How To Use Gears On A Bike Uphill

The best way to go uphill with greater efficiency is to spin the pedals at about 80 100rpm revolutions per minute.

How to use gears on a bike uphill. The gears on your bike are your friends when the gradient goes up and using them effectively will make all the difference to your climbing. It s true that a bike with more gears often has a wider range than one with fewer gears but not always and even if it does you don t necessarily need the widest gear range possible. While some people still use 1 speed to 3 speed bicycles most bikes have 18 to 27 speeds which are controlled by the gears on the bike wheels that are shifted with levers on the handle bars. You can t know the gear range of a bike by the number of gears it has.

Shifting explained for beginners if you haven t a clue how many gears your bike has how many you actually need or even how to use them properly don t worry you re not alone. Your first reaction should be to shift into a smaller gear maintain your rpm s and try and hold on to your speed. Pushing a harder gear uphill is exhausting. You just need enough of a range.

There s no use in buying. So for easier hill climbing you simply drop down the gears to find an easier ratio so that you can keep turning the pedals quickly even on uphills. The left shifter controls 2 to 3 gears chainwheels near the pedals and the right controls the. It should be the same as on the flat.

6 x research source chris sidwells i 7 week cycling for fitness. In order to keep your heart rate down you will want to stabilize your power with a gradual increase in effort level. Drop down a few gears as you approach the hill. Make sure you also read our quick beginners cycling tips.

This technique requires that you stay seated and use a low gear and don t rely on standing up for much of the time. Once you re feeling more confident with hill climbing on a bicycle learn the technique for climbing a hill economically. For the basics on how to change up and down the gears we explained shifting on shimano sram and campagnolo gear systems here. Think of it like this.

Everyone climbs in their own way some people like to stick to lower gears and spin their legs as much as possible whilst. Make sure you keep an eye on the road ahead so you spot the approaching hill in plenty of time. How to use your gears as this will help with hill climbing too. The natural way to hold the power steady is to stay in the saddle.