when to shift up?
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when to shift up?
Postby kokoman » Mon Oct 22, 2012 10:31 pm
Curious as to the best technique for transitioning between climbing in and out of the saddle..
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Re: when to shift up?
Postby Nobody » Mon Oct 22, 2012 10:44 pm
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Re: when to shift up?
Postby Mrfenejeans » Mon Oct 22, 2012 10:50 pm
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Re: when to shift up?
Postby sogood » Mon Oct 22, 2012 10:51 pm
+1. Bad shift will crash the rider. Not wise. In practice with experienced riders, the two events are intimately and smoothly linked.Nobody wrote:I tend to shift, then rise. That way if something goes badly wrong, you are less likely to crash or stress the gears.
RK wrote:And that is Wikipedia - I can write my own definition.
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Re: when to shift up?
Postby NhiTrac » Tue Oct 23, 2012 9:35 am
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Re: when to shift up?
Postby sogood » Tue Oct 23, 2012 9:47 am
You must pedal to execute a shift. The key is to back off on the pressure for a fraction of a second and pedal smoothly. Re-apply the power once the cogs have engaged.NhiTrac wrote:If I need to shift when off the saddle, I just stop pedalling for a bit while I shift.
RK wrote:And that is Wikipedia - I can write my own definition.
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Re: when to shift up?
Postby NhiTrac » Tue Oct 23, 2012 9:12 pm
Thanks, you said what I had meant to saysogood wrote:You must pedal to execute a shift. The key is to back off on the pressure for a fraction of a second and pedal smoothly. Re-apply the power once the cogs have engaged.NhiTrac wrote:If I need to shift when off the saddle, I just stop pedalling for a bit while I shift.
... I back off from stomping on the pedals, shift, turn over the cranks, then start stomping again.
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Re: when to shift up?
Postby kokoman » Tue Oct 23, 2012 10:56 pm
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Re: when to shift up?
Postby il padrone » Wed Oct 24, 2012 11:33 am
MTB riders shift while standing frequently, while pedaling, even when under load. Shimano's Hyperglide cassettes with ramped sprockets were developed specifically to cope with this style of riding.NhiTrac wrote:If I need to shift when off the saddle, I just stop pedalling for a bit while I shift.
They work. Most road bikes now have these same cassettes. You'd need to goof it up pretty badly to crash off the sprocket while standing.
Having said all that I usually try to avoid standing shifts when road riding, unless I'm caught on a steep grade. Just better technique to shift while seated. If you are jumping to stand, it is as someone said, an interconnected action. Probably best to begin with to shift up momentarily before you stand. The best thing is to do it right as you stand.
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Re: when to shift up?
Postby sogood » Wed Oct 24, 2012 11:53 am
Correct and the resulting shift can have a very nice and loud "PING"! However, it's additional wear and often not as smooth as one that was done with a bit of finesse. And in those with sub-optimally adjusted derailleur (often in the amateur or even pro ranks), avoidance of a mess is worth considering and as a routine practice.il padrone wrote:MTB riders shift while standing frequently, while pedaling, even when under load. Shimano's Hyperglide cassettes with ramped sprockets were developed specifically to cope with this style of riding.
They work. Most road bikes now have these same cassettes. You'd need to goof it up pretty badly to crash off the sprocket while standing.
RK wrote:And that is Wikipedia - I can write my own definition.
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Re: when to shift up?
Postby human909 » Wed Oct 24, 2012 12:13 pm
If I want to ship up on a climb I normally stand up, pick up the revs a bit more, stop the pressure and then shift up. The same is if I'm already standing and I want to shift up. I pick up the revs and the stop the pressure while shifting. I ride numerous bikes and some don't reliably shift so getting thrown off a bike because of a missed shift or even a dropped chain simply doesn't happen to me.
I did once get thrown almost off my bike when I bent and taco'ed my small chaining by putting down too much torque! Very high foot pressure and sudden release was not good. I landed on the cross bar and I was lucky to still stay upright and moving because there was a car accelerating directly behind me. My calf had deep nice tiger claw scratch marks from the big chain rig.
