Bike Riding With Gears...
 

This my first shot at riding a bike with gears. Not a bad start but not sure if I am getting the full effect. The left handlebar has a gear labeled 1, 2, and 3. The right handlebar has gears 1-8.

I am not sure when to use which. Right now the left one is set on 2 and I adjust the one on the right handlebar from 1-3 just to see what it does.

Any clarification would be appreciated.

Thanks.

i found some info on this, but any tips would be appreciated.

Think of the 1/2/3 as "Low, Medium, and High" range and the right 1,2,3,4,5, (and possiby 6,7) as your actual "gears".

Start out in 1 and go up through the gears on the right grip. Do be aware that you don't want to go all the way up--look down and you will see how the chain moves--you don't want it to go all the way "left to right" as it leaves the front sprocket and enters the rear one. Although you have 18 or 21 "speeds" you don't actually use them all (some combinations are the same, anyway). You also want to make sure the chain is more-or-less centered and not riding on the shift mechanism.

Basically go 1-1, 1-2, 1-3 then move up to 2 and work through the next few gears then go to 3 as your speed increases. You can't (or shouldn't) try to shift under heavy pedaling so you need to "plan" your shifts for going uphill (basically getting into a lower gear BEFORE you actually need it).

Now that you're totally confused, give it a try--it's easier to do than to read about, I think. :D

Regards,
Michael

My bike has that same 1-2-3 on the left and 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 on the right. Mike is correct on the low-medium-high and on the 1-8. I use 1-1 when I ride with my 4 year old, she pedals slow and has little wheels, I ride in about 2-5 with my 9 year old who also pedals slow but has big wheels, and I ride at 3-3 with our 7 year old who has little wheels but is freakishly fast. And Mike is also right about letting up on the pedals when you shift, just give it time to click before you crank on it.