Is it alright if i do this on my first mountain bike

Question

I've never had a bike with gears before so if i leave the rear gears in the middle and just change the front whenever a hill or smooth surface comes in contact with my bike, Would that be okay? I know in the front gears 1 is for up hills while 3 (depending on how many gears you have) is for smooth surfaces.

Answer 1

You are better off using both. The gears in the rear are just the opposite of the front ones. In the rear the larger ones are for uphill (or headwinds), medium ones are for the flats and smaller ones for downhill.  

Answer 2

Well you aren't using your gears to your benefit. In fact most people tend to use the rear mostly not the front. If i had a choice of using only one (front or rear gears) I'd chose the rear without question.

Answer 3

It has 21 speeds for a reason.

Answer 4

well, i wouldn't do that... I personally use my rear gears more often, and when i get halfway through the back gears, i shift up in the front and down two in the back. (I hope that made sense)

to answer your question, yea, its ok just less efficient.

Answer 5

Why leave the rear derailleur alone? I am unable to make any sense of this.

Plus the shifting at the chainrings has never been as efficient as shifting at the rear sprockets as the chain sometimes has to travel quite a distance and you you have to lay off the torque for a longer time when shifting on the chainrings.