When to shift gears - a cyclying rookie

Hi there,

Well we all have to start somewhere.
My first question is do you have a cadence meter on your bike? If so then the best thing to do is use cadence to prompt your shifting. I try to keep my cadence between 87 and 92 - when I go above I shift to a harder gear when I go below I shift to a softer gear. I don't know what anyone else does, but that seems to give me my best rides.

Good luck.

I'll add to make sure to shift when you go up hills. Quite a few people like to mash up the hill in high gears and they're cadence is real low. Keep the cadence up and you will be fine.  I constantly shift so don't worry about it.

With practice comes knowledge. Its like driving a stick shift -- there comes a point where you don't even think much about it anymore.

For most people the ideal cadence is between 85 and 95 rpm so you should shift gears to keep within this range. As a new cyclist you may find that this range seems quite fast, as do most people just starting out on the bike but with practice it will become normal.

To add to the post about shifting for hills, it's usually a good idea to shift into an easier gear (if you're going to) before you start attacking the hill. It's much easier on you and your bike to shift before your trying to mash your way up a hill at 40 RPM in some huge gear.