18spees

OKAY so long story short I wanted to learn a bike and got a mountain bike from Walmart. I learned it in a flat parking lot without using gears and it was functioning just fine (but the slightest incline was difficult). Today my friend (who is also oblivious as to how mountain bikes function) took it and started yanking the handles around to switch the gears and then took off and rode it around for a bit. When I went out on it later, the bike was making weird medal noises despite the fact the gears weren't shifting. When I go down even the smallest hill the pedals will go super fast to the point where my feet are just being yanked in circles and the bike starts veering everywhere. I tried to fix it by switching the gears around, but it didn't seem to make a difference.

The bike in question is a sky blue Roadmaster that says Granite Peak on it. It has three gears in the front and six in the back. You twist the handles to shift the gears. The left handle has ten unlabled dots ranging from H to L (I'm assuming that means high to low) and the right handle has 1-6. I'm really confused as to what the handles do and why there's ten dots if there's only 3 and 6 gears. Or what gears are for uphill and which are for downhill.

I've tried reading articles but I literally just learned to ride a bike so all the terminology is confusing. I really need to figure out how to use this thing and how to fix it (if it's broken) so I'm really really hoping someone can give me the simplest explaination possible. Literally as if you were explaining it to a four year old because I know nothing.

Thank you so much if anyone can help me!

Jon T

Small gear in front (front gears are called the chain ring) and large gear in back (the cog, or cassette) is for climbing, or going uphill. Large front chain ring to the smaller cogs in the back are for speed. Why it has 10 index marks is beyond me. As for the metallic clinking and squirrely steering, that's a sure sign that it needs a bunch of adjustments. Might want to take it to your LBS (local bike store) for a complete tune-up.
Jon

CliffordK

I don't pay any attention to numbers (as my shifters don't have them).

Small Front, Big Rear = easy to pedal.
Big Front, Small Rear = hard to pedal.

Going from (Big Front to Big Rear) or (Small Front to Small Rear) is called cross-chaining. Your bike may be able to handle it, but in general, find a gearing combination that doesn't quite hit the extremes of cross chaining.

It is always best to shift while pedaling the bike, and not while stopped or coasting.

If your are getting odd grinding, check the routing of the chain that it should go over the two jockey wheels and onto the rear sprocket. At times, one might bump the chain off of the upper pulley so it just rides on the cage.

Also beware of stuff rubbing like the front derailleur cage. If it rubs, it may simply need "trimming", or doing a partial shift up front to adjust for chain position. Or, it could require limit screws to be adjusted.

Maelochs

The OP really needs to go to YouTube and watch a Bunch of videos about shifting and riding in general.

We could spend hours trying to communicate, and because fo the lack of a shared vocabulary, we wouldn't be abler to talk effectively.

For example: Okay, so what is a
"jockey wheel"? I see two little gears, but no "upper pulley." (Of course,w e know that the "upper pulley" is the top jockey wheel .... but see how easy it is to be incomprehensible if we speak different languages?)

Also ... "trimming" I need to cut my shifter-thing shorter? How do I make a "partial shift"? (Maybe those ten little dots are to denote ten trim positions ... but the OP might think each is a full shift, not a partial shift.) And that was Clifford K trying to be helpful. Imagine if I had been the first responder.
@18spees, your best bet by far is to spend an hour and watch ten videos about how to shift, and basic cycling terms. YouTube has tons. ... or just Google "How do i use a grip-shifter," or "How do I shift gears on a bicycle?" Google "Parts of a bicycle" and "Parts of a bicycle derailleur."

here is some stuff at random ... i have not watched any of it----https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...9C3D&FORM=VIRE

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...F18F&FORM=VIRE

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...C584&FORM=VIRE

https://www.bicycling.com/training/a.../how-to-shift/

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears.html

https://ask.metafilter.com/104903/Ho...-can-I-ride-it

This is just to let you know there is stuff out there. You will want to learn about grip-shifters or twist-shifters ... not sure what people call them in different regions.

Also, you want to know what a "head tube" is, or a "jockey wheel" or a "chain stay." I can explain stuff at the level of a four-year-old ... It is a strain, I am not that smart .... but I cannot explain to a four-year-old who doesn't speak the same language. Learn a dozen new terms, and have some fun watching videos, and everything will be easier.

When you have a grasp of the basics your questions will be easier to answer and the answers will be a lot more satisfying. Otherwise, there will be a lot of "Is the piece you call "X" this piece here?" and the reply will be "No, it is the other piece," to which you will reply "Which other piece?" which will elicit the response, "Not the other other piece, the other other other piece," to which you will reply, "That is the piece I meant all along..." ... but the whole exchange will take two days and you won't have ridden your bike.

Watch about four four-to-six minute videos and you will be a week ahead of the game, and then people here can help you get your bike working as well as it possibly an, and you can enjoy riding it.

Teamprovicycle

ready ? Break!!!!!!!!

CliffordK

Wheels, Pulleys, Idlers, Jockeys... Plastic gears???

It doesn't make a huge difference what you call that those parts of that thingy on the rear.

One way to learn the vocabulary is to read the terms, look them up in diagrams, and just see what people are talking about, and learn the words.

If it was my nephew or niece asking about bikes, I'd tell them to push all the buttons and turn all the knobs, and just observe what happens.

In this case, as you shift, watch the chain movement on the chainrings and rear cluster (can I still use that term... referring to freewheel or cassette)? Of course, it takes practice to look at the sprockets and ride at the same time. BE SAFE. But, you can stop and check it out, or practice spinning the cranks with the bike upside-down, or on a work stand.

Then pedal away, and observe the effects of shifting.

Try a MOUNTAIN.... it is a Mountain Bike, after all.

Then as you get more adept, start paying attention to things like chain rub, and what you can do to avoid it.