Knowing what gear you're in

[Llewellyn]

The WTB for one of those little inline gear indicators in the classifieds has got me wondering why people don't seem to use/like them. Is it that particular type of gadget that people don't like or do you think it's not necessary to know what gear you're using as long as your cadence is OK?

Do you just take a quick peek at the cassette if you want to know what you're using, or does experience make it easy for you to just know what cog you're in?

I must confess that one of the things I really used to like about the Flight Deck computers was that they had a little graphic that showed which gear combination you were using.

[moose8]

I have them on one of my bikes with a regular derailleur system and I've never used it - it seems like either I'm in the right gear or I'm not without looking at the indicator. I do have it on an alfine hub, and for some reason I do use it frequently on that, maybe because the jumps between gears are so great.

[JAGI410]

And add an extra 18 grams?! Are you crazy?!

Only one of my bikes has a gear indicator, and I can't even tell you the last time I looked at it. My knees know what gear I'm in!

[cp43]

I have one of those indicators on one of my bikes. When I'm riding that bike frequently, and I remember to use it, I like having the indicator there. It lets me know at a glance if I'm near the end of my cassette, or if I have another couple cogs left.

I have found though, that when I'm riding a bike without the indicator, I don't really miss it. Glancing down and back to look at the cassette is slightly, but noticeably slower than just looking down to the indicator, but it's not a big enough difference that I really miss the indicator.

FWIW, to me it's not about knowing exactly what gear I'm it, it's about knowing if I need to change rings to keep from being cross chained. If I don't look back at the cassette, I have very little idea of which gear I'm in.

Chris

[MattTuck]

If I need to know what gear I'm in, I look down for a second to see. There are enough cues (chain rub, the way the drive train feels, etc.) that you have a pretty good idea.

[FlashUNC]

I never much saw the point, personally.

[tv_vt]

Well, I'm with the OP on this - I have them on all my bikes and they're on my wife's bikes, too. I think they're great. Maybe if you were schooled in the avoidance of cross-chaining, you worry more about what gear you're in.

My setups are 9 speed DA. Maybe with the new crap, you can use every cassette with either chainring without worry.

[palincss]

Do you just take a quick peek at the cassette if you want to know what you're using, or does experience make it easy for you to just know what cog you're in?


I use bar end shifters. You can tell by feel or glance at the shifter where you are. Same is true for downtube shifters.

[soulspinner]

I never much saw the point, personally.

+1 you know what gear you need as a functin of cadence you want to maintain based on your effort level. Did I say that right?:eek:

[avalonracing]

As the guy who posted that WTB allow me to give you my take.

I'm not a "Fred"*. I've raced a lot, I'm still fit, my bar tops are many inches below my saddle height, and while my cranks are 50/34 I live in a fairly hilly area and my cassettes are still 11/23.

Anyway, most of the time it doesn't matter what gear I'm in. I don't need to know, I'm pedaling at the right cadence for me. But occasionally I'm riding with people in a tight paceline or on a competitive ride and I want to know, without looking down and back, where I am on the cassette and what I might have left if I need it. Sure it is sometimes just a psychological crutch but so much of riding can be.

The indicator doesn't add any weight to the bike to speak of, and can fog up if you ride in the rain a lot but really doesn't do anything but give you a little more info. Hell, considering people are using SRMs, Strava, and making spreadsheets of their riding data I don't see how having one if these is a bad thing. And since the cables on 7700 and 7800 are just hanging out there anyway why not put them to use?


*My apologies if your name is Fred.

[torquer]

I'm not a "Fred"*. I've raced a lot, I'm still fit, my bar tops are many inches below my saddle height, and while my cranks are 50/34 I live in a fairly hilly area and my cassettes are still 11/23.
That pretty much describes me, too ("still fit" may be subject to debate), and I miss that indicator on my 6700 bike after getting used to them on my 7700 bike.
Like he said, sometimes you're just going too hard, in too close company, to want to look down and back to see if you've got that one more shift.
OTOH, thinner chains are inherently less laterally stiff, so cross-chaining becomes less of an issue with more gears. SRAM even claims to have engineered this "capability" into their new 11-speed group!

[MattTuck]

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-0wHmXa3q3kQ/UZOdM18NK4I/AAAAAAAACvo/o0tLLmXBmoM/w721-h472-no/grasshopper.png

[Ahneida Ride]

Only one of my bikes has a gear indicator, and I can't even tell you the last time I looked at it. My knees know what gear I'm in!

