Our mountain bikes come with multiple gears to allow us to be able to keep pedalling on almost any terrain and gradient. But many mountain bikers, especially newcomers, don’t make the most of all their gears. Here’s how to use your mountain bike gears effectively.

Most modern mountain bikes have one chainring upfront and anything from 10-12 cogs at the rear. This is a relatively simple set-up as you only need to worry about shifting between the cogs at the rear. For the purposes of this article, we will assume you have a single-chainring drivetrain.

The gearing range on the cassette is wide – as much as 510% difference between the smallest cog and the largest. Long-cage derailleurs ensure the shifting across this range is efficient and crisp. So the technology is there for you. You just need to understand how best to use it. How to use all of your gears!

Obviously on climbs, you’re going to use the larger cogs – mostly the top 3-4. On gradual rises and flat surfaces you will use the cogs in the centre mostly. And on gradual or moderate descents where you can pedal, you will use the bottom few cogs.

Sounds straight forward, but many struggle with this. Why? Because they don’t understand the importance of keeping a good pedalling rhythm or cadence; and they don’t anticipate.

An ideal, efficient pedalling cadence on a mountain bike is around 80 rpm. If you don’t have a cadence sensor, then it’s just more than 1.5 pedal strokes per second. To measure without a cadence sensor, count your pedal strokes for 10 seconds and multiply by six. 

You don’t want to be pedalling too fast because then you lack the torque required to move powerfully and smoothly forward. Too slow a cadence is also inefficient. So aim for 80-90 rpm if you can. More conditioned riders are able to maintain this cadence, while newer riders tend to opt for a slower cadence. Try to increase it gradually until you can maintain 80-90 rpm.

In order to keep your cadence at around 80 rpm when the gradient points up or down, you need to shift gears as referenced a few paragraphs earlier. If you are able to monitor your cadence, then always aiming for 80-90 rpm will ensure you use all of your gears. 

Anticipation is also essential. You can only anticipate by looking up/ahead. If you don’t look up/ahead, then you will be caught by surprise by changes in gradient and find yourself in an inappropriate gear. If you do look up/ahead you can start planning your gear shifts to match the upcoming changes in gradient. Start shifting to the smaller cogs if it’s going down and start shifting to larger cogs if it’s going up.

There are quite big gaps between the gears on a single-chainring mountain bike, so it’s not always the ideal gear to be in. Don’t be afraid to shift one up or down to see if that gear is more appropriate. Experienced riders change gears constantly in order to maintain speed and manage momentum.

From now on, do this: Look up/ahead (about 10 metres for every 10km per hour you are riding), shifting gears in anticipation of gradient changes. Also try to achieve and then hold a cadence of around 80 rpm, shifting to gears that allow you to maintain this cadence regardless of the gradient. Once you can master these two elements, you will be using all of your gears