I worked in a bike shop for a few years, on at least half the bikes only the smallest cog was worn down, the rest were basically new. This was in a very hilly area too.
[deleted] on
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CakeTown on
And half the kids bikes I see have the fork turned the wrong way. And half the dads I’ve told have told me they did it themselves and that it’s right… I really try not to generalize often but most people don’t know a damn thing about bicycles.
Edit: Next time y’all have a ‘team building’ exercise or something and need a fun activity: give everyone a pencil and pad and have them draw a bicycle from memory. It’s hilarious
Herb4372 on
So…. How should I do it?
WhenLifeGivesYouLyme on
As someone who takes friends and family out on bike rides regularly can confirm
kyrsjo on
From the headline I assumed that this would be “don’t shift gears at max torque”. It was not so… Huh. It reads very US centric though – while around me I think it’s more like people learned to use gears on the bike, then figured out the clutch when they started driving… I wonder if that influences things?
theservman on
When I had my first bike with gears I only used the highest and lowest gears.
What a fool I used to be.
lemmycaution217 on
Was just waiting on a fix at the LBS and a woman comes in with her 10 speed asking for a tuneup and “don’t worry about the gears I don’t use them”.
Radixx on
TBH, I’ve been riding a bike for over 60 years and considered myself pretty competent. Then I got a cadence meter and it changed my life. I ignore those stupid gear indicators and just keep my cadence between 80 and 90 RPM and I’m much happier riding.
Only-Professor1140 on
Curiosity is an essential life skill and I guess we’re just not encouraging it enough. I want to know how every part of my bike works
bats-are-best on
Was dating a woman who refused to shift gears yet loved to complain about riding. She was an avid environmentalist so she was committed to riding. After trying multiple tactics to encourage using her gears I tried, “would you put your car in 5th gear to start from a dead stop?”
She just could not comprehend. Never started using her gears.
Goldentongue on
What a terribly written and useless article. There’a a bunch of paragraphs about cycling culture in other countries that only tangentially relates to the main premise, then the main data point they use is just purely speculation stated as fact with zero evidentiary support:
>Now consider the people who do ride geared bikes. Plenty of them leave the shifter alone for most or all of a ride.
Mmm yes the statistically significant data set of “plenty”, which was pulled out of thin air.
It also counts people learning on a single speed as people who don’t shift, as if for some reason you can’t learn to shift gears after already knowing how to ride a bike.
It then offers absolutely zero guidance on effective and efficient shifter usage, which you would expect some mention of in an article framing lack of knowledge as a widespread problem.
Bikewer on
I gave up trying to educate folks. I did bike patrol for years at the university I work at. I’d see students with multi-speed bikes either struggling to get up a minor hill, or even getting off and pushing.
“Why don’t you shift down?” Blank stares. Or… “It doesn’t work any more.” Usually because the new bike’s cables have stretched, and a moment’s adjustment would put it right… But they had no idea.
vsladko on
In Chicago I basically just ride my middle gears almost 90% of the time. Every bridge I’ll switch it up briefly but that’s about it
MainNormal5570 on
I’m getting my first geared bike in 6 years. Have I forgotten!!
jazzmaster105150 on
This is true. I bought my 75-year-old mom a 7-speed trike. Getting her to shift gears is like trying to get my cat to not walk in front of me. It’s as if she’s afraid to shift. I’ve explained that they’re meant to be used, she understands the concept, she understands when to shift, but there is some kind of barrier to her implementing it. It’s like this with my nephew and my neighbor as well. Maybe I’m just a bad teacher.
typoseverywhere on
I live in Florida and my last long ride was 33 miles and had around 80ft of elevation gain the whole time. I hardly ever shift unless I’m going up a bridge and never really learned how to shift properly
Grillparzer47 on
I agree, I watched an anime called Yowamushi Pedal that actually taught me how to do it.
M8753 on
So the article is like “most bicycles in China and India are cheap singlespeeds, also I have no proof but I feel like most people don’t know how to shift gears”.
