Shifting is perhaps the most pure expression of our art as Velominati. It is the conduit through which we control our cadence; it effects our power, our breathing, our heart rate. When those essential things come together with the rhythm of the road, we are cast in the spell of La Volupte. The more in-tune with our bodies we become, the more we rely on our shifting to keep our legs in perfect harmony with our bodies. Our shifts must be smooth, crisp, and precise, for any disruption to the rhythm may cause the spell to be broken.
The advent of index-shifting and contoured cogs have simplified the mechanics of the perfect shift, but they have not eliminated the artform. A finely-tuned drivetrain is essential, but is only one piece of the whole. Timing is critical: the shift must be delivered at the precise moment in the stroke when the chain is perfectly loaded to jump silently from one cog to the next. Shifting under too much pressure or at the wrong point can result in delayed, noisy, or rough shifts, disrupting our rhythm and ripping us from La Volupte.
We do not mediate on the shift and we do not look down at our gears; the shift is something we must feel. We must not be overly cerebral – instead, we read the signals from our body and the machine and sense the time to shift and react. Over time, we also learn to sense when we are approaching the limits of the block and execute the double-shift to avoid crossing the chain. We do not look down.
These subtleties cannot be taught; they are artifacts of experience – evidence that the disciple has become one with the machine.
Disclaimer: The “Don’t Look Down” principle does not apply to Lando situations where we repeatedly push the right shifter while pedaling squares up some unholy gradient in the stubborn refusal to accept that we are indeed already in the lowest gear. Under these circumstances, it doesn’t hurt to give the gears a stern look in an effort to intimidate them into spawning a few more teeth on those biggest cogs.
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Good article. It however doesn't touch on the fact that looking down to determine where your chain is at can be dangerous when moving along at a good clip. I've seen people in group rides get yelled at for that.
For some reason, your "ay", combined with watching some classic ST on the TV yesterday had me thinking "Aye laddie, I'm givin' it awl she's ghot
Damn iPhone - any ways that was a poor attempt at a Scottie quote. Oh well.
I have downtube shifters on my rain bike; it always takes a couple of rides in the fall before I re-train myself in their use. Ah, the smooth double shift; the holy grail of downtube shifters. I don't bother attempting it anymore because, well, I have to look down...
The Badger was as badassed as the The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger
I remember as a junior trying to perfect the knee-downtube-friction-shifter move. It was the OG of dual control levers.
The article on the double shift was one of the first I read on Velominati and it still thrills.
My problem is staying aware of what gear I'm in, especially if I'm going faster than normal. I've started to become aware of the sound of the chain as it goes into various cogs.
I knew it...looking at the Badgers quad is actually an 'upside down V'...makes perfect sense now!
Great article Frank!
the art of the shift, is definitely just as you say...a feel. And having had so many STi/indexed shifting bikes, and now going back to one the last couple of years, its a blast. I just imagine what it must have been like back in the day racing on these. And having seen those races, they actually did race differently, climbed different and were badass's.
Hinault was my first idol. Even though I was built like him, I was never anything like him. The man was pure fire.
I remember getting his autograph at the 1986 Coor's Classic. He was sitting on the hood of his team car and his legs had so many veins popping out it looked like somebody wrapped them in spaghetti and then covered them in skin-colored plastic wrap. He might have been "stocky" but damn was he fit.
Ahah Lando is a dear friend on the hills!
@ David - Oh yeah, didn't mean "stocky" as a slight in any way at all, just that he was definitely not built like a little skinny climber.