Quick bike gears question

[CyclingFail]

I went out on a cycle for the first time in years at the weekend and I think that I've been using gears wrong all my life! I used to cycle a lot as a child/teen but when I learnt to drive I stopped.

Anyway, on attempting a (not very steep) hill I changed to what I thought was down a couple of gears. This made it harder for me to pedal and increased resistance. Is this, in actual fact the exact opposite of what I should have done?!

I slowed right down compared to my friend who said I'd changed in the wrong direction.

I should say I've posted here as the cycling forum seems relatively quiet. Thanks!

The lower the number, the less effort to pedal (and less distance travelled, of course) is how it's supposed to work. If the bike has had work done though there's no guarantee the numbers on the shifter match up to the cogs on the geartrain though.

In exactly the same way as you would in a car you change down gears if you want to go up a hill and if you're starting off then you start in a low gear. When you've got going you start moving up a gear. I live in a relatively flat town and so to be honest tend to stay in pretty much the same 2 or 3 gears. Ultimately it was probably harder work because you were on a hill ....

Ah yes so c3pu may well be right. Check that when you're in 1st it's on the biggest cog and that your highest gear is the smallest cog.

The numbers are usually irrelevant and not always calibrated to the gear properly. But yes you want to go down to the smaller cogwheel for less resistance.

You need the smallest front cog and the largest back cog for uphill cycling. Try that and go from there.

Ok thanks, there are no numbers on the gears hence why I'm unsure.

I changed before I approached the hill so I know that it felt harder because of the direction I'd changed gears; my pedalling slowed down before I started climbing. Is this right?

Depends on what gears you have on your bike. If you have 2 or 3 cogs on the front then the bigger cog is harder to pedal so use it when you already have speed and use the smallest to get up speed or go up hills.. Conversely, on the back cog, the bigger wheel is the easiest.

So for the easiest pedalling (or for going up hills!) you need the biggest cog at the back and the smallest at the front. For speedy cycling when you have some speed up you want the smallest cog at the back and the biggest up front.

Might be worth you spending some time on your own going up and down a quiet road, just to get the hang of your gears as the type of gear shift can also affect how much speed you lose when you change

But it IS worth persevering as cycling is an amazing way of seeing the countryside and finding tucked away little coffee and cake stops!

It has 3 cogs at the front.

"you need the biggest cog at the back and the smallest at the front" - this feels really 'spinny' when on the flat, it would feel wrong for me to attempt a hill in a spinny gear but is this what I should be doing?

Yep, you need spinny on a hill. As you start going up you’ll realise why. You can always start of really spinny and then go up (down?) a few gears on the back cog until you find one that’s comfortable for you.

Mind blown

Thank you! Off to attempt the 'hill' again.....

Good luck OP. A friend of mine who was a really good cyclist also said "aim for a feeling of twiddling" - i.e. a bit of resistance but not too much. As you've already realised "spinny" feeling on the flat (or even worse, downhill) is not comfortable. But conversely, pushing too hard knackers your knees (and your comfort).

"Twiddling" is the sweet spot somewhere in between. Feet going round comfortably fast, with a bit of resistance but not too much.

Also, go for big front cog, small back cog when going down hill - you'll be surprised how much more control you feel you've got if you can still feel a bit of resistance through the pedals.

Oh, and the way I remember it (having grown up on a bike with levers and having taken ages to get used to thumb controls) is "thumbs for thrust". Right hand thumb moves you onto the largest back cog for going up hill, left hand thumb moves you onto the largest front cog for going downhill.