The gear I am in is always one gear lower then what I need to be in. :banana:

[Lewis Moon]

If I need to know what gear I'm in, I look down for a second to see. There are enough cues (chain rub, the way the drive train feels, etc.) that you have a pretty good idea.

This. Cadence, cadence, cadence. The right gear is the right gear, no matter what cog/ring.

I'm running a compact 10sp 12-23 so I basically look for a gear on the chainring I'm in, and if I hear the tell tale indicators of cross chaining, I double shift (both F&R) up or down. Easy Peasy.

[Mike748]

I've never used the Shimano one (although I do have one if anybody needs it) and I sometimes use the gear indicator on my Ergobrain since the cassette is hard to see with DKS stays. But usually I still try to look at the cassette. Mostly to avoid cross chaining.

[67-59]

Like some others here...

Had one once and never bothered to use it. New bike didn't have one, and I didn't miss it. Not a weight or cost issue, but more an issue of not ever being in the position where I had the need.

[henrypretz]

We used to have bar ends on our tandem, but when I swapped to STI I missed knowing "where I was" (the drivetrain on the tandem is waaaay back there, so looking down and back is somewhat dangerous to my precious cargo)
So I stuck a pair of XTR indicators inline and it was just the ticket. Can't say I noticed the extra weight on the 45+ lb Burley ;)
Cheers!
Henry

[redir]

They seem to be fairly standard on mountain bikes for some reason. I never could see the point. You should be able to feel the right gear. In the old days you always knew what gear you were in and you referred to them by their ratio. "Dude you climbed that hill in a 42 - 19? I was in my 42 - 21 and could hardly turn the cranks."

[Tom]

Andy Schleck probably wishes he had one.

Sorry - had to say it...

I was going to go on about how I keep track of my shifting and when I wind up totally cross chained I berate myself for losing track so I really don't think there's a point to them, and then I read the OP's followup where he mentioned that in tight quarters or competition they come in handy. That's about the one time I might want one but since I don't do that stuff I never considered one.

I do look down a lot to get my starting points when I've made a mass cog dump or upshift.

[Chance]

We used to have bar ends on our tandem, but when I swapped to STI I missed knowing "where I was" (the drivetrain on the tandem is waaaay back there, so looking down and back is somewhat dangerous to my precious cargo)
So I stuck a pair of XTR indicators inline and it was just the ticket. Can't say I noticed the extra weight on the 45+ lb Burley ;)
Cheers!
Henry

+1 for great value on tandem.

Never used one on a single because it's easy enough to see, but on a tandem it's nice to know if the gear you are riding is closer to big-big or small-small. On a single just knowing what ring is being used is enough because cadence and speed gives me a good-enough feel of what gears are left -- both up and down. However, on a tandem it's sometimes hard to remember which combination you are actually using, so approaching a steep hill it may be nice to know whether you are small-small or big-big. The next shift will depend on it.

[miguel]

53 x 11 alwys
dont be a woosie

[witcombusa]

Knowing what gear you're in

Personally, it's really not that had to take a peek down if you need to know what combination you're in.

I don't find that happening often except maybe on long climbs when I HOPE that there might be one more cog left to shift down into!

[Chance]

Personally, it's really not that had to take a peek down if you need to know what combination you're in.


For some it can be quite tough. Tandems as mentioned above can be harder than single bikes, but even more so as the captain gets older. Not only does the captain have to look through the stoker's legs while spinning 90 RPM, and past a couple of water bottles in between, but if he/she happens to be wearing bi-focals looking at a cassette 5 feet back with part of the lens calibrated for 14 inches can appear very blurry. Or so they tell me.:rolleyes:

[kurto]

I've used one - came with my Dura-Ace, and have it in my bucket if anyone wants it, but when I changed out the cables, I forgot to put that doo-hickey back on, and I've never missed it. I can usually tell about where I am, and if I run out of gears, I'm either going really fast, so that's cool, or it's going to be a long rest of the climb.

[William]

Never personally considered it. For me it's more about feel, speed, and cadence. I might give the cog set a quick glance on a climb to make sure I'm staying out of my bail out gear, or on a decent when I think I've spun out my gears. I've got them on my mtb (I think :confused: ) but I don't use them.






William

[Lanterne Rouge]

I use DT shifters so I can see and generally feel (both "feel" in the tangible and the metaphysical sense) what gear I'm in.

I've had brifters with the gear indicators but I found I never used them.