Biking newbie - help with gears?

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kvansanity
kvansanity Posts: 108 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I recently bought a fitness hybrid bike after years of riding a Walmart cruiser around campus. I'm riding for an hour and a half to two hours every day in New Orleans. There aren't any hills to worry about and I find that I'm usually going for about 20 miles.

I've noticed that I have been riding in the higher gears (please excuse my lack of proper terminology hereafter) - 3 on the left and 4 or 5 on the right. I ride around 12-15 miles per hour at this and that's about as fast as I can go right now.

Riding in a higher gear is simply easier on me, but I want to challenge myself and burn calories as I'm still trying to lose weight! I know my RPM is probably lower than it should be and therefore I should probably be riding in lower gears, but how low exactly? And how do I get started? I've shifted to lower gears throughout my ride and it's been a tough adjustment.

I really appreciate any help and advice!

Replies

  • guernica2
    guernica2 Posts: 4 Member
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    Spinning the pedals at 90 rpm is supposed to be the most efficient, and comes in handy if you're cycling a really long distance, so at that rate you should be spinning your legs at one and a half times per second.

    I wouldn't worry about that for now now. Just get out cycling and have fun on your bike. You're off to a great start! :-)
  • CentralCaliCycling
    CentralCaliCycling Posts: 453 Member
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    75-85 RPM is fine for someone new to the bike. If you want to be very fast then 85-90 is the norm, for some higher even but right now you should just get used to pedaling, up the RPM when you get comfortable sitting on the seat for more than 30 minutes.


    BTW (I posted my daughter's picture to my profile in support of her promotion to High School - normally I would have something bike related in the profile) Usually ride about 5,000 miles a year.

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