5
0.. Derailleur gears - how they work
and how to use them
Derailleur gears always work according to
the following principle.
Large front
chainwheel – higher/heavier gear
– big transmission
Small front
chainwheel – lower/easier gear
– small transmission
Large rear
sprockets
– lower/easier gear
– small transmission
Small rear
sprockets
– higher/heavier gear
– big transmission
Normally the shifters are mounted according
to the following scheme:
Right shifter – rear chainwheels (sprockets)
Left shifter
– front chainwheels
0.. Mountain bike gear levers
Gear shifting is initiated by pressing a shifter
on a gear lever, a combined brake and gear
lever unit or by a short turn of the wrist with
the twist grip, as the case may be.
Because of the variety of different products
your MERIDA bike can be equipped with
components which are different in their shift-
ing directions. Ask your MERIDA dealer and
check this before you ride. Read the manual
of the shifting component manufacturer and
practise switching gears until you are familiar
with it.
With
Shimano Rapid Fire shifters
(press shift-
ers) pressing the large shifter moves the chain
to the large chain rings. Pulling the small
lever, located in front of the handlebars from
the rider’s viewpoint, shifts the chain towards
the smaller sprockets.
This means that any gear shift made by push-
ing the large thumb shifter on the right pro-
duces a lower gear, while pressing the large
thumb shifter on the left moves the chain
to the larger chainwheel, thus producing a
higher gear.
0. The gears
