This is the fifth and final column in the series on maintenance, repair and riding your bike or e-bike.

Most cyclists don't pedal fast enough.

The best pedalling cadence is at least 60 strokes (or revolutions) per minute, at least once per second. The goal is to choose a gear, from many, many gears, that will maintain the same workload on your body—not the same bike speed—regardless of the terrain, whether you are going up or down.

When approaching a stop sign, red traffic light or hill, gear down before pedalling becomes too difficult. Then you are ready to accelerate in the correct gear and don't have to downshift under load, possibly damaging the chain and/or the gears. To avoid shifting under load, take the pressure off your pedals before changing gears.

You may not realize it but there is duplication in your gearing with a typical 24-speed regular bike. Having three sprockets at the front and eight sprockets on the back cassette doesn't provide 24 different gear ratios. The reality is there are about 12 to 15 usable gear combinations. If you upshift........

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