Gears, how do they work?
June 4, 2015 3:51 PM Subscribe
How do I change gears on my old vintage Schwinn Le Tour? And how do I know what gear I'm in? Picture here.
I grew up riding modern mountain bikes (the cheap kind you would get at WalMart as a kid in the '90s). I seem to recall, like, an actual number being displayed, but I could be wrong. It's been a long time since I rode a bike.
Anyway, I just got this new (old) bike, and I want to ride it around, and while I'm sure I can fool around with it, I'd love to not fuck it up if I can help it.
So, what do I need to know?
I grew up riding modern mountain bikes (the cheap kind you would get at WalMart as a kid in the '90s). I seem to recall, like, an actual number being displayed, but I could be wrong. It's been a long time since I rode a bike.
Anyway, I just got this new (old) bike, and I want to ride it around, and while I'm sure I can fool around with it, I'd love to not fuck it up if I can help it.
So, what do I need to know?
Mostly you do it by feel, and muscle memory. Start out by finding a place to coast comfortably, and shift up and down to get the feel of things. It's pretty hard to fuck it up.
posted by alexei at 4:05 PM on June 4, 2015
posted by alexei at 4:05 PM on June 4, 2015
Oh, I used to have just that bike! I loved it, even though it was incredibly heavy.
The levers move the chain over the gears - it's good to always be pedaling while you're shifting so the chain doesn't slip off and get jammed. Also, once you get a feel for basic shifting, you can start to get a feel for where the middle of the gear is, so you can shift to it without the derailleur pulling on the chain.
But yeah, they're not hard to learn, and those old bikes are pretty hard to mess up. Have fun!
posted by teponaztli at 4:09 PM on June 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
The levers move the chain over the gears - it's good to always be pedaling while you're shifting so the chain doesn't slip off and get jammed. Also, once you get a feel for basic shifting, you can start to get a feel for where the middle of the gear is, so you can shift to it without the derailleur pulling on the chain.
But yeah, they're not hard to learn, and those old bikes are pretty hard to mess up. Have fun!
posted by teponaztli at 4:09 PM on June 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
That's a stem shifter! And I have one on my vintage Schwinn also.
You do it by feel. I only have two front gears, so it's either "up" or "down". (It's a 10 speed, so 2 in front and 5 in the back.) The back, I don't know which one it's on exactly. Basically, if I want it to be harder or easier, I keep shifting until I run out of gears.
Like teponaztli said, pedal when you're shifting. And if it's making noises when you're pedaling, it means you're not fulling in the gear. So you want to make sure you shift to the middle of the gear. It takes practice, and I'm not 100% at it yet.
The only confusing thing for me was that the two sides are "reversed". That is, the are both big-gear-on-top, but big gear in front means harder, and big gear in the back means easier. So pushing one side down makes it harder and pushing the other side down makes it easier.
posted by ethidda at 4:21 PM on June 4, 2015
You do it by feel. I only have two front gears, so it's either "up" or "down". (It's a 10 speed, so 2 in front and 5 in the back.) The back, I don't know which one it's on exactly. Basically, if I want it to be harder or easier, I keep shifting until I run out of gears.
Like teponaztli said, pedal when you're shifting. And if it's making noises when you're pedaling, it means you're not fulling in the gear. So you want to make sure you shift to the middle of the gear. It takes practice, and I'm not 100% at it yet.
The only confusing thing for me was that the two sides are "reversed". That is, the are both big-gear-on-top, but big gear in front means harder, and big gear in the back means easier. So pushing one side down makes it harder and pushing the other side down makes it easier.
posted by ethidda at 4:21 PM on June 4, 2015
Related to ethidda's point, the "difficulty" of the gear (in other words the amount of torque you need to turn it) is directly related to the diameter of the front gear divided by the diameter of the back. So, as she says, the bigger on the front, the harder to pedal, the bigger on the back, the easier to pedal.
The thing is, it's actually very common for there to be overlap between BigFront/SmallBack and SmallFront/BigBack. This means that, on a ten-speed, if the gears are numbered with SmallFront/BigBack being 1, SmallFront/SmallBack being 5, BigFront/BigBack being 6, and BigFront/SmallBack being 10, then the actual difficulty of the gears might go, easiest to hardest:
1
2
3
6
4
7
5
8
9
10
So, to echo everyone else: You really need to do it by feel.
posted by 256 at 4:52 PM on June 4, 2015
The thing is, it's actually very common for there to be overlap between BigFront/SmallBack and SmallFront/BigBack. This means that, on a ten-speed, if the gears are numbered with SmallFront/BigBack being 1, SmallFront/SmallBack being 5, BigFront/BigBack being 6, and BigFront/SmallBack being 10, then the actual difficulty of the gears might go, easiest to hardest:
1
2
3
6
4
7
5
8
9
10
So, to echo everyone else: You really need to do it by feel.
posted by 256 at 4:52 PM on June 4, 2015
Like everyone else said: You find the gears by feel. It'll take a little practice.
One thing that will make it a ton easier right off the bat is to replace the existing shifter cables and housing with newer stuff. Modern cables and housing are much less stretchy, and you'll find it easier to get into gear and stay there. Right now, you'll probably find that you have to overshift a little bit when going into larger cogs/sprockets.
It's also worth having your chain inspected or replaced. A worn out chain* can skip between gears - especially under load, such as when climbing a hill and can be annoying and/or dangerous.
