Gear changing - help please!

I think the best way to start if you are unfamiliar with gears is to stick the bike in the middle ring at the front and leave it there for the time being. As you have plenty of gears get yourself into a steady peddling speed and then change gear to maintain this, if it means changing gear a lot then so be it, that is what they are there for, no point in slowing right down and then deciding to change down a gear or two. When you get used to working the back gears then if you are going down a long hill move the front gear to the largest chain ring but go back to the middle when you come onto the flat again and your speed slows down. The opposite will apply when you go up a hill, change down into the granny gear for the duration of the hill then back into the middle ring once you're on the flat and your speed is rising.
Avoid running the largest front with the largest at the back and the smallest with the smallest, it doesn't do your chain any good to be stretched sideways like that.
hope that has been some help

John

It helps to understand Cadence in order to understand gear selections...no good answer without trials. For hills, do not try to 'muscle-up' the hill; your cadence (rpm of the pedal-cranks) should be a minimum of 75rpm....normal riding should be between 80-95....time in the saddle and personal performance improvement will achieve these goals....
FWIW: high cadence keeps you from ruining your knees.
http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/touring/gears.htm
http://www.cptips.com/tech.htm
http://www.cptips.com/
Don't get discouraged at your beginning abilities....
and remember: ALWAYS ride at your own pace....

spin your legs comfortably and then change gear to allow your legs to still be going comfortably

change down a bit before hills, ease off the pedals when you do.

if you're dropping down a ring on the front change up two on the back just after wards, keeps it a similar ratio


make it up as you go allong :P

just dont have both sets of gears trying to change at once

think of it like clutch in and then change gear when driving

change down on the front to make it easier, then change up on the back to balance it out.

i'm gonna stop talking before i confuse someone

this is assuming that your front gears have 1,2,3 rings (3 being the highest) and your back rings are 1-8

mine is 1 and 2-3 as the others dont exist / work i feel inept



or a slightly less depressed answer, yes.