dlgd

In this lockdown I decided to get my old bike out (probably 20 years old)

I'm having trouble with the gears. It has 3 at the front and 5 at the back but am only able to cycle on flat in number 2 at front and number 5 at the back on the flat and number 1 at front and number 5 at back for up hill (sorry if there's an correct way to say that) if i move to any other gears on at the back it feels like I'm peddling with no chain or like the pedals are made from smoke. Its a mountain bike so not sure if it makes a difference. I'm i just bad at riding a bike or has it got something wrong with it?

Thank you for the help

Iride01 

Are you a low cadence (low crank rpm) type person? Any thing less than about 65 RPM and that's the category I'd think of you as.

If that's the case, then nothing really wrong with that unless there are cycling goals you want and are not achieving.

I used to be a low cadence rider when younger. I could accelerate from the higher ratio gears quickly. 30 years later, I couldn't do that any more. So I became a higher cadence rider and pedal gear ratios that feel ridiculously easy. I'm probably just as fast as I was when younger. Maybe with a little less stamina though.

So if you can shift your bike through out all the gear ranges, then it's working correctly. If you find you are only using a couple gear ratio's, then probably your bike doesn't have the correct range of gearing for you, or you just aren't desiring to ride at anything more than a leisurely pace.

When I ride through the gently rolling terrain around me, I'm seldom in any one particular gear for more than a minute. Sometimes I'm changing gears two or three times before completing one full revolution of the crank.

dlgd

Don't think I'm go that slow on the bike! I'm going faster than a vicar form the 1930s
Out of a hypothetical 15 gears I only seem to have 2 that I can use with out feeling like I'll fall over. Basically only using the biggest cog on the cassette and the only gear change I do is at the front shifting to the smallest so i can get up a hill with out running out of steam. Assume I should be able to use other cogs on the cassette with out feeling like I'll fall off.
Feels like I'm not getting the full potential out of her.

Iride01 

I wasn't asking about how slow or fast you are in terms of mph or kph. I was curious about what rpm you normally pedal at.

Perhaps if you just started back riding you just aren't used to it yet. If you have not ridden much in the last 20 years, then you need to put a thousand miles on the bike. Then you'll know better whether the bike is a limitation or it's you.

woodcraft

It sounds like you are saying that when shifting from the easiest gear (large back, small front) to a harder gear it feels like the pedals are made of smoke,

that you are going faster than a vicar, and that you feel like you will fall over.

It seems like when going to a harder gear, it would feel like the pedals were made of mud, or something- can you explain?

dlgd

Thanks you probably saved my an embarrassing trip to the bike shop!

Iride01 

Don't be embarrased to go to the bike shop if that 20 years of being in storage bike isn't shifting precisely through all the range of gears. Even if you can't use them all yet yourself.

And there is probably some other things that ought to be done. New grease in the hubs and BB. But if you just want to ride it long enough to know you are going to ride regularly then get a new bike, no big deal. You can scrap the old bike or just give it to someone in need.

cranky old road 

I might be totally misunderstanding but if he is saying there is no resistance in pedaling in all but the largest rear cog then it sounds as if the rear mech is not letting the chain catch on the sprockets which would likely be a rear derailleur adjustment problem.

Bill Kapaun

It sounds like the front shift cable needs to be tightened and the rear loosened?