This gear is great for climbing. Switching down to this combination as you approach the climb will allow you to climb the hill slowly and steadily with less effort.
In this combination:
Front gear = Small chainring
Back gear = The largest sprockets (e.g. 1-3)
Normal Gear:
offer too much resistance and can be used while cruising along a flat road or any undulating terrain. This is great when you want resistance, but not too much. You can flick between the rear gears to cater to changes when the road goes up and down a little bit.
In this combination:
Front gear = Small chainring on double/compact or middle chainring on a triple
Back gear = The middle sprockets (e.g. 3-6)
High Gear:
Top gear is great for descending, accelerating, or for when you want to go fast on a flat road. What happens in high gear is that you travel a longer distance for each pedal turn.
In this combination:
Front gear = Big chainring
Back gear = Smallest sprockets (e.g. 4-7)
When to shift gears on your bicycle?
When you’re just getting comfortable with your bike and the bike gear shifters, use only the rear cogs and the small or middle chainring. This will allow you to get the hang of it before you shift into harder gears. If you’re unsure of what gear you’re in, just take a quick look. A glance to the front confirms what ring you’re in, and a glance to the back will give you an idea as to whether you’re in a higher or lower gear.
What are the best gears to cycle in?
Shift to easier gears when climbing uphill or when you’re riding in the direction of the wind. Use a harder gear for flat terrains, or if the wind is blowing from behind - a tailwind situation.
If you’re in doubt, it is advisable to shift before a terrain change. This is especially applicable for hills or climbs. Shift gears in anticipation of the climb, not when you feel the incline kick in.
Once you’re more familiar, you can play with different gear combinations for different situations. While riding uphill or into a headwind, it is best to use the front chainring and bigger rear cogs. While riding downhill, use the middle or big front chainring and a range of rear cogs.
Do you shift gears while pedalling?
Completely stopping the pedalling will not allow you to shift gears at all. Reducing the tension and pedalling with a small force is ideal.
How to shift Shimano Gears?
The most popular group set among bike manufacturers today are the Shimano gear shifters. Shimano makes use of STI levers which stands for ‘Shimano Total Integration,’ wherein, the left shifter controls the front derailleur and the right shifter controls the rear derailleur.
What is cross-chaining and why to avoid it?
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Home / Informative articles on cycling, Bicyles and more - Firefox Blog / How To Shift Gears On A Cycle?
How To Shift Gears On A Cycle?
Bike Illustrative / 01 Jul, 2019
By: Firefox Bikes
How to shift gears on a cycle
Whether you ride a road bike, commuter bike, mountain bike or a hybrid bike, you’ll most probably have gears. If you’re new to the world of geared cycles and you’re wondering how to ride a gear cycle, it can be pretty overwhelming to think of the numerous gears and when to shift them. Well, there’s no need to worry because we’ve put together a handy guide that incorporates all the things you’ll need to know about geared cycles and shifting gears.
First things first, what are gears and what is the use of gears in a cycle?
These mechanical wonders allow you to speed up and even pass different terrains smoothly, allowing you to power up a steep slope without bursting a lung. Getting a geared bike makes riding more comfortable and efficient whether you’re climbing mountains or cruising the streets in any city.
Basically, gears help in two ways:
1. When going uphill: When riding a normal cycle, you’ll have to put maximum effort going uphill, and you’re already at the highest speed you can be. With a geared bike, you can shift to a lower gear and pedal faster, allowing you to use less energy and putting less strain on yourself and the bike.
2. When going downhill: Shift to the top gear while pedalling at high speeds so as to reduce the RPM.
The next question that arises is:
How many gears does a cycle have? And, which gears to use on a bicycle?
Shifting gears can be confusing, so it’s always ideal to know which gear to use and when.
Most bikes have two sets of gears. Namely, the front gears called the chain rings and the rear gears called the rear cogs or sprockets.
1. Chainrings:
The front gears or chainrings are used to carry out heavy changes in the gears. The left shifter on the handlebar controls the front derailleur that shifts the chain between these chainrings. Here are a few tips to help you decide what gear works best for you and when to put it in use:
The smallest chainring: Use this when you expect the going to get tough, like when you’re going uphill. So, to reach optimum speed, use the smallest chainring.
The medium chainring: Use for regular cruising around the streets and flat terrains.
