bike chick tip!

hello! happy bike chick tip day! i want to start something new but will post it next week. i love bikes so much and love sharing my knowledge with you all that i also want to share the outfits that i wear while riding my bikes in hopes to inspire more people to ride their bikes as it is a wonderful way of transportation as well as a great way to go on new adventures... and why not do them with style :) but for today's post i will nerd out...enjoy!

bike chick tip #6- shifters!

if you have a bike that has gears then you have shifters. shifters as the word implies shift the gears to either a hard/speed gear or easy/climbing aka granny gear :D  there are many different style and placement of shifters the main difference to look out for: friction shifters or index shifters.

basically the friction type shifters allow you to directly move the gears yourself, think of them more like a manual stick shift car. you are a bit more in tune with what is going on with your bike and you can hear if you are in gear or not. the index shifter has set dials for each time you want to change gears...i have used both kinds and my only problem with the friction shifter is that once in a while if i don't shift accurately and my gear is not fully in gear it will pop out which can be annoying at times but i get better all the time...with index, your bikes shifting system must be in perfect adjustment to operate properly. Index shifting bikes are good for three types of people 1) pro racers with a team of mechanics 2) people with disposable income 3) people who work on their own bikes

stem shifters/ friction

stem shifters and down tube shifters are my least favorite. they are placed on the stem of your bike right underneath your handle bars or even lower on the downtube (between the fork and the cranks). this requires you to take one hand off your handle bars to shift and if riding fast or on uneven pavement this can be a bit scary...at least it was for me so i switched. if you feel comfortable then i say by all means go with these.

 

bar-end shifters/ friction

3-speed thumb shifter/ index

the thumb shifters can either be on your handle bars which is what is on urusla or bar-end shifters which i have on mary. the one on urusla is an index shifter and the ones on mary are friction. i really like both shifters but this is where it comes down to style. as i feel mary is a bit more sporty looking i feel the bar-end shifters look appropriate on her where ursula is a bit more lady like so having the shifters on the handle bars next to my grips suit her.

so there you  have it..thanks for always letting me nerd out on all of you!!! :D



spread the love update: one of my favorite clients came in yesterday and she just hired a new assistant. i have worked with this assistant before and she is soo sweet and really on top of things...so i broke out of my comfort zone and complimented her on her new assistant and how i was so happy that we would be working together again! it felt really good to tell her boss what an amazing & hard worker she is...and then later that day her assistant came in and i told her about the conversation i had with her boss. she gave me the biggest smile that warmed my heart!

also called a couple of people today to just chit chat...people i don't normally call. it was a nice change one i think i will keep up :)

xo,
cb