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Re: when to shift up?
Postby zero » Wed Oct 24, 2012 12:31 pm
On the MTB, getting out of the saddle on a hill is likely to (a) break traction and (b) bob the rear suspension, so I tend not to do it, that also means that I will generally spin up hills, and downshift only. The only problem downshift for me is when the drivetrain gets muddy, it gets hard to get the granny ring, so I tend to make that shift early if I think I'll need to do it - and thats the only shift (potential for chainsuck), that I would be concerned about doing with full power, which is why I'd rather make it whilst the bike still has momentum.
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Re: when to shift up?
Postby il padrone » Wed Oct 24, 2012 3:21 pm
For MTB riders standing on the pedals and shifting, certainly when shifting down, there is no 'ping'. The ramps simply guide the chain onto larger sprockets. A shift up is a little more critical, but works equally smoothly if you give a small hop/easing of pressure when doing the shift.sogood wrote:Correct and the resulting shift can have a very nice and loud "PING"! However, it's additional wear and often not as smooth as one that was done with a bit of finesse.il padrone wrote:MTB riders shift while standing frequently, while pedaling, even when under load. Shimano's Hyperglide cassettes with ramped sprockets were developed specifically to cope with this style of riding.
They work. Most road bikes now have these same cassettes. You'd need to goof it up pretty badly to crash off the sprocket while standing.
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Re: when to shift up?
Postby cyclotaur » Wed Oct 24, 2012 3:37 pm
I think he was standing/changing at the same time, or tried to, when Contadour attacked.
On long climbs I stay in the saddle, mostly. and use all the gears I have !!
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Re: when to shift up?
Postby sogood » Wed Oct 24, 2012 3:40 pm
There will certainly be a ping if there's power being put down. If power was backed off during the shift, then this discussion is moot.il padrone wrote:For MTB riders standing on the pedals and shifting, certainly when shifting down, there is no 'ping'. The ramps simply guide the chain onto larger sprockets. A shift up is a little more critical, but works equally smoothly if you give a small hop/easing of pressure when doing the shift.
RK wrote:And that is Wikipedia - I can write my own definition.
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Re: when to shift up?
Postby sogood » Wed Oct 24, 2012 3:42 pm
It won't be an effective attack without standing and attack, unless you are on EPO and "attack" like LA on the saddle.cyclotaur wrote:On long climbs I stay in the saddle, mostly. and use all the gears I have !!
RK wrote:And that is Wikipedia - I can write my own definition.
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Re: when to shift up?
Postby NhiTrac » Wed Oct 24, 2012 4:48 pm
Chain in Leg
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Re: when to shift up?
Postby human909 » Wed Oct 24, 2012 5:01 pm
Just you.NhiTrac wrote:Is it just me, or does anyone else picture this in their heads when they change gears while standing?
Chain in Leg
I've even had that happen to, me as mentioned in my earlier most, and I have no problems changing gears while standing. Also you need to differentiate between standing and the force being put high load down on the cranks as they are two totally different things. I often ride a 1991 road bike so it doesn't handle changing under almost any load but I still change while standing, I just don't put load through the cranks.
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Re: when to shift up?
Postby il padrone » Wed Oct 24, 2012 5:21 pm
If he really was clipped in that picture defies probabilityNhiTrac wrote:Is it just me, or does anyone else picture this in their heads when they change gears while standing?
Chain in Leg
But no, never had anything like that happen, changing gears, standing, seated or even doing a horizontal track stand. You'd have to be really unlucky and mighty ungainly to get this injury. But I did see a friend of mine who got a chainring grease mark on the back of his shoulder We never did work that one out
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Re: when to shift up?
Postby cyclotaur » Wed Oct 24, 2012 6:12 pm
Who said anything about attacking ?sogood wrote:It won't be an effective attack without standing and attack, unless you are on EPO and "attack" like LA on the saddle.cyclotaur wrote:On long climbs I stay in the saddle, mostly. and use all the gears I have !!
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