The large chainring: When you want to and can go to high speeds, like when you’re riding downhill or on a smooth, flat road, the large chainring is ideal.
2.Rear Cogs:
These are used more often to make minor changes. The derailleur that shifts the chain up and down is controlled by the right shifter on the handlebar.
Remember: Right=Rear, Left=Front.
Bike Gears: The Basics
How do cycle gears work?
Bicycles have gears to make going uphill easier, and also to facilitate going faster on level ground.
One can think of gears as the same thing as speed. A bike with 7 gears is the same thing as a 7-speed bike. Lower numbers are lower gears, and higher numbers are higher gears. Shifting means going from one gear to another. The bicycle gear system works by sliding the shifter on the handlebars. A bicycle gear system involves Downshifting and Upshifting - Downshifting means going to a lower gear and Upshifting means going to a higher gear. This is also known as shift down and shift up.
The shifting basics:
The left shifter changes the ring next to the pedals. When you downshift with the left shifter, you’re moving to a smaller ring. The smallest ring is 1, the middle ring is 2 and the biggest ring is 3.
The right shifter changes the ring on the rear wheel. This is the opposite of the front set. The biggest ring is 1 and the smallest ring is 6. You can downshift with either shifter, moving it from a higher number to a smaller number. However, you get a bigger change when you shift with the left-hand shifter rather than when you shift with the right-hand shifter.
It is important to change gears slowly and gradually. You’re prone to experience a lot of clunking and an increased risk in dropping your chain if you shift down from your biggest cog to your littlest cog in 5 seconds. The aim is to change gears one at a time, slowly clicking-up or down and pedalling in between the changes. Pedal softly when you change gears, especially on rough surfaces, as applying pressure mid change can result in you losing your chain.
How many gears do cycles have?
Bikes generally have 1, 3, 18, 21, 24 or 27 speeds. Different types of bikes have different number of gears. BMX and fixed gear bikes usually have a single gear. Road bikes usually have two cogs at the front and up to nine at the back, so eighteen gears. Mountain bikes have the biggest range of gears and variation in bikes. Mountain bikes have gear shifters between ten and thirty in total, since they can have one to three cogs on the front and up to ten on the back. Kids bikes can have anywhere from six to twelve gears.
How to use and change gears in your cycle?
Your bike will work in any combination of front and back gears. However, the right combination will feel really smooth and effortless. The three basic gear choices for smooth gear shifting are as follows:
Low Gear:
This gear is great for climbing. Switching down to this combination as you approach the climb will allow you to climb the hill slowly and steadily with less effort.
In this combination:
Front gear = Small chainring
Back gear = The largest sprockets (e.g. 1-3)
Normal Gear:
This gear is great for everyday terrain that does not offer too much resistance and can be used while cruising along a flat road or any undulating terrain. This is great when you want resistance, but not too much. You can flick between the rear gears to cater to changes when the road goes up and down a little bit.
In this combination:
Front gear = Small chainring on double/compact or middle chainring on a triple
Back gear = The middle sprockets (e.g. 3-6)
High Gear:
Top gear is great for descending, accelerating, or for when you want to go fast on a flat road. What happens in high gear is that you travel a longer distance for each pedal turn.
In this combination:
Front gear = Big chainring
Back gear = Smallest sprockets (e.g. 4-7)
When to shift gears on your bicycle?
When you’re just getting comfortable with your bike and the bike gear shifters, use only the rear cogs and the small or middle chainring. This will allow you to get the hang of it before you shift into harder gears. If you’re unsure of what gear you’re in, just take a quick look. A glance to the front confirms what ring you’re in, and a glance to the back will give you an idea as to whether you’re in a higher or lower gear.
What are the best gears to cycle in?
Shift to easier gears when climbing uphill or when you’re riding in the direction of the wind. Use a harder gear for flat terrains, or if the wind is blowing from behind - a tailwind situation.
If you’re in doubt, it is advisable to shift before a terrain change. This is especially applicable for hills or climbs. Shift gears in anticipation of the climb, not when you feel the incline kick in.
Once you’re more familiar, you can play with different gear combinations for different situations. While riding uphill or into a headwind, it is best to use the front chainring and bigger rear cogs. While riding downhill, use the middle or big front chainring and a range of rear cogs.
Do you shift gears while pedalling?
