. As the cogs get smaller, the pedalling becomes harder/faster.

Its like going up the gears in a car, starting in first (largest cog) to 5th (smallest cog).

The weight of the bike shouldn't be a concern, its not hugely heavy. The lower end hubs and other rotating parts will make the bike slowish, but for short journeys it should be OK.

+1 on pumping the tires to recommended pressure.

 

[moonjiver]

I've been following this thread with great interest coz Kbaby is asking all the stupid questions about gears which I wanted to ask! Like many others, I am sure, I find the gears on modern bikes a bit complex, so thanks to the forum - I've learnt a lot. Hope Kbaby manages to sort out her issues and I don't see much wrong with choosing a bike for the looks - if you like it, you are more likely to look after it. However, my advice, again not very technical, is that Kbaby might want to upgrade later if she finds she's enjoying the cycling and her kids are growing up. Then would be the time maybe, with experience, to be more choosy about the right weight and size of bike for the kind of cycling that's being done. Don't know if that's much help .. but good luck!

 

[Boon 51]

You could also go to a bigger dealer as they have a few bike that you can test ride, that would give you a better idea there to go.