Big or Small ring?

[e-rider]

find your own cadence 70-100 rpm - it all comes down to what suits you, although you might prefer a given candence simply becasue that is what you are used to, and that might not be the best for you.
in terms of gearing, that's another discussion altogether - i.e. should you ride large chainring, larger sprocket, or small chainring small sprocket; to make the same gear - large chainrings are more efficient so opting for the big ring and big sprocket will help you slightly but on a geared bike your chainline will not be so good!

 

[Slick]

I am doing a lot more spinning, but it feels like I just need to find a balance to help my legs recover after a few climbs.

 

[Truth]

I am doing a lot more spinning, but it feels like I just need to find a balance to help my legs recover after a few climbs.

I think you have just hit the nail on the head mate
You will find that out for yourself over time......

 

[simongt]

You'll just knacker your knees and yourself pushing too big gears - there's a good reason why there is a choice of gears!

Years of pushing big gears is what probably led to the early death of Beryl Burton; but then she did make & break a LOT of records on the way - !

 

[S-Express]

Years of pushing big gears is what probably led to the early death of Beryl Burton

Seriously, what? She died of heart failure. If you have any new information, please tell the coroner.

 

[adamangler]

big cog or small cog depends mostly on your gearing and your chainline as well as what gears you can push.

theres not right or wrong just find whats comfy.

As for cadence, its worth training a high cadence as much as it is worth drilling low cadence as both will provide adaptions that will help your cycling.

Youre body is quite clever so the most comfortable cadence for you will be the correct one that suits your current state of your muscles and aerobic system but that doesnt mean its the most efficent, depends on whether you wish to train yourself to ride a higher cadence.

 

[bondirob]

If you can't push 80rpm on your favourite hill you need lower gears.
Unless of course your happy with a lower cadence as some are but it is less efficient.
The gears supplied on most road bikes are woefully inadequate for most beginners and intermediates who want to ride hills.

 

[RoubaixCube]

I personally do a mix of both, small ring when coming to a stop or pulling away from traffic lights then switching to the big ring to pull away faster so i dont need to shift 3 or 4 gears up/down when stopping or picking up speed again. I average 80-90rpm though i havent checked what my garmin connect says after i have been using the big ring more on my Cube more

 

[Nigelnaturist]

If you can't push 80rpm on your favourite hill you need lower gears.
Unless of course your happy with a lower cadence as some are but it is less efficient.
The gears supplied on most road bikes are woefully inadequate for most beginners and intermediates who want to ride hills.

So whats your suggestion wider ratios and lower gearing on the back or a move back to a triple where you can have both especially on 10sp triples, I have various setups on my 10sp triple 50/38/26 and a 12-27 (current setup, but its easy enough to switch the rear to a 12-23 and the inner to a 28 both have a 110" top gear but a difference of 25 to 33" on the low gear, the inner ring is used for climbing especially if carrying a bit of weight but not as a last resort some times I will ride the 38x27 up the hill to home sometimes I will use the 26th inner and drop the rear to the 17-19th both giving a gear of 37-40" or a 34x25 on a 50/34 setup.
The problem I find with a 50/34 is the large gap at the front most of my riding is done on the middle 38th this gives me a current range of 37-84 " or 9.3-21.25 mph at 85rpm, though its not over keen on either end (27 or 12th) at the mo, might just be the new chain bedding in.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

Sur la plaque, s'il vous plait.

 

[Slick]

That's what I thought you said.

 

[S-Express]

Unless of course your happy with a lower cadence as some are but it is less efficient.

In what way is a lower cadence 'less efficient' ?

 

[bondirob]

In what way is a lower cadence 'less efficient' ?

You get tired quicker

 

[bondirob]

I'd say do whichever suits
I don't seem to mind the big jumps too much but I'll just pick whichever gear I can spin at but I suppose a triple gives you more options

 

[Nigelnaturist]

@bondirob the thing is new riders think they are riding the wrong sort of bike or not wo/man enough till they find out the bike is too high geared, by which time its quite expensive to change, not sure why Campy can offer an 11sp triple yet Shimano can't/won't on their higher groupset i.e. 105, some people would love Ultegra on a triple, and I for one would love the 12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21-23-25 cassette coupled with my 50/38/26 or an 11-23 coupled with a 24/36/48 front, my 12-27 misses the 18th of my 12-23 and I really miss it at times, but what with the closeness of the cassette and range of the front there are not many conditions I find myself in that I can't spin an average of 85-95 with only a 6-8% change which keeps me in that close range (about 5rpm per gear) you take a cassette with a gear jump of 10+% i.e. 24-27 (13%) you are changing rpm by over 10 which can make a big difference to the fluidity of your cadence. I can spin at upto and over 100rpm but not keen on it, but some gear changes would need you to change from say 88rpm to 100rpm to maintain the same speed, though in reality its not why most change gear.