Many people remember childhood and their first bike. While some were able to get the popular 10-speed bike, most people simply had a single gear bike. That is why when people look at today’s bikes, especially the modern day mountain bike with its dizzying amount of gears, the question many people have is what are all those gears for and how do they work. While a multi-geared system is pretty much the same in how it operated, the multi-geared system is especially important for a mountain bike. With mountain bike gears, the varying gears are a definite necessity.
The first issue regarding mountain bike gears is to understand how they work. The main component of any gear system is the front sprocket, the rear sprocket and the chain. Most multi geared mountain bikes will have the multi sprocket gear system mounted to the back wheel, which will contain a series of different size sprockets. These sprockets will typically go with the largest sprocket on the far inside of the wheel and gradually smaller sprockets in descending order going away from the wheel. The idea of a multi geared systems helps a mountain biker to use the higher, or taller gears to speed downhill areas or flat terrain, while the smaller or short gears help a rider handle the mild to steep inclines that are common when mountain biking.
The next component is the derailleur, which allows the chain to move from one rear sprocket or gear, to the next. The final piece to the system is the shifter itself. These shifters can be placed anywhere on the bike, but typically it will be positioned on the handle bar area.
While this can seem like a complicated system the basic mechanics of it are very simple, and so is the maintenance of mountain bike gears. Most problems will come from one of these parts and typically it is more of a wear issue than anything else is. Checking for shifter cable condition, chain condition, sprocket or chain wear or bent or broken pieces can usually be done with a simple visual inspection. In most cases replacing a part is recommended, rather than trying to repair a faulty or worn item.
A typical mountain bike certainly takes a fair amount of abuse; however, even with this unrelenting torture a rider can put a bike through on the trail, these bikes were designed for it. What they are not designed for is neglect. Whether it is the mountain bike gears, or any other part of the bike, understanding how it works and doing some very basic upkeep on your mountain bike will ensure that your bike will last you years, regardless of the beating it takes when you take it out for a spin.
