gears and climbing

Question
Hi Howard,  

I recently bought a Bianchi Avenue that kind of looks like this one: http://www.bianchiusa.com/avenue.html

I have not been on a bike since I was five and twenty years later I want to ride again.

Did I buy a good bike (for commuting to school and the occasional off road adventure)?

Second question.... When climbing steep hills... is there a technique as to how and when to change gears?  Are gears exclusively for climbing?  Do I really need to have 21 of them?

Can you give me some tips on how to maintain my bike?

Thanks so much for your help,
Angie

Answer
Hi Angie,

Your bike is an excellent commuting bicycle. Bianchi is a long-standing maker of fine bicycles. The company's bread and butter is racing/performance bikes, but it has recently branched into recreational and more comfortable bikes. Your bike is a hybrid rather than a full-fledged mountain bike, which is exactly what you want if most of your riding will be on pavement. It will handle a hard-packed dirt road that is driveable by a sedan, but not a hiking trail or a road that's only passable by a SUV.

The secret of efficient riding and climing hills is to use your lower gears rather than your higher ones. For leisurely riding, a rate of about 80 revolutions per minute is comfortable. Time your RPM's (cyclists call this "cadence") on a watch with a second hand or your bicycle computer if it has a cadence function. If you find yourself grinding along at fewer than 80 RPM's, shift into a lower gear. You want to ride in a gear where your legs are spinning freely rather than pressing down hard on the pedals. You'll be less tired at the end of a ride and will avoid strain on your knees if you use the right gears.

When approaching a hill, always shift into a lower gear before the hill, not after you start climbing it. Shift into you next lower gear the instant you feel resistance on the pedals, and repeat the process as needed. If it's a steep or long hill, you'll be in your lowest gear sooner rather than later. Once you're pressing down hard on the pedals it's hard to shift because your chain is stretched tight.

Your bike has three toothed wheels (called cogs) near the pedals, and 7 toothed wheels attached to the rear wheel. As a practical matter, keep your chain on the middle cog near the pedals. When you come to a hill, shift to the larger cogs (lower gears) on the back wheel. This should cover about 95 percent of your riding. If you're in the largest cog on the rear wheel and still feel effort or resistance, than shift into you small cog near the pedals. This is your lowest gear. Stay in this gear through the steep part of the hill, until the hill becomes less steep and pedaling becomes easy. At that point, shift back into your middle cog near the pedals. When pedaling becomes easy again, shift into the next larger cog on the back wheel, and repeat the process as the road becomes flat or goes downhill.

Experienced riders use nearly all their gears. For leisurely riding you don't need them all, but you certainly need the lower ones if you don't want to struggle up hills.

About maintenance: Learn how to fix a flat and to take your rear wheel off the bike and put it back on (most flats are on the rear, because that's where most of your weight is). Practice at home before you have to do it on a ride. If your bike gets wet or muddy, wipe it off promptly. Keep your chain lubricated but wipe off the excess lubricant, which attracts road grit and wears out the chain prematurely. Don't let the chain and derailleur pulleys build up with thick guck. Check your tires every few rides for wear, cracks, slivers of glass, etc. Take your bike in for its free 30-day check (nearly all bike shops offer this on new bikes). Have the bike tuned up every year and overhauled (more extensive than a tune-up) every other year. This catches worn cables, chain, brakes, bearings, etc. before they become worn or fail.

Hope this helps, and enjoy your new bike!

Howard