Giant Revive manual Shifting gears, How a derailleur drivetrain works

This causes a transfer of weight to the front wheel (or, under heavy braking, around the front wheel hub, which could send you flying over the handlebars).

A wheel with more weight on it will accept greater brake pressure before lockup; a wheel with less weight will lock up with less brake pressure. So, as you apply brakes and your weight is transferred forward, you need to shift your body toward the rear of the bike, to transfer weight back on to the rear wheel; and at the same time, you need to both decrease rear braking and increase front braking force.

This is even more important on descents, because descents shift weight forward.

Two keys to effective speed control and safe stopping are controlling wheel lockup and weight transfer. This weight transfer is even more pronounced if your bike has a front suspension fork. Front suspension tips: under braking, increasing the weight transfer (see also Section 4.F). Practice braking and weight transfer techniques where there is no traffic or other hazards and distractions.

Everything changes when you ride on loose surfaces or in wet weather. Tire adhesion is reduced, so the wheels have less cornering and braking traction and can lock up with less brake force. Moisture or dirt on the brake pads reduces their ability to grip. The way to maintain control on loose or wet surfaces is to go more slowly to begin with.

D. Shifting gears

Your multi-speed bicycle will have a derailleur drivetrain (see 1. below), an internal gear hub drivetrain (see 2. below) or, in some special cases, a combination of the two.

1. How a derailleur drivetrain works

If your bicycle has a derailleur drivetrain, the gear-changing mechanism will have:

. a rear cassette or freewheel sprocket cluster

. a rear derailleur

. usually a front derailleur

. one or two shifters

. one, two or three front sprockets called chainrings

. a drive chain

fig. J

fig. K

fig. L

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