How to Change Your Track Gears
How do you change your track gears? Are you getting all the steps right?
For those of you who are having trouble with changing gears fluently, our Head Coach Kerrie Meares offers a video guide to successfully change your gears!
The equipment you're going to need to change your track gears are:
- Chain rings and cogs to fit your bike crank and rear wheel
- Allen key (usually 5mm) to unscrew and re-screw chainring bolts
- Chain-whip
- 15mm spanner (or spanner/allen key required to loosen and retighten rear wheel)
- Lock ring (for wheels requiring it)
A few weeks ago, we put a blog post together offering tips to changing gears, if you missed it - click here and we'll take you straight to it!
TAKE 2 MINUTES AND WATCH HOW TO CHANGE YOUR GEARS - LIKE A PRO:
- Find a chair and hang your bike on a rack
- Loosen chainring bolts in a STAR pattern
- Remove chainring
- CHAIN WHIP - Use your bodyweight to LOOSEN cog ANTI-clockwise
- TIP - Place thumb to FRONT of the tool to avoid injury to your skin from the spokes
- Change cogs over
- CHAIN WHIP - Use your bodyweight to TIGHTEN cog in CLOCKWISE direction
- TIP - Make sure cog is tight to prevent it loosening and stripping the thread
- Put back wheel on
- Place chain onto cog
- Put new chainring on
- LOOSELY secure chainring bolts
- Then tighten bolts in STAR pattern
- Put chain on chainring
HOW TO CHECK CHAIN TENSION:
- Pull rear wheel out to create tension in the chain
- Lightly tighten wheel nuts to hold wheel position
- Check chain tension
- Tighten wheel nut a bit more, but not too much
- Check chain tension, make sure it hasn't changed
ONCE YOU'VE ACHIEVED THE RIGHT CHAIN TENSION:
- Lightly secure the opposite wheel nut
- This will hold the wheel's position and tension
- Continue to check chain tension
- Tighten wheel nuts again slightly
- Keep an eye on any chain movement
- Chain tension = not too tight, not too loose
- Tighten back wheel
- Spin wheel and TRIPLE check chain tension
Enjoy this video blog, and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them in the box below!
