Shifting Technique

It seems like a lot of people buy multispeed bikes, but don't really know how to use the drivetrains. Or perhaps their gears are so out of alignment that the only safe combination is the small front ring/small back cog. Well, changing gear on a bike is much easier than on a motorcycle or stick shift car, and good technique makes riding much more enjoyable. Here are the basics:

 - You usually don't want to pedal too fast or too slow. You can use your gears to find the perfect pedalling speed.
 - The right hand shifter controls the back gear cluster. These are closely spaced gears for fine tuning your speed.
 - The left hand shifts the chain across the front chainrings. The bigger front rings make it harder to pedal (but let you go faster), and the smaller rings make it easier to get up a hill. The gears in the back work the opposite (bigger back gears are easier, smaller back gears are harder).

How to shift:
 - You need to turn the pedals while shifting in order for the chain to move. However you cannot shift smoothly if you put force on the pedals, so ease up until the chain is completely engaged.
 - On an indexed system (newer bikes with clicks in the shifters) you only need to move the shifter to the gear you want. If the system is adjusted correctly, the chain should engage the selected gear very quickly.
 - On a friction system (no clicks, found on old bikes) you need to guess where the gears are. This takes some practice, but you'll know when you're in gear when there are no rubbing sounds.

More tips:
 - If you have to stop, it helps to shift to an easier gear beforehand so you don't have to awkwardly pedal slowly in a high gear. It's also important to shift before a steep hill, since you usually won't be able to shift while you're going up. 

- As you start moving faster you should upshift to a harder gear so that you don't have to spin the pedals ridiculously fast.

That's really it, there's nothing hard about changing gear. Using the right gear will prolong the life of your drivetrain, and you can get many thousands of miles out of your parts if you spread the wear evenly across your gears.