[hamster]

Hi Everyone! Hamster here. Although I have been on the bike practically all my life, I'm still quite new for the kind of biking people do here as i was grew up on the flat land, not used to the hills. I could ride forever and am truly happy to be on the wheels with a nice bike; I wonder if there are folks like me exists or everyone is addicted to the climbing. I could use some help on how to shift gears; it's quite embarrassing to admit that I'm not at all familiar with the fancy bikes and what they can do for you.

 

[Xela]

Hey, Hamster. Good to have you on TwoSpoke! What kind of bike do you have? What brand of components?

Some general comments on shifting are to shift as your RPMs begin to drop (i.e. use your gears to try to keep a consistent cadence that is comfortable for you), don't have a lot of pressure on the pedals when you are shifting, and don't cross your chain (e.g. don't use the big chain ring with the smallest rear cog or the small chain ring with the largest).

 

[Smiley]

Hey and Welcome! Addicted to climbing?!?! I totally dislike hills! They are not good to me! Shift before you need to as well!

 

[hamster]

Thank you Smiley You make me feel better and belonging. I truly love to bike and can stay on the bike all day if it's flat

 

[hamster]

I have a Trek FX7.3. Just bought it a month ago and so far have gone 2 25miles trip with Trek Woman Club and another bayarea bike club (yahoo). I used to bike all day on the flat land but still have hard time with hills. My goal is to bike in the wine country some day. I'll be very content if I can handle the gentle hills. No matter how good a bike is, it doesn't come with an engine like a car