Shifting Into the Small Ring
#26
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Someone up thread mentioned 10-speed Campy. Hitting both thumb buttons simultaneously dumps the chain front and back. Absolutely awesome in rolling hills.
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I can’t tell you the number of rides I was thankful I got the triple over the compact crank. Especially since triple 105/ultegra/dura ace setups are nonexistent these days.
I lost the “what will the other riders think of me” insecurities over the granny gear.
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I anticipate which cog I will need, shift to it and then shift to the smaller ring. 50/34 and 11/28 gearing.
#29
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I've been using a 16T difference at the crank since since 2008. I have no issues with the compensating shifts. If the shift is timed right, where your cadence has dropped from the climb, you can shift to the little ring with no compensating shifts. It all depends on how quickly the grade is increasing. I rarely need a 3 sprocket shift. If the change in grade is slow, and you shift well ahead of need, shifting 2 sprockets smaller immediately before the shift to the little ring can work, but on a fast increase, you can get bogged down and have a poor chain ring shift.
I'm not impressed at all with electronic sequential or compensating shift modes because it contributes to chain drops and can make unwanted chain ring shifts. I use SRAM force axs 12 speed and never use the compensating or sequential modes. I limit my shifts to 2 sprockets if I hold the shift lever, there's no over compensating. I also don't use a sram crank because I want the extra range of a 16T difference.
I'm not impressed at all with electronic sequential or compensating shift modes because it contributes to chain drops and can make unwanted chain ring shifts. I use SRAM force axs 12 speed and never use the compensating or sequential modes. I limit my shifts to 2 sprockets if I hold the shift lever, there's no over compensating. I also don't use a sram crank because I want the extra range of a 16T difference.
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The outmoded idea that you run down the big ring and drop onto the small ring is outmoded because it doesn't work.
There is considerable overlap so that you can do 2/3 of your riding in either ring.
If you see a big hill a ways ahead, you have a couple choices----if you are approaching it at high speed (small end of the cassette) then shift up a couple in back and down in front --- that should keep the gear ratio pretty high. Then climb in the small ring ...
Or, if you are making a gradually inclined approach .... same thing. Shift onto the small ring early. I find two or three up in back and one down in front is usually a small step down in overall ratio. So if you have 11 cogs, when you hit 8, you can shift to 11 and drop to the small ring and pretty much be on target.
Or ... climb the thing in the big ring.
Basically it all comes down to knowing your transmission and your abilities. if you think of your rings as sequential, you are psychotic but seriously, you are not thinking in line with reality. You need to ride enough in different combos to know when certain combos are appropriate to your preferred power output and cadence. You need to plan ahead. And if you ride a route frequently, you can have your whole shift pattern planned out in advance.
When I used to ride MTB, back when dinosaurs ruled the earth, one had to be Very careful about shifting and trimming. I learned that on a certain trail, at certain points I could shift on the flat from the lower third of the big ring to teh middle of the middle ring and have the lower rend of the middle ring for a few climbs (shifting under load didn't work back then, and shifting the front under load often cause the whole bike to implode.)
Yo probably don't need to learn the whole of both rings, but at least learn the lower end of the cassette on the big ring and the upper end on the small. Have some idea of where you want to be when you have the option to shift either the front or the back, before you hit the hill. And learn to quickly dump or lift a couple gears in back while or almost simultaneously shifting the front.
WARNING: if you are going to shift simultaneously front and rear, be sure to ease off pedaling or your chain will explode .... well, mine did.
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Nobody seemed to mention that a 1x drivetrain wouldn't have this issue. Though I don't recall having seen a 1x road bike yet, Gravel and mtb yes, but road no. Certainly they must exist?
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So when I shift into the small ring in a climb, it's such a drastic change that I spin my legs like an idiot while I shift the RD back into a harder gear.
Is there a better technique to this? When I shift into the big ring, I simultaneously shift the RD 3 times and by the time it takes for the FD to get the chain on the big ring, I'm comfortably in a gear on the RD that makes it all a smooth transition.... Shifting in to the small ring... not so much; the change from the big ring to the small ring happens so fast that I don't have time to make the change on the RD (without stressing the gears by shifting under power).
To make matters worse, it's usually when climbing up a hill and I lose some amount of momentum doing it.
Any tips on shifting to the small ring efficiently for a climb?
Is there a better technique to this? When I shift into the big ring, I simultaneously shift the RD 3 times and by the time it takes for the FD to get the chain on the big ring, I'm comfortably in a gear on the RD that makes it all a smooth transition.... Shifting in to the small ring... not so much; the change from the big ring to the small ring happens so fast that I don't have time to make the change on the RD (without stressing the gears by shifting under power).
To make matters worse, it's usually when climbing up a hill and I lose some amount of momentum doing it.
Any tips on shifting to the small ring efficiently for a climb?
You could also get DI2 and leave it on synchro mode, but you would still have that longer shifting delay due to both derailleurs moving the chain at the right place .
Last edited by eduskator; 12-11-20 at 01:33 PM.
