Gear Changing

I ride a recumbent trike. It's somewhat heavier than a road bike. Coffs Harbour is hilly (the land was used for banana plantations in the 1940's). So, it's critical that I get my gear choice right or I really am pushing ---- up hill. There are still quite a few plantations around. We've even got the Big Banana as a tourist attraction!

Recently, I acquired a beautiful Trice, and the gear ratios are slightly different to my Greenspeed. It has taken me some time to figure out how to use the new gear set to its (and my) best advantage. I am still not "as one" with Ruby Red but we're getting there. To complicate matters, the bar-end shifters on RR are arranged differently to those on the my first trike.

On RR both bar-ends must be all the way forward for my lowest gear, and on my Greenspeed trike, low gear has the left shifter forward, and the right shifter all the way back. Or, is it the other way round? My, how quickly the "muscle memory" fades, and how slowly it grows. Anyway, you get the idea! It's taken me awhile to be more intuitive about changing gears on RR, but finally I'm almost there.

And yes, I kept my Greenspeed. My love affair with trikes continues. I cannot part with Betty Blue, now I've got Ruby Red. I keep it for when my adult sons visit. They indulge their grey haired mother by riding with her thus thinking they are preserving a small quantum of their inheritance (little do they know)!

I was cycling on my own the other day, when I "dropped the chain" and had to fix it. I was quite chuffed when I successfully did this. I've come a long way in a few short years. When I dropped the chain, I was tired, and reverted to the old muscle memory of the Greenspeed. I am experienced enough that I know how to avoid doing this, but there you go ... I'm human ... oops!

For information on how to avoid "dropping your chain" go to www.bicycleuniverse.info/eqp/gears.html (sorry, link didn't work). Also a good general discussion about gears.

While putting the chain back on the gear wheel, I started thinking about how I'd learned to use the gears more efficiently and effectively since my Newby days. Googling "use bicycle gears" brought a few great sites including this one from the West Australian government: www.dpi.wa.gov.au/cycling/15508.asp.

The principle is to think of yourself as your bike's engine, which basically is exactly what you are! You need to keep the rev's of your engine constant - just like in a car. You don't want to over-rev the engine, and wear it out, nor do you want to under-rev it and stall. Stalling on your bike means you'll have to get off and walk up that hill. When you are riding a bicycle (or trike) the rev's (short for revolutions per second) is called your cadence. Your cadence is the number of times your turn the pedals in one minute.

What should your cadence be? The answer to this is as long as the proverbial piece of string. Put 2 cyclists together and ask them this question, and you'll get 3 answers.

For my money, I'm a grey-haired, close to 60, health challenged mother who wants to be around long enough to spend her kids' inheritance. So, I'm comfortable with a cadence of around 70. If I try to pedal any faster, I wear myself out real quick. But, I'm not an elite athelete! Nor am I aiming to be one.

The important thing is not to strain yourself. There should be no strain on your knees, muscles, ligaments and tendons. You should be pedalling freely and comfortably. You listen carefully to your car's engine noise to hear if the engine is "straining" and then change gears accordingly. (At least you do in a "manual" car with a gear stick. In an automatic, however, all this is done for you.) Do the same for your body. Listen to your knees and muscles, and change gears (either up or down) to make sure you don't have any strain on them. Straining can lead to injury, and time off your beloved bike!

Find a cadence that is comfortable for you and be consistent. Just as with a car - aim to keep your revs (cadence) the same and change gears to make sure you can do this.

Don't be lazy in changing gears - make the gears work for you. That gear set (most bicycles these days seem to have 27 - 3 wheels at the front, and 9 wheels at the back) cost you good money. Make it work for you, that's what you paid all that cash for! In my experience, you may need to change gears often and quite quickly to keep that cadence consistent. Your cadence should be consistent uphill, downhill and on the flat. Of course, you'll find yourself coasting downhill sometimes! Change gears to keep your cadence constant and comfortable for you.

Ease off the pedals as you change gear, otherwise you'll wear out the chain faster than necessary and it'll cost you money that could be better spent on coffee.

Another really great site, almost iconic amongst cyclists, is Sheldon Brown's site (google "Sheldon Brown gear changing").

Ask other cyclists how they use their gears to best advantage - be prepared for lots of different, sometimes conflicting, opinions! Listen carefully, try out the ideas and adopt the one's that work for you. Remember, that just because the idea works for someone else, it may not work for you - depending on your fitness level and purpose in cycling (recreational, elite athlete, mountain biking etc)

from Carrie Trike