How To Use Road Bike Shifters | Change Gear On Your Road Bike
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 29. 08. 2024
- Here's our complete guide to how to use the 3 main brands of shifter - Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo.
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The gear changing mechanism on a bicycle has changed quite a bit over the past 30 years or so, but these days all of your shifting is typically done from the same levers that control your braking. Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo levers work in a similar fashion but each of them function in a slightly different way. Simon talks through each of the three different groupsets and how exactly to shift into an easier or harder gear.
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I don't see why people are so upset about the fact that there's a video on basic things. I for one, who has just bought his first road bike, don't mind being explained basic tasks before learning about more advanced things and seeing the differences across brands. Nice video!
I agree. When I bought my first road bike, it wasn't immediately obvious how to shift gears. I mean, who would think that the way to shift gears was to push the brake to the side? And yet, that's how it worked.
Possibly the negative sentiment comes from it feeling like a rehash of older videos (which GCN does so often). Still a good video, educational to new riders!
Why are you talking about yourself in quasi-3rd person? Keep it simple... "I've just bought my first road bike and I don't mind these basic videos".
+Timothy Fish You just click a gear and watch how the derailleurs move.
Liofa If you aren't aware that the brake lever is suppose to move, "just click a gear" has no meaning.
I for one found this video useful, I'm new to road biking in general. I don't understand how people find cause for complain..., if you don't need any advice on gear shifting, don't click on a video titled How To Use Road Bike Shifters and then complain when it's basic/novice information.
People that think they have it all together usually talk down on people. They are arrogant and probably would not help anyone out. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Amen!
New here as well and I also appreciate these videos.
Super grateful this video exists!! Been so confused by my gears after inheriting a second hand road bike
Well, thanks for the video! Having ridden mountain bikes for more than 25 years, I bought my first road bike this year, and proudly rode out of my LBS...only to find that I didn't know how to use STi levers! Being a proud alpha-male, I didn't go back to the shop to ask, but rode to a hidden back alley where I spend the next 30 min figuring out how to change gears.... lesson learnt...
+Efrain Guzman we had no idea how to do a CZcams when we started. 3 years later, we're down the same alley as you, figuring it all out. Maybe we should ask!
Glad you got it figured out Efrain.
I have to say, coming from a running background for my entire life, I decided to get into cycling (even though I have always followed and loved cycling) and went to my LBS and the guys set up a quick fit and off I went BUT, it was because of watching GCN that I had at least an understanding from a previous video. Funny how most LBS' will not explain something like that! LOL!!! So tough I was a complete 'nube', I was able to act like I knew what I was doing...
Can't blame you cause they're idiotic design, buy Campagnolo
Well when I got my bike it had downtube shifters and took me 0 seconds lol I enjoy shifting 4 at a time up and down as I please don't want sti's to click thru each gear one at a time, sometimes when pulling out of side road there's no time for this because there's traffic and you have to accelerate quick to get out of the wayâŠ
Too true đ đđđ
Ha, I actually needed this video a couple of months ago, when I bought my first road bike. I know many will laugh at this video, but in a long run, this will help a lot of people.
Yeah I currently have no idea what I'm doing with my hands. :'D It's a lot easier having a visual reference to know what gear/range you're in imo.
I see there are a lot of cycling elitist snobs on here. The comments section is full of people why it is so hard to get new people on bikes now day. I have a tri bike with bar end shifters and thought about buying a true road bike and this type of info is very helpful. I am so glad that most of you guys were born with this knowledge and never had to learn it.
Really good video I found it very helpful I am getting a STI tomorrow so now I know how to use the gears THANKS SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@@londyswagg8606 but why did you comment that as a reply to this random dude?
Just like to say as someone who been riding for just over a year, GCN videos have been invaluable to me. Learnt so much. Thanks for the good work GCN.
What's with all the hate for this video? All the long time cyclists asking whether this is a joke or not don't seem to realise that videos like these are essential for people new to the sport. I for one work in a cycle shop, and the number of people that will come back saying their gears aren't working not understanding how to use them properly is very high. Just because you've been riding for 10 years and know everything about a bike doesn't mean that this video is a 'joke'.
Precisely. And it's that elitist-snob attitude that gives the rest of the enthusiast, "normal" cycling world a bad name. The greatest contribution to the cycling community is to be helpful, informative, and supportive to show that this is a shared love of the road and trail for those of us fortunate to have experienced the best of what two or three wheels beneath them have to offer.