Completely stopping the pedalling will not allow you to shift gears at all. Reducing the tension and pedalling with a small force is ideal.
How to shift Shimano Gears?
The most popular group set among bike manufacturers today are the Shimano gear shifters. Shimano makes use of STI levers which stands for ‘Shimano Total Integration,’ wherein, the left shifter controls the front derailleur and the right shifter controls the rear derailleur.
What is cross-chaining and why to avoid it?
Cross-chaining is when you’re in your big chainring and the biggest cog, or on your small chainring and your smallest cog. The problem with this is that it stretches your chain diagonally to its limits, and seriously risks damaging your drivetrain. This is not an immediate problem, but will wear out both your rings and gears over time leading to costly repairs in the future.
Some important tips to remember when using a geared cycle:
1. Don’t shift too quickly:
While going downhill, it may be tempting to directly shift up to a higher gear, but this can cause the chain to jump off the gears completely. Shift gradually to make sure that the chain has engaged with each new gear before moving to the next one.
2. Left= big changes, right= fine tuning.
When you’re anticipating a climb, it's easier to use the left shifter. Once you are at an easier gear, you can then easily fine tune using the right shifter.
3. Anticipate the climb:
It’s important to anticipate the climb and shift gears before actually making the climb.
4. Don’t cross-chain:
Avoid staying on one chainring and only changing the gears at the back.
5. Practice makes perfect:
Get comfortable and understand how each combination of cogs and chainrings work. Spend some time getting used to changing different gears on different terrains. With practice, gear changing will come almost instinctively - so don’t stress and just practice until you’ve got it at your fingertips.
Dailyhunt App - Get Daily News and Content in your Own Language
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by the organization it is based on.
We no longer have to wait for the newspaper to get the latest news, nor do we require to wait till we reach home and switch on the TV to know the breaking news. With mobile phones and fast and cheap internet services, news and information is now much easier to access. Wondering! Which Country App is Dailyhunt ? It is an Indian Origin App with headquarters in Bangalore.
An entrepreneur, Virendra Gupta could foresee this situation even before it actually arrived, which led him to acquire Newshunt in 2012, which is currently known as Dailyhunt. Today Dailyhunt procures content from over 1000+ publishers and is getting much popularity as the content is available in 14 Indian regional languages. Lets have a look at the journey of this top Indian startup.
Dailyhunt becomes India's first tech unicorn focused on local languages, by getting a funding of over $100 million led by Google, Microsoft and Falcon Edge’s Alpha Wave Incubation at a valuation of more than $1 billion
Get an Inisight About Dailyhunt App, its Funding, Business Model, Competitiors, Growth, Founders etc., in the article ahead.
Dailyhunt - Company Highlights
Media Management Tools for your Businesses

About Dailyhunt and How it Works
Dailyhunt is an Indian News and content aggregator application that provides local language content in 14 Indian languages which include major languages like Hindi, Kannada, and Marathi to name a few, from over 3000+ content providers.
It is one of the early entrants in the regional content space in the country. The interesting part is that the platform also offers short videos. This video content is sourced from organizations and stringers. Through its smart technology, the platform personalizes the content as per the user’s requirements.
From the nation's biggest news source to hyperlocal correspondents, it curates news that you will surely love to watch. Almost 90% of the users use the platform in regional languages. It has a user base of more than 150 million. The unique proposition is that users can browse the topics of their interest and also share news over different social media platforms such as Whatsapp, Facebook, and other social handles.

Media and Entertainment Sector in India
According to the PwC report, India’s Media and Entertainment sector are fairly expected to touch $45.1 billion by 2021, expanding at a CAGR of over 10.5%. The report also states that the segment has undergone substantial progress since 2016 when its valuation stood at $27.3 billion.

Founders of Dailyhunt and team
Dailyhunt founder and CEO, Virendra Gupta, is an IIT Bombay graduate. Before launching Daily hunt, Gupta was a Telecom Director at Trilogy and General Manager at Bharti Cellular Ltd.

In 2007, Dailyhunt owner Virendra started his venture Versé Innovation Pvt Ltd. which was as VAS (Value Added Services) startup that provided SMS alerts on job, matrimony, property, news, and education to subscribers from around the country. Later Versé Innovation Pvt Ltd pivoted from being a Value Added Services provider to become Daily hunt, an Indian app that serves news and content.
