HAFIZ_

why does my Scott Aspect 960 2021 feels bad when riding in 1st gear like when I cycle there's no tension when pedalling and doesn't give me power to move instead what it does is it makes me cycle rapidly to gain a bit of speed anyone know why or how I can adjust the gearing tension

Information:
Hardtail Scott Aspect 960 2021-Red
29er Wheel
Hydraulic Brakes
(Left) 2x8 (Right) Gear Shifter

alcjphil

Switch to a higher gear

indyfabz

This sounds really familiar.

seypat

Are you riding the clutch? You have to let it all the way out to get going.

Doug64

Find a long steep hill

HAFIZ_

any idea what I can do or sugest any thread that I can read and apply to my bike

dsaul

That's how gearing works. First gear is for climbing steep hills. It doesn't work like a car. You don't have to start in first gear.

HAFIZ_

what's a good gear to use when riding with friends/family on normal outside roads that doesnt put that much tension on your thighs and can ride for a long time because when I'm riding I usually like going fast and since gear 1 is useless I use gear 3 and after maybe 2-3 minutes my thighs ache also I was thinking if I should convert this bike in to a ebike,do you have any suggestions on what company sell any excellent rear hub ebike kits with a battery that are cheap around £600 or less?

noimagination

There is no "good gear to use" in all situations. You begin in a gear that allows you to get going, Then, if pedaling is too easy, you change to a harder gear. If pedaling is too hard, change to an easier gear. If the pedaling is much too easy, or if you run out of harder gears, then change chainrings to a bigger one (chainrings are the big "sprockets" in front that are attached to the pedal crank arms). If the pedaling is much too hard, or if you run out of easier gears, then change chainrings to a smaller one.

This is not like driving a car, where you shift up to a cruising speed and then just leave the car in that gear. A cyclist is constantly changing gears. Get to a stop light? Change from the gear you were cruising in to an easier gear so you can start from a stop. Come to a climb? Change to a lower gear. Come to a descent? change to a higher gear. Sprint to beat a light? Change to a higher gear, stand up and hammer. Turn into a headwind? Change to a lower gear. Etc. The goal is to keep the effort where you want it to be by changing gears depending on whether you're climbing, descending, going into a headwind, going downwind, riding on smooth pavement, riding through potholes, etc. Whether you're tootling along enjoying the scenery, or exercising in the aerobic zone, or doing sprint or lactate threshold intervals, or whatever, you switch gears to maintain the level of effort that you want. I live in a fairly hilly area, and cycle on local roads with lots of intersections, little climbs and descents, turns, etc. I'm probably switching gears about 4-5 times a minute in varied terrain, and even on a long flat I may change gears once every couple of minutes. One mistake that beginners make is to put the bike in a gear that feels comfortable to them in most situations and leave it there. I can't count how many times I've passed someone walking their bike up a moderate hill pushing their bike with the chain in a "high" gear, when they could have easily ridden up the hill if they just switched to an easier gear.

There is no "1st gear", "2nd gear", etc. because (a) there are too many gears for it to make sense (e.g. which is "18th gear", the one with the chain on the middle chainring and the smallest sprocket? What about when the chain is on the largest chainring and the 3rd sprocket, what gear is that? etc.); and (b) there is some overlap when you switch chainrings - for example, pedaling with the chain on the big ring and the 3rd largest "cog" (the sprockets on the back wheel) may be pretty much the same as pedaling with the chain on a smaller ring and the 3rd smallest cog. If you want to communicate what "gear" you're in, then you generally list the chainring and cog/sprocket (in that order) by number of teeth. For example, if you're pedaling a comfort bike then you may be cruising on the flat in a 44 x 18 gear (the chain is on the "big" ring in front, that has 44 teeth, or "44T"; and around the middle of the cassette in back, perhaps a cog with 18 teeth).

I hope this is helpful.

HAFIZ_

thanks so much I really appreciate the help I think I will change my chain rings

freeranger

Might help: how and when to shift gears on a bike - YouTube

Outrider1

You're on to something here.

indyfabz

See posts #s 3 and 5.

shelbyfv

This is an excellent plan. With an ebike you can use the throttle and not have to be confused by gears and stuff. You can post your ebike questions here https://www.bikeforums.net/electric-bikes/

70sSanO

I find if I want to ride along at an even pace I use even gears; 2, 4, 6, etc.

If the pedaling becomes odd, or different feeling, I shift to an odd gear; 1, 3, 5, etc.

When I’m ready to go back to an even pace I shift back to an even gear.

I’m surprised no one told you about this when you bought the bike.

John

Iride01 

I've wondered if that is one of the reasons I see so many ebike threads about short chain life or other gear train issues. Electric motors don't really care whether you are lugging off in too high a gear like our VW bugs did with manual transmissions. So I'm thinking that many lug off from a stop in too high a gear ratio and over stress the rest of the drive train.

shelbyfv

Yeah, but I'd probably do it too. What's the point of a motor if you have to pedal the dang thing, right?

Inusuit

I was a beginner cyclist once myself so did some stupid things and asked stupid questions. It mystifies me how someone can acquire a $700 bicycle and receive no instruction on how to ride it or failing that, do some experimenting with using the drive train. And despite receiving clear and patient instruction here on how to solve a problem, decides to change components. SMH.

Eric F 

No. Learn how to properly ride the bike you have. It's clear that you don't have enough knowledge about how shifting works to start making modifications to the drivetrain.

EDIT: Also, changing drivetrain components is opening up a whole new can of worms that I expect is beyond your level of knowledge and experience.

burnthesheep

When I was a member of a large nationwide automotive forum, they could correlate IP addresses of people with multiple usernames. Is this enabled in the forum software for the moderators of BF? I'd be super curious what an inquiry into that would reveal.

BlazingPedals

Before you change the gearing on your bike, you should learn to properly use the gears you have. For normal flat-ground riding, I keep in the middle an large chainrings. The small chainring is reserved for climbing steep stuff. If it's too low for your normal riding, don't use it for your normal riding.

indyfabz

I think there is some capability to do that based on bannings BITD. Whether it is actually utilized anymore is a different question.

VegasTriker

Two things.
First, you can't just hop on a bike (any bike) after not riding a bike recently and expect it to be easy. It will get better once you increase your level of fitness. Sometimes the first rides of the season are a chore while those near the end of the riding season are much better, even for the same route. I'd suggest you dump the idea of adding e-assist and see how you progress with gradually increasing the distance you ride. If you use e-assist as a crutch it will take longer to get fit.

Second, the bike you chose has a fairly low gear range because it is set up for mountain bike riding. If you are using it on the road you may find the upper end of the gear range to be a limiting factor on how fast you can ride no matter how fast you pedal. There is something called :"cadence" which is how quickly you turn the cranks and pedals. Really fit riders can pedal 90 rpm or more for extended periods of time. If I did that, it would be pure hell. My perfect cadence is around 70 rpm even when well accustomed to riding. Your gear range is 17.09 gear inches to 86 gear inches. That's considerably lower on the top end than most road bikes. My own ride, a recumbent trike with a 700C drive wheel has a range of 18.9 to 128 gear inches. I rarely use the lowest or highest gears but they are there if I need them. You can calculate all of your gears here: for gear inches https://www.bikecalc.com/gear_inches or gear ratios https://www.bikecalc.com/gear_ratios

noimagination

I interpreted his reply to mean that he would shift to a different chainring, not that he would go and change the gearing on his bike. I could be wrong, of course.

Eric F 

In reviewing the comments, you might be correct. I hope so.