How to Shift Gears on an Incline

Series Summary

Cycling crystallized into a competitive sport around the 1970's and has been gaining popularity and legitimacy ever since, especially with the rise of health consciousness in the late 90's. As this upsurge of amateur biking enthusiasm continues to reach untouched parts of the globe, the varieties of cycling continue to multiply. One of the great ways to enjoy cycling is by mountain biking and trail riding in the great outdoors. Not only is mountain biking a fun hobby, it can also be a great cardiovascular workout. Riding through rough terrain and shrubbery on driven trails is a test of stamina, and requires conscious awareness of one's surroundings at all times.

Mountain biking may seem like an extreme sport, but even a beginner can easily get started. In these free cycling training videos, learn uphill bike riding tips and techniques. Our expert will show you how to shift gears on an incline, how to position your body, whether to sit or stand, how to use bar extensions, how to pace yourself, and more. Go out for an uphill ride this weekend and test your new mountain biking knowledge.

Video Transcript

"When and how to shift into the appropriate gear for a hill. Right now coming down a nice smooth trail and there is a pretty steep rocky hard climb in front of me. So right now already too late to think about shifting. I'm already in pretty good gear for going down hill and pretty bad gear for going up this hill here. So I am going to turn around, I am going to do my shifting before I get to the spot and I am going to keep going. So as I see the hill is coming and I am looking far ahead so I am going to drop a couple of gears by hitting the down shift lever which this is giving me a low enough gear I can simply ride up the hill. There is a real art in selecting the right gear for going up a hill. Too hard, you're not going to get enough turnover and too easy, just going to spin out. We'll talk about that in the next segment. "