Advice on gears, please! They're not what I remember!

[Bemahan]

I am a 55 yr old female and have just taken up cycling again for lockdown fun and exercise. I cycled daily for many years on a gents' 10 speed Raleigh Medale racing bike with the gear levers on the down tube (hope that's the right phrase). Loved it. Used the gears loads as we live in a hilly city. Currently using a modern mountain bike-style "Sabre Quake" with gear shifts (not levers) on the handlebars. The right gear shift (rear cogs I think?) goes from 1 to 5 and left shift goes from H(igh) to L(ow). However, I find that even on the flat, my legs are spinning when the right shift is on High and 5 which irritates me - I like to put at least a bit of effort in! It also makes me feel not in control of the bike. And I can, in spite of being unfit and flabby, go up a long slow incline fairly easily on 4. The left shift seems to make little difference, although I thought this was the one I would use most to make minor changes. I am struggling to use the gears effectively and I'm not sure if it's me, a problem with the gears, or the difference between a mountain bike and a racing bike so should be very grateful for your views.
Thank you in advance!
Hannah.

[Eyebrox]

Correct. You are experiencing the difference between a road bike that goes on roads and a mountain bike generally designed to go off road and up and down mountains. Gripshift changers can be hard to operate and the bike pictured looks heavy as a full suspension machine. It will be less enjoyable to go leisure cycling on roads and paths in that type of bike than it will on a road bike. It might very well switch you off the notion of getting out more often and rekindling your former fitness levels.

[Brucey]

in the photo the MTB's chain is on the smallest front chainwheel. This is one of the lower gears. Simply using one of the larger chainwheels at the front will make the gears higher; maybe you are doing that already, maybe not...?.

cheers

[Mick F]

Correct. You are experiencing the difference between a road bike that goes on roads and a mountain bike generally designed to go off road and up and down mountains. Gripshift changers can be hard to operate and the bike pictured looks heavy as a full suspension machine. It will be less enjoyable to go leisure cycling on roads and paths in that type of bike than it will on a road bike. It might very well switch you off the notion of getting out more often and rekindling your former fitness levels.

Utterly agree.
That sort of bike is the wrong sort of bike, despite the fashion for them.

Sorry to say it, but you should go back to the sort of bike you had before.

[rotavator]

The left shift seems to make little difference, although I thought this was the one I would use most to make minor changes.

Is the left shifter connected to the front derailer, as is usual? If so, is it actually moving the chain between the chainrings? If it is working correctly, switching chainrings should make big changes to the effort you make pedalling, not minor changes. Use the right shifter and rear derailer to make minor changes in gearing.

[Bemahan]

Thank you, everyone for your useful advice. I'll double-check the left gear shift does the front rings and is actually working - I'll have to find a car park as our drive is all gravel and I wobble too much trying to look at what's happening to the gears as I ride!
The only thing I prefer about this bike is the chunky tyres.

[Graham]

It sounds like the front derailleur isn't working.

When you change the left-hand shifter does the little cage above the chainrings ( front ) move ??

If so, does it actually move the chain between the chainrings ( when the bike is moving forwards & pedals rotating ) ?

PS. From the photo the curvature of the front derailleur seems a long way away from the curvature of the bash guard. Maybe some alignment problem ? : maybe the wrong type of derailleur for mountain bike chainrings ?

PPS. Chunky tyres will be a lot slower on normal roads & probably noisy too . . .. All that wasted energy ! If you like FAT tyres you can get slicker ones with little or no knobbles.

[Bemahan]

Thank you - will check the front derailleur tomorrow and will do a bit of window shopping for a racing bike - I have a birthday at the end of August! Very grumpy with myself for getting rid of my old bike

[simonhill]

You can turn the bike upside down and rest on saddle and bars to check gears are changing OK.

Do it on the grass and maybe have someone to help with the shifters while other turns the pedals.

[Bemahan]

Omg! Can't believe I didn't think of that! How embarrassing!

[PT1029]

Part of the problem is you have a chainset with 42 or 44t big ring (rather than the usual alternative of 48t outer ring) + a screw on freewheel (so 14t smallest cog) - if it had a modern cassette fitting rear cogs, the smallest cog would 11t. Both these facts conspire to give you a lowerer than normal top/highest gear.
Agree with coments about checking the front gear works or not, because...
re the comment "PS. From the photo the curvature of the front derailleur seems a long way away from the curvature of the bash guard. Maybe some alignment problem ? : maybe the wrong type of derailleur for mountain bike chainrings ?" The shiney curved part of the front gear does not match the curve of the biggest chainwheel (the lowest part of the front gear is well away from the chainwheel), this often results in the gear lever moving but the chain not shifting.Yours look bent, as the gap is quite large - often see this at work. Often these gears get bent from wheeling the bike backwards with the chain snagging on the gear, it can be bent back so the bottom end of the gear is closer to the chainwheel. Often done this at work, use a large screwdriver wedged in the gear cage (where the chain passes through) at "adjust" (ie bend) the gear cage to mover the lower part closer to the chainwheel. As the gear is cheap and so made of steel, bending is quite doable (if it was a better/aluminium gear, the aluminium parts would probably break).
You will be better off with a new bike. You say you like the chunky (if slow) tyres, so test ride a racing bike (thin tyres), but also test ride a hybrid or similar (with tyres midway between racing tyres and your current tyres) to see which you prefer.

[531colin]

Google "front mech bike picture" to see what it should look like.
To get it rideable, grab hold of the chain and put it on the middle one of the 3 chainrings (at the front) and set the handlebar control in the middle of its range. Then all you need to do is get the front mech. out of the way....the kindest way to do this is to slacken the bolt that clamps it to the frame and swivel it round, so the chain runs clear through the middle of the front mech.

[eileithyia]

Might be well worth googling some sites on how gears work etc., and specifically the ones for your specific gears... before embarking on DIY fixes if indeed a DIY fix is regquired.

But certainly you need to check if they are actually working and if the cable isn't stretched... which can be one of the reasons why a gear isn't working properly...

It might be just that it is very low gearing as suggested and you may need a different range of gears.

[531colin]

Look at the picture! the front mech. is as bent as a dogs hind leg, its facing the wrong way, and I'm not sure the chain even goes through it.

[Bemahan]

Thank you all! What a fab community this is.
Nice to know it's the bike rather than me losing my cycling skills Tempted by a new bike. This one would have been a fairly cheap one - under £100 so probably not the best quality. The reason I like the chunky tyres is because the roads are a bit <FFE> round here - lots of little stones etc. I'd be grateful for any suggestions of a replacement, please? Women's build, drop bars, budget up to £300 max. I'd be happy with a secondhand bike but worry about buying a pig in a poke.
Thank you!