Some people love to remind everyone how much they know about a subject in comparison to others. I pity how sad they are.
I'm a mountain biker who bought a CX bike this year to help improve my fitness and endurance. I managed to figure it out but this video would have been very relevant to me at the time. We live in different worlds; this concept was completely foreign to me.
Yep, came from mtb too and the first time I saw the GCN guys shift by pushing the brake lever was a total wtf moment :s
I have a friend with a road bike, and I with a mountain bike. We swapped bikes for a day. Shifting gears on a road bike was totally different for me, since I'm so used to shifting gears on a mountain bike.
I've been using a standard mtb for my whole 23 years and today I've been gifted a 90s cool Bottecchia with a shifter of this kind. Thanks for the tips
Great video. I used to ride road bikes in the 90s and used the old tube shifters. When I got back into cycling this year I bought a new(ish) bike and discovered that I didn't know how to change the gears - I had to find a YT video to learn how to do it.
Don't listen to the predictable sneering from the "are you going to do a video on how to ride a bike" mob. This is genuinely useful for cycling newcomers and returners.
Been looking for something like this for days. A million videos about downshifting on climbs, not crossing your chain etc but nothing about shifting back up until now. Thanks Si
Thanks for this. While I have been riding for a while I would have loved this when I started out! Please continue to remember that not all who enjoy cycling have years of experience.
i have watched so many videos on how to use my HANDLE gear shifter......99% of them give a graphic detail of the gear and chain......just thank you so much.......upgraded my bike from a 1980 to 2019. big jump.......was not prepared.....
I DID just buy a new road bike to supplement my classic or vintage 1980's Dawes Road Bike. Was flummoxed by the gear shifting so I came back inside to search for a helpful video. This video was excellent. Thank you very much!
This video tutorial is super helpful. Bought my bike 4 years ago just before I had an operation. Not used it since and had forgotten how to use the gears. This tutorial made it so simple and easy to remember and with a bit of practice on my first time out I'd got it. Thank you GCN.
Attention everyone who already know how to shift: THIS VIDEO IS NOT MEANT FOR YOU.
This is clearly made for newcomers who never rode a roadbike before.
I've been ride a bike with old school shift levers for a few years now, and I am renting out a more modern bike with modern shifters. this video was so useful to me, thank you!!!
While I didn't need to see this video, there are a lot of people who haven't ridden a road bike. Having videos like this may be helpful to them.
The first question moutainbikers got when they see a road bike
nob0dy27 howâd you know lmao
You
Stephen Cantner life ooo keep l Iâm Iâm
Thats exactly how i got here đđ
Yeah Iâm a mountain biker thinking about getting a road bike and this is confusing as hell đ€Łđ€Ł
My lovely sister-in-law just gifted me her road bike, I got it, tuned up and went to ride it home and you literally saved my life. I pulled over and stopped on a hill and learned how to shift, thank you!
I have always been a mountain biker, and never even thought to ask how it worked because I stupidly thought things would be obvious .
Note by saved my life, I actually mean that you saved me from being embarrassed, and having to walk up the hill that I normally cruise up on my mountain bike!đ
I also appreciate the basics videos. I only recently got my first road bike and have found this channel precisely because of these simple explainers. The set up of Shimano gears where the left and right shifters are sort of inverse took me a bit of getting used to.
The last time I rode a road bike, the gear shifter was on the down frame.
When I got a modern bike, I had NO idea how to change gear!
Then I found the small levers set into the brake handles and started shifting gears....GREAT!
Until I found I was stuck with the hardest setting!
I just could not fathom how to change the gear ratio back again!
Then I watched your video!!!!
Wow! It is so simple now!
Thank you so muchâïž
đđđđđđđđ
I just bought a gravel bike with Sram Groupset. Didn't know how to change the gear so I asked my sister who uses Shimano. Hilarity ensues. This vid helps a lot!
Thanks for this. Just bought my first bike in 35 years. Nothing beats just jumping on and doing it, but any additional basic-level explanations are really helpful for someone like me.
Thanks..I'm an old bugger who didn't have a clue how these modern gears work ...( My 1970s racer had levers on the down tube) ....so this tutorial has set me up for when I get my new wheels.
