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Gear Shifting

Cycling / Popular

Anticipate and shift gears smoothly for terrain changes.

What coaches agree on

  • Read the road ahead and shift into the right gear before you reach a climb, hairpin, or sharp corner, rather than waiting until you're already on the steep part.
  • Use your gears to hold your pedaling cadence in a comfortable, efficient range, which most coaches put at roughly 80 to 90 RPM.
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  • Make most of your adjustments with the rear cassette for small, fine changes, and save the front chainring shift for a bigger jump, typically as you near the end of the cassette range.

Common mistakes

  • Shifting while stamping hard on the pedals instead of easing off first, which grinds the drivetrain and can jump, jam, or drop the chain.
  • Cross-chaining — running the big chain ring with the big rear sprocket, or the small ring with the small sprocket — which strains the chain and derailleur and wears them out faster.
  • Coasting up to a stop without shifting down first, leaving you stuck in a hard gear and struggling to get moving again.
How To Change Gear
Beginner

How To Change Gear

Coach's take: Excellent for beginners - hits the mistakes new riders make.

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