How was Dailyhunt Started
The company was driven by a very strong mission of being the ideal Indian news platform to empower a billion Indians. Dailyhunt founder Virendra Gupta's VAS startup Versé Innovation Pvt Ltd. was running profitably, but yet he could foresee that soon VAS was about to lose its sheen. This led Virendra and his team to acquire the English and vernacular news aggregator Newshunt. Newshunt was renamed as Dailyhunt in 2015.
Dailyhunt - Business Model and Revenue Model
While Daily hunt is totally free for the users to read news, there are basically two sources from which the app earns revenue. With a huge user base, the major chunk of the revenue comes from displaying advertising. It also charges its users for reading and downloading books and magazines from the app.
They have two independent business models:
- Impressions Based (News): Tie-ups with large news media and publishing houses where-in Daily hunt shares the advertising revenue on the news screens with these players.
- Transactions Based (Books, Magazines, and Singles): Tie-ups with book and magazine publishers, wherein the platform acts as a distributor for these books, collects the revenue from the users and shares it with the publishers who in turn may share it with the authors.

Dailyhunt - Competitors
Though Daily hunt was one of the early entrants in the market, today it faces strong competition in the market. There are a lot of applications with different USP’s running for the first position in the market. These applications include Newsstand, Inshorts, Business Insider, FirstPost, NDTV to name only a few competitors of Dailyhunt.
Dailyhunt - Funding and Investors
Dailyhunt has raised a total of $234.5 Million in funding. Their latest funding was raised by VerSe Innovation, parent company of Dailyhunt for over $100 Million. This round makes Dailyhunt as a recent entry to Unicorn list.
It is moving fast to rework its ownership structure, after the Indian government, reiterated its decision of capping the foreign investment for digital media entities at 26% by October 2021.
Investors include Falcon Edge, Goldman Sachs, Advent Management, Bytedance, Sofina, Omidyar Network, Sequoia Capital, Renu Sehgal Trust, and Equip Capital.

Dailyhunt - Growth
In July 2018, it added over 12 million net new monthly active users, and in August, it beat the previous month’s performance with addition of 15 million net new monthly active users. Total monthly users on all platforms (Dailyhunt and OneIndia) put together as of September 2018 was 138 million, of which Dailyhunt accounted for 100 million. Moreover, the time spent per daily active user is over 27 minutes per person per day.
- App installs- 155 million
- Average daily page views- 19 billion
- No of Publishers- 2,000
- No of Stringers- 50,000
- No of regular news contributors- 20,000
- No of regional languages- 14
Dailyhunt - Partnership
In December 2020, Dailyhunt annnounced its partnership with Mzaalo. This will allow the dailyhunt users to get access to Mzaalo's content and also earn reward point. These points can later be redeemed to purchase products/services of brands in Mzaalo app.
Dailyhunt - Mergers & Acquisitions
- Daily hunt acqui hired image translator firm ImageTranslate in August 2019. Through this deal, ImageTranslate is expected to help in enriching its vernacular content with design and graphics.
- In June 2019, the startup acquired hyperlocal video content and news content application LocalPlay, which will help the site to stream video content in smaller towns. This deal will also enable the local businessmen to advertise on the platform to target consumers in their area.
- In July 2015, Daily hunt acquired Buyt.In, a search engine that enables its users to discover, compare, and purchase products from a range of e-commerce portals.
Dailyhunt - Future Plans
Dailyhunt plans to reach 600 of 725 districts of India from its current presence in 400 districts.
“For the next 10 years, we are going to be all about Bharat or India that does not speak English to take to consumption in a big way with smartphones", says the founder and CEO of Dailyhunt, Virendra Gupta.
Dailyhunt - FAQs
Dailyhunt is from which country?
Dailyhunt originated from India but has Chinese Investors like ByteDance. The company has raised $25 million in its series D round of funding led by China's ByteDance.
Who is Dailyhunt app owner?
Dailyhunt's parent company is Verse Innovation. Its founder and CEO is Virendra Gupta.
What languages does Dailyhunt support?
Dailyhunt has content in 14 Indian languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, English, Gujarati, Punjabi, Oriya, Bengali, Urdu, Nepali & Bhojpur



























