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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).
d. Which gear should I be in?
The combination of largest rear and smallest front gears (fig. 16) is for the steepest hills. The smallest rear and largest front
combination is for the greatest speed. It is not necessary to shift gears in sequence. Instead, find the “starting gear” which is right for
your level of ability — a gear which is hard enough for quick acceleration but easy enough to let you start from a stop without wobbling
— and experiment with upshifting and downshifting to get a feel for the different gear combinations. At first, practice shifting where
there are no obstacles, hazards or other traffic, until you’ve built up your confidence. Learn not to use either the “smallest to smallest” or
“largest to largest” gear combinations because they may cause unacceptable stress on the drive train. Learn to anticipate the need to
shift, and shift to a lower gear before the hill gets too steep. If you have difficulties with shifting, the problem could be mechanical
adjustment. See your dealer for help.
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