*Worn front or rear gears can cause this too, but bikes of that vintage have thicker, longer-wearing cogs and sprockets that tend to outlast chains by decades.
posted by Anoplura at 4:52 PM on June 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
One thing that will make it a ton easier right off the bat is to replace the existing shifter cables and housing with newer stuff. Modern cables and housing are much less stretchy, and you'll find it easier to get into gear and stay there. Right now, you'll probably find that you have to overshift a little bit when going into larger cogs/sprockets.
It's also worth having your chain inspected or replaced. A worn out chain* can skip between gears - especially under load, such as when climbing a hill and can be annoying and/or dangerous.
*Worn front or rear gears can cause this too, but bikes of that vintage have thicker, longer-wearing cogs and sprockets that tend to outlast chains by decades.
posted by Anoplura at 4:52 PM on June 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
I still have my old Le Tour.
When you shift gears, be sure to stop pushing so hard on the pedals: reduce the torque you are delivering for the rear wheel. It reduces chain tension, and the simple old derailleurs will work much better.
Unload but keep spinning and shift. The Le Tour also has delicate chainrings: thin steel rings bolted to the aluminum spider. If you are stomping hard when you shift, you can bend the chainrings irreparably. It was difficult back in the day to get a replacement, and it's probably impossible now.
Be gentle.
posted by the Real Dan at 6:15 PM on June 4, 2015
When you shift gears, be sure to stop pushing so hard on the pedals: reduce the torque you are delivering for the rear wheel. It reduces chain tension, and the simple old derailleurs will work much better.
Unload but keep spinning and shift. The Le Tour also has delicate chainrings: thin steel rings bolted to the aluminum spider. If you are stomping hard when you shift, you can bend the chainrings irreparably. It was difficult back in the day to get a replacement, and it's probably impossible now.
Be gentle.
posted by the Real Dan at 6:15 PM on June 4, 2015
Those older shifters don't have numbering and click stops; the levers are just held in place by friction. So there is no canonical "correct" position for either shift lever in any gear. The correct shift lever positions for any given combination of front ring and rear sprocket are those that make the drivetrain run most quietly.
You will probably find, especially when using the small front chainring, that the front shifter will need slight adjustments to achieve quiet running as you range over the rear sprockets with the other shifter.
Also, you want to avoid using the big front ring with the biggest couple of rear sprockets, or the small front ring with the smallest couple of rear sprockets. Both those configurations put more sideways load on the tight side of the chain than is good for it, and because of the ways the ratios overlap they're not actually terribly useful.
This means that a "ten-speed" bike will in fact have only six to eight useful gear combinations. In general, on the flat and downhill you probably want the big front ring, and the smallest three or four rear sprockets. Uphill, use the small front ring and the biggest three rear sprockets. You want to be on a middle-ish rear sprocket when you shift the front rings.
The rear derailleur works by moving the loose side of the chain, so it will be more forgiving of excessive pedal pressure through a shift than the front derailleur, which has to move the tight side. This is another good reason for shifting to the small front ring before you're halfway up the hill.
posted by flabdablet at 9:51 AM on June 5, 2015
You will probably find, especially when using the small front chainring, that the front shifter will need slight adjustments to achieve quiet running as you range over the rear sprockets with the other shifter.
Also, you want to avoid using the big front ring with the biggest couple of rear sprockets, or the small front ring with the smallest couple of rear sprockets. Both those configurations put more sideways load on the tight side of the chain than is good for it, and because of the ways the ratios overlap they're not actually terribly useful.
This means that a "ten-speed" bike will in fact have only six to eight useful gear combinations. In general, on the flat and downhill you probably want the big front ring, and the smallest three or four rear sprockets. Uphill, use the small front ring and the biggest three rear sprockets. You want to be on a middle-ish rear sprocket when you shift the front rings.
The rear derailleur works by moving the loose side of the chain, so it will be more forgiving of excessive pedal pressure through a shift than the front derailleur, which has to move the tight side. This is another good reason for shifting to the small front ring before you're halfway up the hill.
posted by flabdablet at 9:51 AM on June 5, 2015
And yes, some degree of overshifting will usually be needed: push the shift lever as far as you have to in order to get the chain to move to where you want it. Once it's done that, ease the lever back and forth a tiny bit until the drivetrain becomes as quiet as you can get it. Experience will turn all of that into one quick, smooth motion that your fingers, ears and feet can achieve without supervision.
posted by flabdablet at 10:00 AM on June 5, 2015
posted by flabdablet at 10:00 AM on June 5, 2015
The basics have been explained, but here is a tip: if you have a car rack, or some other way to hang the bike off the ground so that you can turn the pedals while standing next to it, try turning the pedals slowly with the chainring facing you (so you're turning them clockwise, as if you were moving forward) and then play around with the shift levers and watch what the front and rear derailleurs do. Once you have a clear notion of what's going on when you shift, it becomes easier to do it when you're on the bike. It won't be entirely the same, since you'll be shifting with some load when you ride (though as others have said, you should ease off on the load while continuing to pedal), but the basic principle will be the same.
The chain needs to be moving forward for shifts to work, so don't make the mistake of stopping in a high gear and then trying to shift down. Instead, downshift as you're approaching the stop.
posted by brianogilvie at 7:50 AM on June 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
The chain needs to be moving forward for shifts to work, so don't make the mistake of stopping in a high gear and then trying to shift down. Instead, downshift as you're approaching the stop.
posted by brianogilvie at 7:50 AM on June 6, 2015 [2 favorites]
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