How to change gears on a mountain bike?

Ok, so i am looking to buy a pretty good mountain bike that i would like to ride on some trails in the woods, but i have never really had a good mountain bike and i dont want to mess my new one up. How do you change your bike gears so that they dont the chain or whatever doesnt mess up. My previous bikes that ive had ive always had trouble with the gears? so any help would be nice, oh and i dont know much about bikes so no big words..any help would be nice! thankyouHow to change gears on a mountain bike?
The one thing that is hard on gears is shifting while pedaling hard. You want to let up just a little, the rear is not as bad as the front. The other thing you don't want to do is run the chain at to great of an angle. You can use any gear on the rear when using the center chain ring in the front. You want to use only 1-4 with the small chain ring and the top 3 gears with the largest. Another important thing is keeping the chain clean and lubricated. Don't lube a dirty chain.



http://bicycletutor.com/gear-shifting/

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