Shifting Gears - Flash FLASHV1 User Manual

think you'll generate appropriate braking force, squeeze the.
lever, progressively increasing the braking force. If you feel
the wheel begin to lock up, release pressure just a little to
keep the wheel rotating just short of lockup.
It's important to develop a feel for the amount of brake lever
pressure required for each wheel at different speeds and on
different surfaces. To better understand this, experiment a
little by walking your bike and applying different amounts of
pressure to each brake lever, until the wheel locks.
When you apply one or both brakes, the bike begins to slow,
but your body wants to continue at the speed at which it was
going. This causes a transfer of weight to the front wheel
(or, under heavy braking, around the front wheel hub, which
could send you flying over the handlebars). A wheel with
more weight on it will accept greater brake pressure before
lockup; a wheel with less weight will lock up with less brake
pressure. So, as you apply brakes and your weight is trans-
ferred forward, you need to shift your body toward the rear
of the bike, to transfer weight back onto the rear wheel;
and at the same time, you need to both decrease rear brak-
ing and increase front braking force. This is even more im-
portant on descents, because descents shift weight forward.
Two keys to effective speed control and safe stopping are
controlling wheel lockup and weight transfer. This weight
transfer is even more pronounced if your bike has a front
suspension fork. Practice braking and weight transfer tech-
niques where there is no traffic or other hazards and distrac-
tions. Everything changes when you ride on loose surfaces
or in wet weather. It will take longer to stop on loose surfaces
or in wet weather. Tire adhesion is reduced, so the wheels
have less cornering and braking traction and can lock up
with less brake force. Moisture or dirt on the brake pads
reduces their ability to grip. The way to maintain control on
loose or wet surfaces is to go more slowly.
D. Shifting gears
Your multi-speed bicycle will have a derailleur drivetrain or, in
some special cases, a combination of the two.
How a derailleur drivetrain works
If your bicycle has a derailleur drivetrain, the gear-changing
mechanism will have:
• a rear cassette or freewheel sprocket cluster
• a rear derailleur
• usually a front derailleur
• one or two shifters
40