This helped me today because I rode a sram equipped road bike for the first time today and just couldn't figure out how to shift down. I tried pushing in the break lever to the side but that obviously didn't work so i came over to this Video. Thanks GCN
Get downtube shifters can't mix it up
This is the exact video I needed, I just got a shimano one, and had no clue how to down shift, I really appreciate the very good basic steps video!
comment section proof as to why most non-cyclists think most cyclists are complete uptight snobs
+1
Most of the snobs are the ones that take cycling too seriously. The strava-ssholes that don't even say "hi" when they ride by (see GCNs other video). The ones using expensive deep dish rims (that probably cost more than their bikes) in high winds and are struggling not to get blown into the hedge every few metres. The amateur racers that think they're pro, with their team kit on for a ride to the shops. The ones that wouldn't even stop for an old granny that's dropped a chain or has a flat... etc.
Nobody is born knowing how to do anything. It takes confidence to admit you don't know something. Be kind to the new guy, we were the newbie once.
@@Liofa73 when those people see me riding my road bike.... with my trackies on and a spliff hanging out my mouth. I know they want me to get hit by a car. Such obviously shit people it's actually funny.
Nothing beats classic down tube mounted friction shifters. There's a romance to them. I miss my retro-modded 70's Schwinn Super Le Tour so damn much!
This was so very helpful! I just got my first road bike after 20-plus years of riding a mountain bike with slicks. Needless to say, shifting has changed and it's of course different on a road bike vs a mountain. Thanks again!
Well thank god for this video, Iâve just ordered my 1st road bike in nearly 25 years and coming from a hybrid. Iâve gone for the Boardman slr 8.6 as my 1st road bike so at ÂŁ500 didnât break the bank but looked like a great 1st bike. I think Iâll be finding somewhere quiet to test my gear changing đ
This was very useful to me, well explained. I've just bought a road bike to help build up strength in my legs after a serious illness. The thought of the gears changing was delaying my purchase. But what a difference these new gear changers make, no more reaching down to manipulate levers on the old bikes. Thanks again for a clear tutorial.
This video is old, but I just got a road bike and it's basically like learning to ride all over again. So GCN's vids have been super helpful to watch. Thanks for the resource and awesome/succinct/clear tutorials!
Great video - thanks for posting these beginner introductions. Iâve just bought my first road bike having only had mountain bikes before. I wanted to make sure I master the basics before getting myself into danger on the road. We all start somewhere!
I've been into Road Biking for 3 years and seeing how a STI shifter works the first time awed me.
This video should have the same effect on people who are getting into Road cycling I'd imagine =)
This is very helpful, than you. Just bought my first road bike and it was second hand. While out on it I couldnât figure out the gears, and being second hand I wasnât 100% sure it was working properly. I will go back out now and follow this advice, hopefully itâs all working nicely.
For a lifetime soccer player and new to cycling , this video is great. Thank you.
I bought my very first roadbike yesterday 2nd hand. The previous owner gave me zero info on how to operate the gearsystem. Im used to offroadbike systems. But after this 5min video it saved me Alot of headscratching and cursing. And my male pride is still intact. So thank you very much for this informative video.
Glad we could help
Bringing the new guys along. Well done Si.
Thanks for this vid. I just bought a used road bike. I'm hoping to get into this for fun and fitness. To go from a bike I had as a kid to this sophisticated bike was so intimidating. I literally could not understand how to change my gears. Thank you so much! Literally binging all these how-to vids so I don't look like a complete dunce on the road.
I literally just picked up my first road bike from the bike shop a few minutes ago and cycled it back
I've been watching this channel for months and I love it
But this one of all videos would've help me the most...
HOW DID I MISS IT
Great video btw
As a mountain biker of 20 years who just built their first road bike, this basic video was helpful! Thanks
For a 50 year old getting back into road bikes this video is perfect...many thanks for posting đ€đ
I didn't know about the double click! Could not for the life of me figure out how to down shift. Thank you so much for making this
Thank you for the basic video, I needed it. It just goes to show that something that is so simple actually took me 3 tries and this video to figure out. 1.4M views goes to show you never know how something so easy will be seen and needed by so many!
As with all things if you already know you find it pointless however everybody is new as some point. Good video GCN.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have just bought my first road bike and this video is super helpful!
I am grateful to you for recording this video. I am new to cycling and didn't know how to shift up on my Shimano Claris gear set. Thank you.
Thank you. Useful to me, even after years and years on road bikes. I'm used to the downtube shifters and couldn't figure it out on my own, having recently come into ownership of a Raleigh Technium with more modern Tiagra shifters.
Just bought my first road bike this week! I'm so excited! I have the Shimano 105 drivetrain. I only know that because of this channel...ha ha! Thanks for the beginner videos, they are highly needed!
