Was just sitting here thinking about other things on the bike. 1st gear is pretty low so I only use it on hill starts, pulling away the rest of the time in 2nd, probably not great for the engine and gearbox but 1st feels quite slow. If its a rolling start being in 2nd gives you that little edge over car and truck drivers who often tailgate you. If you give it some throttle though it will race up through the gears to 45 mph leaving most of them in your wake. All in all I would say I am very happy with my little Chinese bike.