A little know-how and a gentle touch will let you change gears more efficiently.
Once a new rider figures out which lever motion shifts to a harder gear and which makes pedaling easier, he or she knows how to shift, right? Perhaps. But to avoid being the mis-shifter whose grinding bike can't find the right gear takes practice and timing, says Andreas Hestler, a seven-time Canadian national cross-country champion and promoter of the B.C Bike Race stage race. Know what you're doing when you shift, he says, and you'll ride faster and extend the life of your drivetrain. Here are his best tips.
THE CROSS-CHAIN DILEMMA The conventional wisdom is that cross-chaining--riding in a combination of the big chainring and big cog, or the small ring/small cog--is bad, but all racers set their bikes up to handle it, Hestler says. The reality is that it can at times provide the ideal gear, though it can lead to clumsy shifts. If you're on the inner chainring in the front and the small cog in the back, chances are if you shift into the big ring the chain will fall off. Conversely, shifting from the big/big is often slow.
DON'T GET CAUGHT "The key to proper shifting is thinking ahead," says Hestler. "Anticipate what gear you need, and anticipate when to accelerate." Shifting after the terrain changes slows you down and robs you of energy. The same idea holds true when approaching traffic on the road or a sand or water crossing while mountain biking. Look ahead and be in the right gear before you get there.
THINK ON YOUR FEET When you want to get a jump on someone in a group ride or race, don't telegraph your attack with noisy shifts, Hestler says. Instead, use your feet to unload the drivetrain, so you can "butter up or down into the gear you need," he says. Done correctly, this decreases your wattage for just a moment, so you can quietly shift into your attacking gear and pounce.
REMEMBER THE CHAIN If your chain is shot, shifting suffers. "Change the chain more frequently, and you won't have to replace your cogs and rings as often," Hestler says. He often changes his chain after spring training camps or after he's been riding in wet weather because, he says, constant wet-dry riding can weaken the chain. If your chain is in good condition, and a cable adjustment doesn't fix your shifting issues, inspect your chainrings and cassette for burrs and nicks.
BE KIND When he does a crit and can walk back to the car if something breaks, Hestler slams shifts and stands on the gears hard. On long rides that take him away from civilization, though, such as the TransRockies Challenge, a weeklong epic, Hestler is a bit more gentle. "I don't want to break something and throw away a good finish, or worse," he says. "If you love your bike it'll love you--shift lightly and carefully."
