Near moment this morning...

jeannot18

Went for a 50km ride this morning and almost had a fall. I was going uphill, big chainring at the front, and about middle cog at the back. I went down a couple of gear, and as I was struggling decided to change to the small chainring at the front to ease the legs. When I did that the pedals kind of got blocked. Just had the time to unclip on one side before toppling over as i was still going up hill. I recliped and carried on and it was ok. Tried a few more gear changes and small to big bracket and vice versa and it was fine. What could be the reason of that?

Not a good idea to change front chainring as you are going uphill quite hard?

JC

Paul32uk

Maybe you didnt ease off enough pressure on the chain and it hooked up on the front derailleur (spelling) somehow?

Gears dont like being changed when still under load.

crumbschief

As Paul said,going up hill and not easing off then changing chainring size usually leads to trouble,good job you unclipped.I have done what you did a few times and swerved as well when the chain locks so i just tend to always go up in the small ring now,then if i feel the need to do the power of greyskull thing i ease off and change over to the big,it's not done it since going up or down gears.

Lillywhite

Always change from the largest front chain ring to to the smaller one at the bottom of the hill.
I've seen people throw their chain off in races doing what you did.

kanto

Lillywhite wrote:

Always change from the largest front chain ring to to the smaller one at the bottom of the hill.
I've seen people throw their chain off in races doing what you did.

I find this the best way, even if you pedal air for a while it is better to not end up stranded on the big chainring on a steep hill. I made that mistake once as I just finished a 16% descent, and the other side there was a sharp hill and before I knew it (no flat) I was struggling to move the bike and thought I was coming off, as I couldn't pedal :oops:

When changing on the front chainring are you best to change when you are on the biggest/easiest sprocket at the back? mid range, or does it not matter?

jeannot18

Thanks guys for the tips. I did not know that. I hate that feeling where you are balancing with both your feet clipped in and you are not sure that you are going to make it. Did not check the chamois but it may have a little stain... :oops:
JC

gregster10217

I always used to think it was more beneicial to use the highest gear you could when going up a hill, get the legs pumped, but it does of course have a negative effect. Your legs will get tired more quickly than if you use a lower gear and pedal more quickly for longer.
I now, (following advice from another post) set the gear for the climb at the bottom of the hill and stick with it, mostly, for the whole length. If I do need to change gear, I always ease the pressure on the chain when doing so, so as not to cause the chain the skip off, and to help preserve the teeth on the cogs.
Seems to work for me anyway.

Aapje

When climbing you should keep a fairly high cadence and shift down when you can't keep spinning. This has three big advantages:
-You will tire far less quickly. Especially on long climbs, you might lose ground to the grinders at first, but you will make it up later on in the climb.
-You can remain seated. This reduces your power output a bit, but is more efficient, so again, you will tire less quickly.
-You can still easily let up and shift gear (front and back).

norry1

Ah, this is new to me - I've always just changed gear whenever I felt it was getting too hard. I'll remember to not change the front ring - but is it okay to change the rear gear mid-hill?

SteveR_100Milers

changing the front chainrings whilst under climbing oad is usually asking for trouble, unless you can ease right off for a couple of revs until the chain has seated on the new ring. The rear sprockets however are usually fine if you change even when climbing hard, though a slight easing as the chain link engages with the new sprocket is smoother and less likely to shorten your chain life; although I wouldnt advocate changing whilst in the middle of a full bore sprint...

norry1

Thanks for that. It might save me from learning it the hard way

Martin