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When riding at night cant see my gears...Any ideas or solutions?

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When riding at night cant see my gears...Any ideas or solutions?

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Old 04-22-18, 04:54 PM
  #26  
Sy Reene
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Originally Posted by caloso
Can Garmin tell whether you’re in a 53x19 vs. 39x14, which are pretty much identical?
Don't know.. never tried the various apps out there. If the app is smart though, perhaps it can intelligently guess from gearing you were in previously where there is no overlap. Or it shows both possibilities(?) and hopefully the OP knows which front ring he's in.
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Old 04-22-18, 05:04 PM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by shelbyfv
+1 I've never understood the compulsion to know the precise gear.
Agree. I don’t ever know. I just go by feel
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Old 04-22-18, 05:13 PM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by biketampa
Agree. I don’t ever know. I just go by feel
cresting a hill or getting to the bottom of one fast but into an uphill, can lead to wanting to do a 3-4 gear change. It's nice to know if you're out of gears or how many are left in the rear before needing to change the front ring you're in.
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Old 04-22-18, 05:51 PM
  #29  
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In reading this and having maybe a somewhat inexperienced rider ask, my first thought was chainring. With a triple maybe even moreso. It is not an issue for me, but I have downtube shifters and will glance down at my shifter to see if I'm in big or middle heading into a change in terrain.

I can see how it could helpful for some at night.

John
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Old 04-22-18, 06:36 PM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by KraneXL
"Invalid Attachment specified."
In "manage attachments" I see the image in the correct orientation, but I don't see any option to rotate it.

Anyway, you can imagine rotating it...
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Old 04-22-18, 06:40 PM
  #31  
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Why do you care what gear you're on? If its too hard to pedal shift down, if it's too easy shift up, if you run out of gears, consider a different cassette, or keep looking down and get doored...
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Old 04-22-18, 07:01 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by sweeks
"Invalid Attachment specified."
In "manage attachments" I see the image in the correct orientation, but I don't see any option to rotate it.

Anyway, you can imagine rotating it...
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Old 04-22-18, 07:05 PM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by wheelreason
Why do you care what gear you're on? If its too hard to pedal shift down, if it's too easy shift up, if you run out of gears, consider a different cassette, or keep looking down and get doored...
Shift chainring or cassette cog?

John
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Old 04-22-18, 07:15 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by Sy Reene
cresting a hill or getting to the bottom of one fast but into an uphill, can lead to wanting to do a 3-4 gear change. It's nice to know if you're out of gears or how many are left in the rear before needing to change the front ring you're in.
I will know if I’m in the big or little chain ring. And there aren’t many times I can’t get through a hill on big chain ring. But if I see a bigger hill I make sure I can make sure I’m in little chainring.
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Old 04-22-18, 07:20 PM
  #35  
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All u need...
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Old 04-22-18, 07:26 PM
  #36  
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Old 04-22-18, 10:14 PM
  #37  
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I think a lot of people misunderstood the OP

It is just for when testing riding a bike after working on it, not for a full time thing
Most of the time i test ride them at night & one time [the only time mind you] it would have come in handy knowing which gear i was in, after adjusting the gears, i up shifted when it was already up shifted to the largest cog, it caused the shifter to jam a little, it wouldn't down shift while i was mounted, so had to stop get off the bike and click the paddle again to release it.

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Old 04-22-18, 11:00 PM
  #38  
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With only one or two exceptions, there has been nothing in the way of solutions, and just a lot of old-timey, hike-up-the-suspenders-level grumping. If the OP wants to look at their gears, that is their prerogative, and they just want to be able to do it in the dark. The collective zen cycling philosophy of all of you windbags helps absolutely no one. If half of you took the time to put in effort instead of whinging, the OP would have a solution by now.

OP, what kind of shifters? For trigger/grip shifters, I'd lean toward some small LEDs that could be run off of a small coin cell (like a 2032.)
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Old 04-22-18, 11:01 PM
  #39  
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Camping headlight.
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Old 04-23-18, 03:18 PM
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There are lots of LED helmet lights. I use this one (under another brand name, but the same light). Works great, cheap, only a little larger and heavier than a Bic lighter, easy to attach/detach and holds securely, and rainproof after more than two years of regular use in all weather.

Strap onto the helmet so it aims where I look. Very handy for nighttime bike adjustments, tire repairs, whatever. And it's reasonably directional so it doesn't spill into the faces of other cyclists. Handy in nighttime group rides when assisting a new rider with a flat or other repair.

Yup, I can see my shifter and gear positions by looking down. With my road bike I don't need to, but that's because the old style downtube shift levers give tactile feedback. When I mostly rode a hybrid with Shimano RevoShift twisty grip shifters I often looked down to see what gear I was in. Otherwise I'd have to listen for unusual drivetrain sounds to indicate I was cross-chained.
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Old 04-23-18, 03:29 PM
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Originally Posted by DrIsotope
The collective zen cycling philosophy of all of you windbags helps absolutely no one. If half of you took the time to put in effort instead of whinging, the OP would have a solution by now.
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Old 04-23-18, 03:32 PM
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...I cried because I could not see my gears at night, until I met a man on a fixie....Helen Keller
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Old 04-23-18, 04:21 PM
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Originally Posted by DrIsotope
With only one or two exceptions, there has been nothing in the way of solutions, and just a lot of old-timey, hike-up-the-suspenders-level grumping. If the OP wants to look at their gears, that is their prerogative, and they just want to be able to do it in the dark. The collective zen cycling philosophy of all of you windbags helps absolutely no one. If half of you took the time to put in effort instead of whinging, the OP would have a solution by now.

OP, what kind of shifters? For trigger/grip shifters, I'd lean toward some small LEDs that could be run off of a small coin cell (like a 2032.)
So you're saying if someone ask you of ways to harm themselves you should tell them? Nobody responsible is going to give him advice on a bad idea. In this case, there a good reason why nobody would want to do that.
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Old 04-23-18, 04:23 PM
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...because lighted gear indicators are somehow dangerous? Then logically, gear indicators are dangerous under all conditions, right? I honestly can't tell if you're being deliberately obstinate.
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Old 04-23-18, 04:34 PM
  #45  
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What shifters are you using? Would some glow in the dark paint on the indicator needle work, provided you can get that part of the shifter apart and back together.
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Old 04-23-18, 04:44 PM
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Keep your eyes on the road. 👀

Distractions are dangerous. The same concerns that's going on with reference to the proliferation of electronic displays in cars even as we speak.
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Old 04-23-18, 04:47 PM
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So instrument clusters are dangerous now? Oh my.
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Old 04-23-18, 04:58 PM
  #48  
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Originally Posted by DrIsotope
So instrument clusters are dangerous now? Oh my.
Only if they are illuminated... lol.

John
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Old 04-23-18, 07:36 PM
  #49  
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I wanted to be able to see so I know which gear is messed up and I do most of my bike mechanics at night including test riding. So thats why I want to see the numbers on handlebars.
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Old 04-23-18, 07:41 PM
  #50  
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There's all kinds of fluorescent tape and other items. Worst comes to worst get a little nitelite and tape it on there.
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