Never leave big ring
 

Sup guys. People I ride with have told me that I should never be leaving the big ring on the terrain we do. Its mostly flat with rolling hills. How long does a climb have to be before you downshift and spin up it? They tell me to just put down more power. I only have 6 rings in the back and the bike doesn't seem to like being in the smallest two when in the big chainring

Up to 10% and under 4 minutes duration, it all big dog for me.

Do what you gotta do to make your ride work. Who cares what others say.

Since they are nice enough to let you ride with them, you should follow their instructions instead of continually second guessing them on the internet. You are sooo lucky to have found those guys. Our group would put you in a ditch on the first ride.:twitchy:

Hey! Great meeting you this morning! Did you ever catch the Spectrum guys?

Are the guys telling you to stick with the big ring only skinny? Because if they are, they don't know. Big guys like us use all the gears. Don't let people who aren't 1) your size, or 2) riding your bike with your bike's gearing tell you what you should do.

BTW, if your derailleur isn't shifting into ALL the gears, you should get it fixed. Might be the limit screws, might be the hanger. In either case, eminently fixable.

You guys would have tried to crash me out? Sounds dangerous, maybe you should find a safer more sociable group. Most cyclists like other cyclists, and also like seeing a guy trying to keep up on inferior equipment.

Nope, most cyclists wouldn't like riding with you. Sorry. Of course that's the BF Larry you've shown us.:rolleyes:

Nice meeting you too! I couldn't catch them but managed to grab em on the way back (you were right to get in front and let them pass.) Managed to stick with them from past the water temple to woodside, which was the best ive done ever on that ride. Most of them are skinny (im the fattest guy on the rides lol) but I listen to their advice because there is really a wealth of knowledge on the roads out here and I'd be doing myself a disservice by not keeping an open mind. My derailleur shifts in all the gears but I'm worried about breaking something by cross chaining. My chain skipped today on spectrum when riding uphill standing, which is super sketchy, really can't be having that happen. I didn't swerve much but I know people who have crashed because of that.

Huh, frankly I feel sorry for you, that your local cycling culture is so uptight.

Not uptight at all. Just no patience with crackpots and attention seekers. We just want to enjoy our rides w/o drama.

Use the little ring when climbing. It’s not rocket science.

Are your shifters indexed or friction? If it's indexed, you need to adjust cable tension. If it's friction, well - that's on you! But, yeah, standing on the pedals and having the chain skip is no fun.

But as far as gearing goes, trust me - use all the gears you need to, because if you're trying to muscle the big ring uphill too much it'll kill your knees. Think how many more watts it takes to lift either of us up some of those hills, compared to the guys who weigh 60-90 lbs less!

Wait - so you have some folks telling you to spin like mad and other saying only use the big ring? You realize you're getting diametrically opposed advice here, right?

Friction shifters. Most of the advice ive gotten about cadence is that mine is generally too high, but today on spectrum there was a guy who seemed steady who was probably doing at least 130 rpm.

Maybe they're telling you that so they can drop you on the hills.

Beat me too it. The OP seems to have a hard time figuring things out on his own. Makes him easy to mess with.

Maybe tighten the screw that holds the shifter on the boss. When I've had the chain start to skip in a gear that had been fine, it's generally because the screw was a bit too loose, so the springs in the rear derailleur were pulling the lever back to a smaller cog.

It's more about how steep the climb is for me unless you can climb it in the big ring entirely from your momentum i.e. a very short climb. Otherwise I use whatever gear gives me a comfortable cadence. Unless you are actually spinning out you will not be power limited in a lower gear. With the benefit of a power meter I often see higher power in a lower gear when climbing, even if it doesn't feel like it.

Telling you to just put down more power is not very useful if you are already putting down whatever power you feel is at your limit. Especially if you are already grinding at that point.

Ride your own ride.

But that would mean wearing a shirt, right?

Yup. I was taught that if you rode smaller gears than someone, they wouldn't have the legs when crunch time came. This isn't entirely true. Each person has a range that works for them. And there's ability. I could have out-spun John Howard all day and still, crunch time and he's gone!

Ha... Ha... I am still laughing but its not my bike... My legs don't like that big ring up front and small ones in the back... Thank you for the chuckle... Wonderful...

One of my bikes is a 1x, so I only have a Big Ring.

https://www.glenn-ring.com/emonda/bigrings.jpg

Lol I meant to say it doesn't like being in the small chainring and small cogs

You've already mentioned it as cross chaining, bikes just don't like doing it so don't be surprised by the noise. Really dropping to the small ring is all about the size and steepness of the hill as well as the length. I knew one hill that was just over 1/8 of a mile long and not too steep and because of how often I rode it, it was an easy big ring sprint. Yet if it was even the slightest bit steeper and a touch longer it would be a sit and spin in the small ring. You have to decide what your legs can handle.