- 1). Mount your bike and ride slowly forward. Pull the front lever of the left-hand shifter, located above the handlebar, a few times to be sure the bicycle is in a low gear. The left-hand shifter controls the front derailleur, which is the mechanism that shifts the gears. Press the thumb lever of the rear shifter, located below the handlebar, until it stops to shift to the lowest gear on the bike. This low gear will provide a good starting point for your ride.
- 2). Pedal your bicycle normally. As the bike accelerates, you will reach a point at which you will have to spin the cranks too fast to accelerate any further. When this happens, pull the front lever of the right shifter until it clicks. The chain will move down one cog on the rear wheel, making it more difficult to pedal. Continue to shift to higher gears using the right front lever as you ride.
- 3). Pull the right-front shift lever when you feel you are pedaling too quickly for your legs to keep up. When the right-front lever will not shift to a low enough gear to continue accelerating, press the left-hand thumb lever until it clicks. This will shift the chain from the low front chain ring to a larger one, making a big difference in pedaling difficulty, which will allow you to accelerate further. If this gear is too hard, you may need to shift down in the rear by pressing the right-hand thumb lever a few times. This will shift the chain up a few cogs in the rear.
- 4). Maintain a constant pedaling cadence by riding and shifting in this manner. When you need to slow down, continue pedaling and pull the left-hand front lever to shift to a lower gear before stopping. This will make it easier to pull away from a stop, as the bike will be in an easy gear when you resume pedaling.
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