Understanding proper bike gear shifting
I was wondering if any of you bike pros could help me out with my question regarding gear shifting. When going down a hill, I usually shift to the hardest gears (front and back) in order to make it easier going down and avoid coasting too much. However, as I finish coming down, if there is immediately an up hill, what do you recommend I should shift my gears to? I noticed today as I was riding the Skeese course that after coming down the hill, as I tried to immediately go up the hill, I shifted the low gears to the easiest but kept the resistance on the high gear, and it was too hard to go up the hill. However, when I shifted the high gear to the easiest, and the low gear to the hardest, it felt as if i was pedaling too much but was not going anywhere. The same happened when I shifted all gears to the easiest mode. Anyway, I kept shifting gears back and forth until I finally made it up the hill, but was totally exhausted. Any ideas on the proper gear shifting in order to make the hill descend/ascend a lot easier?
Also...
I've found that when I make a change to the big chainring (using the shifter on the left), I almost always have to make an adjustment to the smaller gears (using the shifter on the right).
Let's say I'm going uphill and I've run out of little gears (right shifter). I'll shift the big gear (left shifter) to the easier chainring, but that automatically makes it way too easy. So I'll also immediately shift the little gears (right shifter) to make them harder -- usually by two or three gears!
It's just become a habit now -- when I adjust the left shifter, I also adjust the right one by two to three gears.
This is something that takes practice, and every bike's gear ratio is different, so you'll have to see what works best for you.
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practice
The perfect gear for the perfect hill takes practice.  Sounds like you're doing the right thing by trying different gears to see what feels right.  For me, usually after blasting down hill, I try to stay in the hard gear as I begin to climb the next hill, using what momentum I had to get started & then before my chain gets too tight I begin shifting down on the small gears (right hand) & if the hill is extremely steep then I'll make an adjustment to the big gears (left hand). Depends on the steepness of the hill & whether the climb will be after a turn, or if you already have some speed coming off of a downhill. If I'm approaching a steep incline without much momentum, I'll go ahead & shift down to an easier gear on the big chain rings & adjust the smaller ones as needed. Also, use your cadence counter, that's a good way to determine what gears to use. If your cadence is high 90s with a stable amount of resistance, then you're probably right on, but if you're just starting up a hill & already in the 70s then it's time to find an easier gear. Hope this makes sense!Â
Nicole W. - NXNW