corrado33

Yes, it should. What shifters do you have? If you're on the small ring in a very easy gear (hit the small lever a few times while pedaling) you SHOULD have a trim shift using the big lever. Push the lever half way (roughly) and the derailleur will move and stay put. It's possible that your derailleur isn't adjusted to use the trim shifts. The high limit may be screwed in too far to use the trim shift above the large ring (if your shifter has one.)

EDIT: I'm assuming you have a double... I think you said that in the OP.

hythamfekry

yes it's a double ..
Ultegra FD-6800 ..

nycphotography

I'm back on the big ring as soon as possible.

I find the increased chain tension on the big ring makes everything work better, from better crisper shifting, to less chain slap over bumps.

I only use the small ring for climbs, and at that, only for climbs long enough to settle in and spin. Anything shorter and I'll just attack / sprint over it in the big ring.

woodcraft

When cresting a hill,

I'll shift quite far down the cassette before shifting to the big ring,

when most of the acceleration is done & there's less pressure on the pedals.


Also when going up a roller, sometimes shift way down the cassette where there is some chain rub,

to avoid losing momentum while taking off pressure to shift to the big ring.

Corbin

On my 50/34 I've found no reason for the big ring until 19 mph. I spin 100-118 cadence so TIFWIW. My dad brags about staying in his big ring as if that means something.

seau grateau

Yeah, but at the same time I feel like it's also kind of "might as well shift" at that point.

Smithson1

I live in Kenosha and do a lot of riding down in Illinois. I removed my front derailleur due to lack of use.

andr0id

Switch to the big ring when you dial in 400 watts and want to drope the hamer.

SpeshulEd 

With a compact crankset, I don't see much reason to move to the small ring other than when I'm climbing. I'm moving up to a standard crankset this fall, we'll see how that goes.

benetga

So am I but around my area we have have hills. I stay on the small ring probably 70-80% of time.

hythamfekry

so generally speaking , if the terrain allows it "being on flat" , it's better to have big-ring/bigger-cog combination rather than small-ring/smaller-cog and then move down the cassette ..

thin_concrete

Not to the extent of cross chaining, but in general, yes.

12strings

I stay in the middle ring most of the time no matter what. ;-)

big chainring 

I'm still riding 49/52 chainring combo. Why change a good thing. I have two big rings to choose from!

Sidney Porter

52/42x11-32 8 speed. If I want to hit every gear it is just about every shift when I go to the big ring I shift up 2 in the back the next gear is small ring and drop to a one smaller cog in back. For the mist part that pattern repeats

Da Reef

I try to keep it simple. On 11 speed I would do smallest 4 rear with largest front and largest 4 rear with smallest front. The three middle gears I don't worry much about which gear.

dougphoto

Where are you near the Mississippi or down south? I'm near Chicago

dougphoto

I may do this on my TT frame (once I get one)

UnfilteredDregs

Besides the mechanical limitations (rub & crosschaining) picking the right ring has everything to do with speed, terrain, and the gearsteps suitable for the moment.

You want to avoid big gear step differences unless necessary.

It's funny watching people drop chains on rollers because they switched the front end unnecessarily... (unless you're right behind them!)...

and crosschaining is your friend. Do everything you can to see if you can set your bike up to do so smoothly and avoid rub via trim. Who cares if it's hard on the chain...that's why they're replaceable.

Don't shift the front unless you really have to.

gregf83 

He probably never goes below 20mph so no need for the little ring

hythamfekry

hythamfekry

sry , what's rollers ?
After considering speed , terrain , of course ,, I sense that most people comments indicates they prefer to stick to big ring "unless climbing" and move down the cassette ..

Bike Gremlin

As soon as I can ride in the big chainring without:

dropping pedalling speed below 80 rpm
+ cross chaining more than 2/3 of the cassette width (i.e. on a 9 speed cassette, stay off the largest 3 sprockets)

Unless I'm about to stop at an intersection, or approaching a climb. Then I avoid shifting to the largest chainring, since downshift is coming very soon.

More teeth means less drivetrain stress and wear, unless cross chaining. That's why, for example, I'd rather use 52/18 than a 36/13 combo, although it's a very similar gear inch ratio. More teeth with less cross chaining also adds to drivetrain efficiency a bit, but that's hardly measurable in terms of both speed and time per distance traveled.

Larry77

After this thread had me thinking about how often I change rings in the front, I noticed my Di2 data from a typical ride last night. I shifted 4 times in the front and 204 in the back, apparently I don't shift off the large ring very much :-)

SpeshulEd 

For me, staying in the big ring allows me to sprint when necessary. It's a lot easier to drop the rear than it is to shift to the big ring and little ring at the same time. If I'm approaching a hill, it's fairly obvious when I need to drop to the small ring up front.