This is great that you have put this video on. I have just bought a second hand bike with Shimano gears. I have never used these type of gears before..As i cycled away I thought "this bike is stuck in a high gear" and had no idea how to change gears. Thanks to your video I think I have now got a chance to figure it out. 1100061
the best video on gears. the most simple. beginner road biker and iâve watched this video multiple times.
last time I had a a quality road bike was 1992. New gearing is not intuitive and I donât know what the heck I am doing ! This is invaluable THANK YOU
This video is better (IMO) than the newer HOW TO SHIFT video that got posted recently. Clear and not too much techno speak.
I started with MTB as a kid than I had some city bike in Belgium and now i ride kind of eroica bike. So when I saw some current road bikes I couldât locate the shifters. Now I know. Thank you GCN
My last bike had a 5 speed gear lever system on the down tube. This now seems like some sort of wizardry!
ten years in road cycling and still learning up until now i had no idea sram shifted like that...now i know. good job
Just got a gravel bike and first time I test road it i as like damn why is it so easy to pedal this thing đ I didnât know wth was going on and didnât know wth to search up, I thought searching up âhow to switch gears on a gravel bikeâ was going to be too obvious to make a video on, but here we are!!! Thank you so much
Thank God for you guys. First time road/gravel bike rider with drop bar set up and I needed this!
hopped back on the bike recently, this helped immensely.
Wow.... Thanks for this knowledge. I want to transform my "regular" shift gears to these cool new type..
I've got a mountain bike .. but just ordered a Cannondale CAAD Optimo Tiagra 2019 Road Bike .. thanks for this vid .. last time I rid a road bike was 30 yrs ago .. yes I'm 55 lol ..but I train with weights 3 tiles aweek .. train my lady twice aweek .. walk the rotties every day .. plus ride my mountain bike 2 to 3 times a week . I'm buying this bike for more fitness and lots of miles lol .. it's been dispatched so I'll be doing an unboxing vid on our channel , buzzing cant wait .. I love fitness .. hope when I'm my 80,s I'm still training and riding .. all the best every one .. chris & Sam
This video saved me a trip to the bike shop. Brand new to cycling and I bought a used Cannondale on FB. Couldn't figure out the gear shifting, had no Idea there were 3 types of gear shifters. Shimano STI it is, thanks!
OMG THANK YOU SOO SOO MUCH DUDE IVE BEEN LOOKING AT ABOUT 10 VIDEOS BUT FINALLY THIS ONE WORKS!!!
Moving from Shimano to SRAM groupset - this video is super helpful - thanks!
As a MTB:er this video was interesting. Especially because of my plans of buying a cyclocross bike. Thank you!
Love all these videos. Just got my first road bike and all this is amazingly helpful. Thanks so much. These videos make me want to ride more.
I recently started getting into road bikes and I'm glad I was able to find this video and prevent my head from exploding with all the different types of shifters.
So, what I'm saying is... THANK YOU AND I APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH!
Iâm so grateful for vĂdeos like that. Iâm willing to buy my first road bike or gravel bike and I donât wanna feel embarrassed for donât know how to do it when I go for shopping and do a test ride.
OH! The whole brake lever moves in! God damn it thank you.
I realised this after 46km last night
With Shimano, in my opinion it's easier to remember the big lever shifts to bigger sprockets. Small levers - smaller sprockets.
im new to road bikes and i honestly really appreciate this video. If you know how to do this then great, but let other people learn without feeling bad
Thanks for this. Just got my first racing bike with Shimano gears. This explains it all. Got it sorted now.
I've only ever ridden mountain bikes in my 18 years of life. Buying a new road bike soon and I realized I had no idea how road shifters worked. This helps.
Totally glad they did this video. I'm new to cycling (about 2.5 months) and am riding around on a straight bar bike a friend gave me. Didn't want to go into my LBS and ask "So uh, how do you shift" when going to purchase a proper road bike.
I had to do that - it's not a good feeling!
It's good to review the basics. Video suggestion: advantages of the Campag system -- Advantages of the Shimano system -- Advantages of the SRAM system: cost, efficiency, trendiness etc.
Thanks for this video! I've been out this week on my first road bike and these tips are SO helpful! Appreciate the straightforward and clear tips when shifting gears, it means a lot.
Thanks for this, picking up my 1st road bike at the weekend, this is going to be a massive help
I just bought my first road my, and boy, I can only dabble way around it, so it's not a bad Idea to get good grasp of the gear shifting. Thank you
I watched all GCN's how to do videos when I got my first road bike, It was very useful at the time.
