cyclingarri

Not really a mechanic thing but a collaboration of smart people I know are here. So when test riding a bike I just finished adjusting at night, I noticed I cdnt see any markings on shifters. Any gadget out there for lighting up handlebar area, or diy methods? Any ideas would be appreciated? I love little issues like this

KraneXL

Learn to use your gear by feel. There's nothing to see here.

mrrabbit 

Your eyes belong on the road...

You should know by progression what gear you are in.

Be one with the bike.

Or take the bike to Sig Sauer, Glock, etc.

=8-)

J.Higgins 

My wife is the same way, sort of. She doesn't like to look down to see what gear she is in, but wants to know, so she likes her bikes that have grip-shifters and the like - anything with some visual indication of gear position. I just shake my head and install whatever she likes.

dsbrantjr

They make some nice (and cheap) LED headlamps these days.
They also have some intended for tying on fishing lures which clip to the brim of a hat/helmet.
Finally, they make a lamp for pilots which goes on a finger like a ring. LED Finger Light - MyPilotStore.com

HillRider

Even in daylight looking down quickly to see what cog you are in can be difficult with 9 or more cogs crowded into a narrow space. E.g. am I in the 15 or 16T cog as most dropbar shifters have no gear indicator on them. One trick is to quickly shift into the highest (smallest) cog and use that as an index point to count clicks back to the gear you want.

JohnDThompson 

I don't see a compelling need to know which gear I'm in. If I'm working too hard, I shift to a lower gear. If I'm spinning out, I shift to a higher gear.

shelbyfv

+1 I've never understood the compulsion to know the precise gear.

cny-bikeman

The only reason I can conceive of having to know which number cog one is on is if there is a particular problem that occurs on only that cog, and only when riding, not in the stand. If that indeed occurs, then simply stop to see which one is the problem. Do you drive only a manual transmission car, so you always know which gear you are in?

Bandera

Most riders have little or no idea what any gear "means" in terms of the effort required to turn it over, much less it's relative position in the range of gearing and which gear is slightly easier or harder than the one currently engaged in the puzzle of multiple chain-rings and cogs. With the ease of reliable shifting and the indifference to cross chaining of modern derailleur systems keeping one's eyes on the road and rowing about with the shifters until something that feels right is engaged with little mechanical distress noise emanating from the drivetrain is a reasonable strategy to get down the road.

-Bandera

le mans

If the bike has a generator for lights, stick a little globe in the shifter somehow, like you see on T-bar shifters in cars

hey, might be onto something here

JanMM

Currently riding two bikes with indicators on the shifters and one without. Indicators helpful on the recumbent tandem, as cannot see the crankset or the cassette to validate where the chain is. Helpful, but not a necessity.

trailangel

Sans speedometers, knowing what gear inch I was in along with 90 rpm on the crank, was a way to figure out mph.
I usually have a habit of taking certain streets in a particular gear inch as well.
So, I like to know which gear I am riding.

79pmooney

Of course there is the really easy out. Down tube friction shifters. Just reach down and feel the shifter. Won't tell you exactly what gear you are in but you'll know within a cog. Has additional advantages of being extremely reliable, completely unaffected by crashes and bike fall-overs, light and cheap. Disadvantage? Requires skill to use.

Ben

cyccommute 

Wrong analogy. Yes, I do know which gear I'm in when driving a manual transmission. I'm always aware of it and use that knowledge to plan downshifts or upshifts. I'm also more attuned to the sound of the engine for clues to upshifts or downshifts. On the other hand, when I'm driving an automatic, I usually have no idea what gear I'm in. The car picks the gear unless I'm running down a hill and need a lower gear.

But I would agree with the general premise that lighted gear indicators on bikes aren't all that useful. But if you absolutely, positively have to have one, there's this. I had one about 20 years ago for my bicycle computer. I never found it all that effective, however.

fietsbob

the windows on brifters are a gimmick .. don't know your drive train gear ratio sequence?

go to one of those do the math for you sites .. they give you the numbers .. draw a zig zag line thru the sequence..

to show you when the next gear might be on another chainring.. study it .


of course new 1 by stuff simplifies a derailleur bike to be as simple to shift as Internal Gear Hubs have always been..




....

FlMTNdude

I count, and keep a mental note which I am in.

tkamd73 

Really, you look at your gears? I guess 11 is too many for some, or just ride your bike more.
Tim

Aubergine 

Nailed it.

Same with the indicator windows on trigger shifters.

dabac

Here’s a small thing I put together last year for an overnight ride when I thought I’d benefit from being able to read the bike computer:

sweeks

I mounted my headlight high enough to clear the bars, and the beam falls on my computer making it nicely readable.
FWIW, that's a Paul Components stem cap light mount. It doesn't work with a stem that angles up, so I got a titanium headset spacer (tube, actually) and longer bolt from Toronto Cycles. It looks a bit goofy, but works well.
Steve

EDIT: No, I don't ride the bike that way! Any hints on how to rotate images? It's oriented correctly on my computer.

KraneXL

Rotate?

https://www.bikeforums.net/attachmen...1&d=1524431490

Iride01 

Looking at gears might just be a bad habit for no reason. I do it without even thinking about it. I certainly don't need to. Maybe it's just some need to confirm how many more downshifts/upshifts I have before I run out of gears.

I don't have to ride and night and seldom have, so I don't know what concerns one might have toward gear choices. Still seems no matter what, shift up if you need a higher gear, shift down if you need a lower gear. If you can't shift, then you are out of gears and have to do what ever it takes even if that includes getting off and walking up that hill.

Sy Reene

If you use a garmin, there are some Garmin Connect plug-in apps that will calculate (cadence and speed primarily) and display the gear you're in.

caloso

Can Garmin tell whether you’re in a 53x19 vs. 39x14, which are pretty much identical?