Compact Gear, Big ring vs Little ring

[Kay76310]

Thanks for the quick replies! I just wanted confirmation as it is little daunting to be a newbie with no experience. I definitely change gears based on how I feel. It is just frustrating when someone tells you it is still the wrong gear. Even with no experience, I still know how I feel better than he would know how I feel. To answer your question, he tells me to use the smaller gear because the bigger gear takes more power and will cause exhuastion. It has nothing to do with the cross chaining. He has taught me not to do that so I try to refrain from cross chaining. I say the little gear causes my legs to tire quickly because I have to have a much higher cadence to keep the same speed. To me, it's like sprinting! And if I don't feel exhaustion on the big ring, why not use it? It just FEELS right to me.

[Cataboo]

I use the big chain ring except when going up a hill on my compact double... and on my triple.

[lph]

I rarely think about which ring I'm using, I just go by feel. I have a cadence I'm accustomed to, but I'll try to push myself every now and then just to feel what spinning feels like, and what slow pedalling feels like. If you feel that you've already found a cadence that is efficient, maintains your speed, and feels comfortable, you're doing it right. Your preferred cadence may change as you ride more, and on different terrain, but people do have different inherent preferences. I don't like sprinting either, but I do it a bit more now than I used to.

(I'm assuming you're not racing here, and he's not acting as your coach. )

[carinapir]

I'm a newbie too, but I thought that I should add that, while you should absolutely do what feels right to you, a higher cadence does have it's benefits. With practice, many people find it easier to maintain an even pace and high cadence riding is widely preached, so it's not surprising that someone might steer you towards that. However, you definitely should not be spinning so fast that you are bouncing in the saddle or feel out of control. I seem to like 80-85 rpm the best, which is far from spinning wildly but is a pace I still have to think about to maintain at my current riding level. I had to move down a gear to maintain the rpm (I used to ride at about 60 rpm) but after a few rides, my overall pace has increased.

On other hand, mashing on a higher gear does have the potential to hurt your knees, even when you don't think that you are pushing that hard. Over time the effects can add up. Not that you are mashing a high gear, but it’s something to experiment with. There is a personal balance that each rider must find for themselves.

Also, there is some overlap of the gain ratios from the small to large ring so depending on what gain ratios you feel comfortable riding in, you might be able to dial in a similar gear using the small cog. You just have to move your chain on the rear cogs appropriately so that you don't jump down a huge percentage and spin wildly. I have found that knowing the gain ratios for my gearing really helps.

I’m a collect evidence kind of gal so personally I would look up your gain ratios and those for his bike and compare. Maybe he doesn’t realize what your gearing feels like and how it might be very different from his. Of course if the evidence does not support my position . . .it disappears before he sees it.

Good luck getting your BF to lay off!

[nscrbug]

I ride a compact, and ride mostly in my big ring up front...even for a small climb. I don't live in a particularly hilly area, although most of my routes do involve some steeper hills that require me to drop down to the small ring. There are even a few hills, that require me to be in my lowest gear and just spin my heart out just to make it up to the top. Climbing is not my forte, so I try to focus on staying seated, sitting up nice, tall, and relaxed, taking in lots of oxygen, and just spinning at a higher cadence until the hill flattens out. But there are a few hills I encounter, where staying seated simply won't cut it...and for those I'll come out of the saddle.