Why did all those pros complaining about this video even click?! Haha
This video is so useful! I was finding it hard to understand gear shifting and this video helped me out so much! You guys are the best!
Schimano STI- Oh dear! Thanks for the tutorial...
This video is Godsent... Your explanation are always the best.... Don't ever leave this channel... Thank you.
Experienced MTB, BMX and especially 'Vintage' road cyclist used to riding 'touring' style road bikes with the initial gearing that was discussed during this video and I have recently purchased a hand-built Raleigh from the 1990's which features Shimano gears similar to the one's featured in this video, I was unsure exactly for how use and found that both triggers were unable to adjust the gears and I was worried about snapping the brake lever by pulling to change so I didn't even bother to check! This left me almost thinking I may have been sold a faulty bike as I thought the gears were simple up-and-down levers on one side and the other side for the front crank just one-up one-down, which would make perfect sense, alas, it has much more complicated (for some, not you elite cyclists birthed bursting through the placenta in your replica BSkyB jerseys and riding in pavilion with your tightest latex cyciling pants on) But. I can assure you after riding from Stockport to Macclesfield after collecting the bike and riding half way to Buxton the next day idiotically not realising I couldn't figure out the gears on the bike and basically riding a fixie up very steep gradients in the blistering heat we have experienced and I can say no cyclist passing me riding or looking bemusingly at my deralier and sprocets in the middle-of-nowhere offered to help or offer assistance and I for one, wish, that I had access to the extremely insightful video.. Thanks for enlightening me oh wise oracle.. Oh and just to add my spefic Shimano gear set the '16 speed Shimano flightdeck gear system' is still not featured so in fact there should be more videos showing how to correctly use different manufactureres/components of bikes. Also it shows whether you would prefer a type of manufacturers set-up prior to buying/testing a bike as you can see your hand/finger positions for example to use the gears. SO many narrow-minded self=entitled narscisstic cunts about nowadays.. pip, pip.. tallyhoo!!
So today I just got my first road bike from decathlon. To be very honest, I was going to get a flat bar hybrid from another store, but the store that sells those in my city take a whole week to assemble a bike and another half a week to deliver it. I ordered from Decathlon, came in less than two days. Best of all, they aren't fussy about returns and warranties and stuff. Told the other store two days ago that I'm cancelling the order, they still haven't replied.
Brilliant video. I didn't learn much (thankfully) but it brought back memories of buying a moped & not knowing how to get it moving as I couldn't "get it into gear". The salesman must have wondered if I actually had a licence or not but I'd only ever ridden motor bikes before then.
I last had a bike made before 1990, and it seemed so much easier back then. (changing several cogs at the back when changing the front change ring for example). Guess I'll have to practice. Thanks for the video.
Having never used these types of shifters, this video was golden.
Ha! Such a better explanation than I got when I bought my road bike and was new to shifting...big levers make it easier. That's all i was told...learned the hard way that such wad not always the case lol.
I have ridden thousands upon thousands of miles on road bikes over a decade or more.
My coworker asked me to tune up his bike and I had never used a Shimano 105. Haha. So here I am... thanks for the video.
Thanks for this. I wouldnât have been able to go out on my new bike without this video
Thanks for this - hadnât used my bike for years and couldnât remember that the whole break lever had to be used
This was a great help as I got down to the smallest gear on the bike and had no idea have to get back! Last time I bought a bike it had two levers on the frame.
Well explained! I just bought my first road bike from city bike and its hard to figure out, but I now have a good understanding. Thanks a lot!!!
I planned on going drop bars on my mtb but didn't know how to shift until now thank you
I got mine in a right mess and came here for help. Thanks very much...these new bikes seem to be much more complicated.
Guys here is an important trick with campag front shifting. When you shift to the big chainring by pushing the lever, make sure you hold it in the pushed position for a second or so to ensure it actually shifts. Use it like a shimano lever and you might find the chain failing to catch onto the big chainring and may even drop the chain for you. I learnt it the hard way.
Thanks for this video- I have a hybrid and want to purchase a road bike but the gear shifters have kept me away. Thank you for creating this video and breaking it down, much obliged!
thank you for the video at 36 this is my first road bike and I honestly couldn't workout how to down shift on the shimano system. All over it 350 miles in now!
Massive help , thank you very much GCN. Am very much a novice first ride out today, wished I watched this video first