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#35
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Have only seen it on time trial bikes. But you're right, someone is doing it somewhere.
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With traditional Campagnolo levers you just push both your thumbs at the same time, dropping up to five cogs in the process. The original pointy hood levers can go from largest to smallest in one motion, although 5 are enough for a compact crank with tight cassette like 50-34x13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21-23.
You could also shift to the small ring and smaller cog soft pedaling as the road turns uphill, but that wouldn't provide an excuse to buy shiny new bike parts.
39x13 and 34x11 are comfortable 24 MPH cruising gears allowing short sprints over 30 MPH.
Last edited by Drew Eckhardt; 12-12-20 at 09:36 AM.
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8, 9, 10, 11, 12.
Last edited by Drew Eckhardt; 12-12-20 at 09:45 AM.
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A somewhat related (but not totally related) thought is about power loss during a gear shift and how to minimize it. We've all had the experience of climbing a hill in a competitive or semi-competitive situation and losing ground because we needed to shift gears, but I'm thinking about it b/c of Zwift, where all eyes are on the power numbers and you can lose a lot of power during even a simple gear shift (i.e., just changing rear cog).
Am I wrong to think that this is what it is and is not a product of technique? In a gear change, there always has to be a moment when power isn't going to the wheel. (and it doesn't matter if you are measuring power at the pedal or the crank, the resistance has gone down for that time) I'm sure that lost power X time is minimized by DI2, but I'm not about to put my DI2 bike on the trainer (I don't care that much). But with with mid-range (105 5600) group stuff, not much to be done, huh?
If I'm in a zwift race, I may not change gears at all, but if I do, I try to do it only when I'm in the draft, where the quirks of the game minimize the effect.
Am I wrong to think that this is what it is and is not a product of technique? In a gear change, there always has to be a moment when power isn't going to the wheel. (and it doesn't matter if you are measuring power at the pedal or the crank, the resistance has gone down for that time) I'm sure that lost power X time is minimized by DI2, but I'm not about to put my DI2 bike on the trainer (I don't care that much). But with with mid-range (105 5600) group stuff, not much to be done, huh?
If I'm in a zwift race, I may not change gears at all, but if I do, I try to do it only when I'm in the draft, where the quirks of the game minimize the effect.
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A somewhat related (but not totally related) thought is about power loss during a gear shift and how to minimize it. We've all had the experience of climbing a hill in a competitive or semi-competitive situation and losing ground because we needed to shift gears, but I'm thinking about it b/c of Zwift, where all eyes are on the power numbers and you can lose a lot of power during even a simple gear shift (i.e., just changing rear cog).
Am I wrong to think that this is what it is and is not a product of technique? In a gear change, there always has to be a moment when power isn't going to the wheel. (and it doesn't matter if you are measuring power at the pedal or the crank, the resistance has gone down for that time) I'm sure that lost power X time is minimized by DI2, but I'm not about to put my DI2 bike on the trainer (I don't care that much). But with with mid-range (105 5600) group stuff, not much to be done, huh?
If I'm in a zwift race, I may not change gears at all, but if I do, I try to do it only when I'm in the draft, where the quirks of the game minimize the effect.
Am I wrong to think that this is what it is and is not a product of technique? In a gear change, there always has to be a moment when power isn't going to the wheel. (and it doesn't matter if you are measuring power at the pedal or the crank, the resistance has gone down for that time) I'm sure that lost power X time is minimized by DI2, but I'm not about to put my DI2 bike on the trainer (I don't care that much). But with with mid-range (105 5600) group stuff, not much to be done, huh?
If I'm in a zwift race, I may not change gears at all, but if I do, I try to do it only when I'm in the draft, where the quirks of the game minimize the effect.
#41
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Cant see how this is a problem in real life as the worst case shift times are under a second so you just have to pedal a little harder for a couple extra seconds to make up for any losses during a shift. For rear only shifts you can shift under load so there shouldn't normally be any power loss.
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Cant see how this is a problem in real life as the worst case shift times are under a second so you just have to pedal a little harder for a couple extra seconds to make up for any losses during a shift. For rear only shifts you can shift under load so there shouldn't normally be any power loss.
And no, it's not a big problem. I lose all the zwift races I enter anyway.
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Cant see how this is a problem in real life as the worst case shift times are under a second so you just have to pedal a little harder for a couple extra seconds to make up for any losses during a shift. For rear only shifts you can shift under load so there shouldn't normally be any power loss.
I need to put this in very post while I'm on this subject - I am not saying this is a big deal. I'm just musing about a little power loss that I see all the time when I'm flailing away in my basement.
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#47
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Those sprinters only need their bike to work for another couple of seconds, before it is taken apart by the team mechanics. Maybe you are right the bike can handle it, just that how pro riders treat their equipment is not necessarily the best argument.
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When considering cycling history as a whole, there's no single "regular double." 53-39 became popular around 1990. But there was a span of a couple decades right before that where the closest thing to a standard double was 52-42.
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Strangely enough, none of these have much difficulty shifting.