HMSSpeedy1801 on
If it doesn’t make a *CLANK* that reverberates through the entire frame, you aren’t doing it right.
22 Comments
And you can tell.
I worked in a bike shop for a few years, on at least half the bikes only the smallest cog was worn down, the rest were basically new. This was in a very hilly area too.
[deleted]
And half the kids bikes I see have the fork turned the wrong way. And half the dads I’ve told have told me they did it themselves and that it’s right… I really try not to generalize often but most people don’t know a damn thing about bicycles.
Edit: Next time y’all have a ‘team building’ exercise or something and need a fun activity: give everyone a pencil and pad and have them draw a bicycle from memory. It’s hilarious
So…. How should I do it?
As someone who takes friends and family out on bike rides regularly can confirm
From the headline I assumed that this would be “don’t shift gears at max torque”. It was not so… Huh. It reads very US centric though – while around me I think it’s more like people learned to use gears on the bike, then figured out the clutch when they started driving… I wonder if that influences things?
When I had my first bike with gears I only used the highest and lowest gears.
What a fool I used to be.
Was just waiting on a fix at the LBS and a woman comes in with her 10 speed asking for a tuneup and “don’t worry about the gears I don’t use them”.
TBH, I’ve been riding a bike for over 60 years and considered myself pretty competent. Then I got a cadence meter and it changed my life. I ignore those stupid gear indicators and just keep my cadence between 80 and 90 RPM and I’m much happier riding.
Curiosity is an essential life skill and I guess we’re just not encouraging it enough. I want to know how every part of my bike works
Was dating a woman who refused to shift gears yet loved to complain about riding. She was an avid environmentalist so she was committed to riding. After trying multiple tactics to encourage using her gears I tried, “would you put your car in 5th gear to start from a dead stop?”
She just could not comprehend. Never started using her gears.
What a terribly written and useless article. There’a a bunch of paragraphs about cycling culture in other countries that only tangentially relates to the main premise, then the main data point they use is just purely speculation stated as fact with zero evidentiary support:
>Now consider the people who do ride geared bikes. Plenty of them leave the shifter alone for most or all of a ride.
Mmm yes the statistically significant data set of “plenty”, which was pulled out of thin air.
It also counts people learning on a single speed as people who don’t shift, as if for some reason you can’t learn to shift gears after already knowing how to ride a bike.
It then offers absolutely zero guidance on effective and efficient shifter usage, which you would expect some mention of in an article framing lack of knowledge as a widespread problem.
I gave up trying to educate folks. I did bike patrol for years at the university I work at. I’d see students with multi-speed bikes either struggling to get up a minor hill, or even getting off and pushing.
“Why don’t you shift down?” Blank stares. Or… “It doesn’t work any more.” Usually because the new bike’s cables have stretched, and a moment’s adjustment would put it right… But they had no idea.
In Chicago I basically just ride my middle gears almost 90% of the time. Every bridge I’ll switch it up briefly but that’s about it
I’m getting my first geared bike in 6 years. Have I forgotten!!
This is true. I bought my 75-year-old mom a 7-speed trike. Getting her to shift gears is like trying to get my cat to not walk in front of me. It’s as if she’s afraid to shift. I’ve explained that they’re meant to be used, she understands the concept, she understands when to shift, but there is some kind of barrier to her implementing it. It’s like this with my nephew and my neighbor as well. Maybe I’m just a bad teacher.
I live in Florida and my last long ride was 33 miles and had around 80ft of elevation gain the whole time. I hardly ever shift unless I’m going up a bridge and never really learned how to shift properly
I agree, I watched an anime called Yowamushi Pedal that actually taught me how to do it.
So the article is like “most bicycles in China and India are cheap singlespeeds, also I have no proof but I feel like most people don’t know how to shift gears”.
If it doesn’t make a *CLANK* that reverberates through the entire frame, you aren’t doing it right.
My wife is afraid to shift them. It baffles me.