Is Cross Chaining Still So Bad?
 

I have always read that cross chaining is bad and inefficient and very disrecommended.

However, I notice that racers cross chain all the time. For example, today's stage 5 of Tirreno-Adriatico, when the climb eased (I'd guess to around 5%, other places was up to 10%) many or most of the riders were in big chainring, big sprocket - so, completely cross chained.

Many of them are riding 10 and 11 speed electronic shifting, so inconvenience of shifting doesn't explain it. I understand some prefer a slower cadence but they could get it using small ring and a smaller cog with a straighter chainline.

Is, perhaps, the case against cross chaining getting weaker as chains get more flexible? Or do the increased efficiency of using larger tooth count rings and cogs outweigh the decreased efficiency of chain angle? Or are pro road racers unwittingly giving up a precious 2-3% of their power output?

http://www.steephill.tv/players/yout...1ldORg&yr=2015

Pros could care less if they wear out their chains, chainrings or cogs early. It's of no concern to them. If you don't worry about that kind of thing, go ahead and cross chain all you want, but since you're probably not in quite the hurry that a racer might be, the big/big combo certainly overlaps the big/small option so for those that aren't in a hurry or want to make their drivetrain last, there isn't much reason TO cross chain. Admittedly if you are climbing and need an easier gear, there's more chance of dropping a chain and having a less-than-good shift if you go down to the small chainring in front and then go up two or three in the back that there would be if you simply go up to the big cog in the rear. So there are good reasons TO cross chain but it certainly will wear out your drivetrain a bit more quickly depending on how often you do it and with a reasonable amount of forethought a typical rider has little or no reason to cross chain.
It doesn't, by the way, have anything to do with efficiency as far as I know. That fact that your chain is at a bit of an angle doesn't make the drivetrain significantly less efficient. Correct me if I'm wrong there. It's just a matter of gears being duplicated (or nearly so) and the fact that cross chaining causes unnecessary wear on the metal (as well as side flexing of the chain but that's not a huge issue).

The pro's don't have to worry about component life.
And new 1x11 systems get some pretty steep angles on the chain as well with no ill effect.
I avoid it as I like to get 7000km out of a chain.

Yeah definitely sounds like an issue of component life to me. Ever see a pro team bus / mechanics truck? They wear a part out and there's a dozen more in a drawer somewhere and if that doesn't work; they are a quick phone call away from a stack of new ones. Heck, not only are they not paying for the parts; the manufacturer is paying them (or their team at least) for the privilege of having those riders ride their bikes.

Cross chaining is like a high fat desert. Folks make a big deal of it, but it's not so bad if you don't make a steady diet of it.

Any time the chain runs at an angle, friction and wear will increase. But it's a matter of degree. If you look at your chainline, you'll see that cross chain is only slightly worse than so-called OK combinations. However, these days there's a new factor, because the rings are closer together. Many bikes cannot run small/small without the chain brushing against the inside of the outer ring.

So, use the gear combination that makes sense for you. For example if you're climbing a relatively short hill and working through the cassette, the "rules" would dictate that bring the front over somewhere near the middle of the shift sequence. But if you decide that you can climb in on the outer ring with the inner cassette sprockets, this may be preferable to shifting the front mid climb. I do this daily on a particular hill where I work down through the range, topping the hill in big/big.

So, like with your diet, feel free to indulge yourself from time to time, but use some common sense.

Cross-chaining is never "good", but establishing a widely agreed definition of how "bad" it is isn't gonna happen.
Sometimes the degree of "bad" is so small that you might as well go ahead. It's entirely comparable to service interval, easing up on power while shifting etc etc.

I don't know if cross chaining is as bad as some might believe, but I'll tell you why I avoid it.

1. It's unnecessary. The gear ratios are redundant. There's an art & technique to proper shifting. Mastering it shows you have respect for the bike.
2. It's generally considered bad form. Much like getting grease marks from your pedals on your calves, it's a sign of an inexperienced, green rider.
3. Some riders like the crispest, fastest shifting on their FD as possible. This necessitates setting the high & low stops to less than a mm from the chain. This creates chain rub in the extreme cross-chain combos – serving as an audible reminder that you're doing it wrong.

I don't know anything about MTBiking, but I heard some racers say they climbed rough steep grades on their big/big to have more chain tension.

All of the above examples are support for the requirement that your chain HAS to be long enough to allow big-big. Whether you plan to use it or not it has to work.

I cross chain all the time when going from stoplight to stoplight. I keep it in the big chainring and start off in the lowest (25t) cog at each stop and as HillRider mentioned my chain is long enough to handle it. It saves me from having to keep shifting from small to large chainring constantly. I still get at least 3500 miles from each chain and only need to change out the cassette every third chain so hard to know how much mileage suffers, hardly worth it to me to worry about a few dollars every year. When not having to stop every 200 yards I'll use the proper gear. I suppose you could also argue that my front derailleur and shifter will last longer as well not being used as much saving a few bucks somewhere in the equation but I'm old and just want to enjoy the ride without the extra fuss.

OK if you have a Truck full of spare parts that are potentially replaced daily By team mechanics , then It may not matter ..

Million+ dollar pro Race teams can make different choices, than amateurs buying everything out of pocket.

Some of us aren't convinced it matters all that much even if you don't have a truck full of spares following you around.

If you have a super long distance between the crank and wheel on a Recumbent, it doesn't..



I went with the function of the Gear Ratio needed and Double shift at the overlap Points .

Now The bushingless chains wear faster as they have to get thinner too ..all wear concentrates at roller edges

After the 7th cog was added , .. I went over to IGH.. ..

+1,

Some people see cross chaining as a black and white issue, but realistically it's only slightly worse than the so-called allowable combinations. This isn't black and white at all, just a matter of degree where more is worse and less is better.

Staying in the big ring all the time is more "pro." ;)

Apart from that, I think @FBinNY's "dessert" analogy sums it up well.

It used to be much more of an issue in the days of yore when chains were much less flexible from side to side. Back when exposed derailleurs were a new thing, a lot of British riders developed an obsession for absolutely perfect chainline.

But...
 

I'm sorry, but this made me laugh. I agree, one can cross chain occasionally. I try not to do it, and have by accident. I also try not to eat dessert, but have once in a while - not by accident, though.

Sur le plaque, and all that...

Museeuw tempo climbing those last hills to Liege, in a Big Gear, dropped the rest of the field .

No, the bikes are designed to handle all the gear combinations they are built with. As far as I know, no manufactures advise against using them.

Never worry about what the pros do unless you can generate 300watts all day. If you can you need to join them.

What keeps me from constantly shifting between large and small chainrings is: I never shift out of the small chainring! My next bike will be a 1x...

And not mentioned above (sorry if I missed it); some of us have our cranks set up a bit differently than "spec". On most of my bikes, I have the big ring close to center of the cassette, and give up the ability to use the smaller cogs with the smaller chain rings. For example, on our tandem, the big ring (54T) easily accesses all of the 9 speed (11-34) cassette; the middle ring (44T) doesn't work with the 11T cog; and the granny ring (26T) only works well to about 1/2 way across the cassette. It is almost a 1x9 with two smaller chain rings added. This works well for us, but your mileage maybe different.