the big ring...

timkenx

I've been cycling on a road bike for over 4 years now, and it's probably because I'm weak, but the only time I've used the big front chainring is when going downhill over 30 mph...

Now am I doing something wrong, or have I just been carrying an extra 350 grams of weight around with me needlessly?

Should I be shifting onto the big ring before hitting the highest gear on my rear cassette?[/b]

dirtymonkey1985

i think its personal preference. i almost always motor along in the big ring but i often go out with the father in law and he does the exact same thing as you and he gets by just fine.

marcusjb

Nothing wrong with not using the big ring too much as long as you're not racing or anything!

Touring or riding audax, I tend to view downhills as a chance to rest, so have often ridden 200km without using my big ring at all!

I personally use a 48 tooth big ring (with an 11 tooth as the smallest sprocket at the back) - I know people with big rings down to 44 tooth.

As dirtymonkey said, it's also personal preference - everyone's preferred cadence is different, a masher will sit on the big ring all day grinding out the miles, whilst a spinner will sit in the middle ring (on a triple) legs whizzing around like a blur. Neither is right or wrong - it's a personal thing.

Matt the Tester

depends on the situation...

im always on my big ring but i spin.... must be a power issue?

ollyridesfirst

just out of interest....are you on a normal set-up (39/53) or a compact (34/50) ???

I use the big ring most of the time (50 tooth), but i do like the odd granny ring spin now and then

Pross

Just ride what's most comfortable. When I used to have a 52 / 42 chainset and 7 speed cassette most of my training was on the small ring but I now tend to use a 53 x 19 a lot on the flat which gives a very similar gear to what I used to ride on the 42 tooth small ring.

Rouge Penguin

i used to mash and have recently worked on my Cadence, couldnt manage riding far on the small ring though. Unless your going small-small which is bad for the bike.

Teece

Personally, I haven't found a use for the small ring yet. But then, I haven't ridden up a mountain yet, either. [I'm in my second month of road cycling]

Headhuunter

timkenx wrote:

Should I be shifting onto the big ring before hitting the highest gear on my rear cassette?[/b]

IMO, yes. I believe crossing the chain is bad and inefficient, however I know that a lot of people would disagree with that. I flick into big ring from about halfway up (down?) the cassette rather than only using it in combination with the highest gear/smallest sprocket...

ollyridesfirst

buy a single speed.....problem solved

wishitwasallflat

Keep your chain as straight as possible while not over stressing your knees - your joints are far more important than big ring braggin rights

Matt the Tester

no it's not :P don't listen to him

nochekmate

Teece wrote:

Personally, I haven't found a use for the small ring yet. But then, I haven't ridden up a mountain yet, either. [I'm in my second month of road cycling]

You need to get out more!

It doesn't need to be a mountain to require the small ring - a few hills in the Peak District eg. Winnat's would soon give you the option of use the smaller ring on the chainset or walk!!

Hills like Wrynose and Hardknott in the Lake District might even make you wish you had a triple.

gunny_bedford

hi

I spend most of my time in the big ring (Shimano Ultegra, 50/34 (compact) on a madone 5.2).
I will always try and stay in that, and will only change to the small ring when the hill gets the better of me, but as stated before i guess that is just a preference thing and is not necessarily good practice.
I must say that having gone for a 9 speed compact set up to a 10 speed compact set up does seem to make it easier to stay in the big ring when things start to go uphill, however also a big help is going from an alumimium frame to a carbon one, my new bike being some 4lbs to 5lbs lighter most probably than my old one !!!

timkenx

I've got a 2008 spesh allez elite which I believe is a 53 big ring.

I must admit, I do end up cross-chaining a lot as I use all the gears in the rear casette without going into the big ring. But I find that the difference between the small ring and big ring is so large that I'd almost have to go from small-small to big-mid.big if that makes sense!

I guess I should just start trying to shift into the big ring when I get close to the small rear casette gear - need to start putting some wear on the big ring!

Thanks for your help

Headhuunter

timkenx wrote:

I've got a 2008 spesh allez elite which I believe is a 53 big ring.

I must admit, I do end up cross-chaining a lot as I use all the gears in the rear casette without going into the big ring. But I find that the difference between the small ring and big ring is so large that I'd almost have to go from small-small to big-mid.big if that makes sense!

I guess I should just start trying to shift into the big ring when I get close to the small rear casette gear - need to start putting some wear on the big ring!

Thanks for your help

If you've got a 53T big ring, you may have a standard double set up which isn't ideal for commuting and you may find that unless you can grind a high gear, you may end up crossing the chain but it's better to try to shift to the big ring once you get halfway up the cassette