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PART 1
Coaster Brakes
138692 Rev 0 (04/22)
Section 4. Tech
GT Bicycle Owner’s Manual
The way to keep things straight is to remember
that shifting the chain in towards the centerline
of the bike is for accelerating and climbing and is
called a downshift. Moving the chain out or away
from the centerline of the bike is for speed and is
called an upshift.
Whether upshifting or downshifting, the bicycle
derailleur system design requires that the drive
chain be moving forward and be under at least
some tension. A derailleur will shift only if you
are pedaling forward.
CAUTION
Never move the shifter while pedaling
backward, nor pedal backwards immediately
after having moved the shifter. This could jam
the chain and cause serious damage to the
bicycle.
b. Shifting the Rear Derailleur
The rear derailleur is controlled by the right
shifter.
The function of the rear derailleur is to move the
drive chain from one gear sprocket to another.
The smaller sprockets on the gear cluster
produce higher gear ratios.
Pedaling in the higher gears requires greater
pedaling effort, but takes you a greater distance
with each revolution of the pedal cranks. The
larger sprockets produce lower gear ratios.
Using them requires less pedaling effort, but
takes you a shorter distance with each pedal
crank revolution. Moving the chain from a
smaller sprocket of the gear cluster to a larger
sprocket results in a downshift. Moving the
chain from a larger sprocket to a smaller
sprocket results in an upshift. In order for the
derailleur to move the chain from one sprocket
to another, the rider must be pedaling forward.
c. Shifting the Front Derailleur:
The front derailleur, which is controlled by the
left shifter, shifts the chain between the larger
and smaller chainrings. Shifting the chain onto a
smaller chainring makes pedaling easier (a
downshift). Shifting to a larger chainring makes
pedaling harder (an upshift).
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