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one, two or three front sprockets called chainrings
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a drive chain
a. Shifting Gears
There are several different types and styles of shifting con-
trols: levers, twist grips, triggers, combination shift/brake con-
trols and push-buttons. Ask your dealer to explain the type of
shifting controls that are on your bike, and to show you how
they work. The vocabulary of shifting can be pretty confus-
ing. A downshift is a shift to a "lower" or "slower" gear, one
which is easier to pedal. An upshift is a shift to a "higher" or
"faster", harder to pedal gear. What's confusing is that what's
happening at the front derailleur is the opposite of what's
happening at the rear derailleur (for details, read the instruc-
tions on Shifting the Rear Derailleur.
b. Shifting the Rear Derailleur
The rear derailleur is controlled by the right shifter. The
function of the rear derailleur is to move the drive chain from
one gear sprocket to another. The smaller sprockets on
the gear cluster produce higher gear ratios. Pedaling in the
higher gears requires greater pedaling effort, but takes you a
greater distance with each revolution of the pedal cranks.
The larger sprockets produce lower gear ratios. Using them
requires less pedaling effort, but takes you a shorter dis-
tance with each pedal crank revolution. Moving the chain
from a smaller sprocket of the gear cluster to a larger sprock-
et results in a downshift. Moving the chain from a larger
sprocket to a smaller sprocket results in an upshift. In order
for the derailleur to move the chain from one sprocket to
another, the rider must be pedaling forward.
c. What if it won't shift gears?
If moving the shift control one click repeatedly fails to result
in a smooth shift to the next gear chances are that the
mechanism is out of adjustment. Take the bike to your dealer
to have it adjusted.
d. Which gear should I be in?
The numerically lowest gear (1) is for the steepest hills. The
numerically largest gear is for the greatest speed. Shifting
from an easier, "slower" gear (like 1) to a harder, "faster" gear
(like 2 or 3) is called an upshift. Shifting from a harder, "faster"
gear to an easier, "slower" gear is called a downshift. It is not
necessary to shift gears in sequence. Instead, find the "start-
ing gear" for the conditions — a gear which is hard enough
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