All about gears

sand_hun

The car

I switched to an auto a while back and have to say it was a great decision, it makes so much sense, simplifies the process and makes driving more enjoyable IMO. Anyone else here a fan of autos or do you prefer manual transmissions?

The bike

I'm struggling to comprehend how to use shifters on a road bike. I tend to stay on the small chainring and only use the right shifters to go up/down gears. Can anyone here explain in layman's terms how (and when) you might want to use the left shifters to switch between the small and big chainring?

[Deleted User]

I’ve just switched to an electric car which only has 2 gears, forward and reverse. It is beyond awesome. I can’t imagine ever going back to manual or even auto petrol car. 

venomx

Never driven an Auto but I like Manual as you have more control over the revs/speed to some degree.

The_Unready

Does this help?

wongataa

sand_hun said:

The bike

I'm struggling to comprehend how to use shifters on a road bike. I tend to stay on the small chainring and only use the right shifters to go up/down gears. Can anyone here explain in layman's terms how (and when) you might want to use the left shifters to switch between the small and big chainring?

When you want a higher gear than you can get by just using the small chain ring. To prevent cross chaining.

Many of the gears with the bigger chain ring overlap with the ones with the small chain ring so using the big chain ring doesn't automatically mean you will be in too hard a gear.  In the end it is best to just try it and see what happens.  They are all there so there is no harm in using the front gears to see what happens.

If you really want to keep it simple get a bike with 1x gearing - 1 chain ring only and just gears at the back.

Goudy

I'm a convert to autos.
Was never too fussed about them for years. I drove them if I had to but wouldn't go out looking to buy one until I bought my first Jag. Though that left me a little frustrated. 

I put it down to the "wait".
You are doing something in a manual so you don't really notice how long it takes to change gear.
With most autos, you're just sitting there waiting for it to change, so you notice the wait for it to change and it can become frustrating.

The last couple of years I've been driving a dual clutch auto and it's brilliant.
There's just no "wait" anymore, the changes are almost instant, crisp but very very smooth, I do really love driving it.
Need a little more control, there's a manual over ride, just flick a paddle and it's straight into what gear you rather than it wants.

My brother mocked me for my love of the DCT until I sat as a passenger in his manual.
I asked why does that arrow on the dash keep lighting up, to which he replied it's a gear change indicator that tells him when to change, clever isn't it.
I said not really, if it's clever enough to know what gear then why doesn't it just select the right one for you!

Alanp

I’ve driven an auto many years ago, I quite fancy an hybrid with an auto or even full ev, my problem is the missus, being on the petite side she has to sit fairly close to the steering wheel, adjusting the seat forward, so she can reach the clutch, so we’ve always had a manual car, I’m convinced,however, that she wouldn’t need to sit so close in an auto, ( not tried it yet) , and it would be much easier for her, but , trying to convince someone who thinks cruise control is some form of witchcraft, that a car that changes gear, or doesn’t need gears ( ev) is not the work of the devil….

iwb100

Auto every single time. It’s 2022 there is absolutely no reason to drive a manual in this day and age.

I mean autos are better nowadays than manuals in just about every way. The only downside is the added service complexity and slight cost increase. But I will never drive a manual car again.

Johnmcl7

sand_hun said:

The bike

I'm struggling to comprehend how to use shifters on a road bike. I tend to stay on the small chainring and only use the right shifters to go up/down gears. Can anyone here explain in layman's terms how (and when) you might want to use the left shifters to switch between the small and big chainring?

You only need to go up onto the big ring if you need to go faster, if you're happy with the speeds you're doing on the small ring then you can stick with it.  The current trend with bike gearing is to have one ring on the front and bigger cassettes at the back.

As for cars, I can't stand automatics although it's approaching the time I can't avoid them any longer.

Jaybee_16

Bought an auto after getting fed up with all the clutch pedal action in endless traffic. Wouldn't go back to manual anymore.

Alexd52

venomx said:

Never driven an Auto but I like Manual as you have more control over the revs/speed to some degree.

I used to think this way, and had a bad experience with an auto back in the 80s. Recently tried one again, and they have come along so far, they are brilliant, and I won't go back. You can always use the paddles to override for the control, and in stop/start traffic they are far far easier to drive