The gears on a 10-speed bicycle make cycling easier by changing the resistance you encounter while pedaling. Lower gears make pedaling easier during the challenge of riding uphill. Higher gears will make your legs work harder, but you can actually pedal faster and more efficiently, especially going downhill. If you find yourself pedaling fast, but you're not moving any faster, you need to shift to a lower gear.
The Basics
On a 10-speed bicycle, first gear is the lowest gear and provides the least resistance as you pedal. Tenth gear, naturally, is the highest gear and requires the most effort to pedal. The gears in between provide various levels of resistance that you can set to match the speed at which you want to ride. Your cadence will be affected partly by which gear your bike is in, along with other conditions such as riding uphill or downhill, riding into the wind or having it at your back, your own fitness level, and your desired speed. Changing gears is easy, and can be done while you're pedaling.
How Gears Work
Changing from one gear to another simply means moving the bike chain from one sprocket to another. A 10-speed bike has two sprockets in the front and five in the back. On most bikes, the gear shifter on your left handlebar controls the front sprockets and the shifter on the right controls the rear sprockets. By shifting the gears, you slide the chain from one sprocket to the one next to it. The chain has to be moving forward for this to work, so ride at a steady pace while you shift.
Sprocket Size
The reason one speed makes pedaling easier or more difficult than another depends on the size of the sprockets. The outer rear sprocket, for example, is the smallest, so it has the shortest spin or rotation. That means the bike requires less effort to move it forward. The larger sprockets closer to the bike frame take more effort to complete one rotation. You want to be as efficient as possible when you ride, so if you're pedaling fast and your pedals are basically just spinning, downshift so all that physical effort will be used by the bike to ride faster.
Considerations
Be aware of how you're shifting the gears, so you don't spend a lot of time with the chain on the far left front sprocket and the far right rear sprocket. This makes the chain run diagonally across the sprockets, which can stretch the chain and wear it out prematurely. Also, if you hear the chain clicking or rattling, you may not be fully in one gear, so adjust your gear shifters slightly to make your ride smoother.
Member Comments