What chainring do you mainly ride in when on the flat?

[numbnuts]

On my touring bike I have MTB gearing so it's 48T (the largest) for me

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I have a double (39-53) and on the flats I find myself in the 53 most of the time once my legs have warmed up.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

On my touring bike I have MTB gearing so it's 48T (the largest) for me

Isn't 48 touring gearing? Many (if not most MTB's) are 22-33-44 or 22-32-42.

 

[ttcycle]

I don't ride with my computers at present. The triple commuter I tend to ride with the middle, not ridden it for a while. The faster bike the larger ring and the new one which is triple on the larger cog.

A few years ago on a different bike which was a double when I was at my fittest, my cadence would have been around the 95-100 mark.
Haven't measured it for a while now as cycle mainly for leisure now.

Interesting posts

 

[totallyfixed]

I have a double (39-53) and on the flats I find myself in the 53 most of the time once my legs have warmed up.

Well, you are either a very fit, very quick, strong athlete or you are grinding out a too big gear. It's all about cadence, in the 53t you would have to be averaging well over 20mph on a 16 sprocket [chain line getting dodgy] to have a fast enough cadence. I would suggest that anyone who is turning a gear that is too big for them could well have knee and or lower back problems somewhere down the line.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Well, you are either a very fit, very quick, strong athlete or you are grinding out a too big gear. It's all about cadence, in the 53t you would have to be averaging well over 20mph on a 16 sprocket [chain line getting dodgy] to have a fast enough cadence. I would suggest that anyone who is turning a gear that is too big for them could well have knee and or lower back problems somewhere down the line.

Thanks for the advice I should point out that flats roads are a rarity where I live but as the OP asked about flat roads I answered. BTW as I have a 14-28 rear cog the chainline is nowhere near dodgy in the 16 sprocket I can assure you.

 

[Sittingduck]

50t big ring for entire flat commute (except for the nasty ramp out of he carpark). Manage to maintain a cadence of around 85-90, without a naughty chainline and will handle anything from 13-40 mph, in the big ring.

 

[Mad at urage]

If some people are riding on middle/small chain ring on flats - and even say they don't peddle downhill: What are they using the big ring for? If not used, then surely the gearing is wrong for their usage!

Big ring for when you can spin a reasonable (90 - 110 for me) cadence at your optimum speed, on the gear-choice that gives you. Middle ring for when you need a lower range than the big ring can give - which shouldn't be usual on the flat (apart obviously from headwinds or a slow companion ); If that isn't the case, then the gearing isn't set up for your normal usage.

 

[potsy]

Big ring for me is only for when it is slightly downhill or I have a decent tailwind

Should really take it off for the weight saving.

 

[gbb]

It was the small ring (and still generally is), but mines a 40 on a compact.

But then it's not that simple. Flat with any breeze or wind behind me, i go on the 50, plus i am experimenting with spending more time on the 50. It used to hurt my knees and still does a bit but not as bad as in the past.

I can spin on the 40/13 in normal conditions and maintain 18 to 20 mph quite happily (subject to no wind or tailwind)

I guess i just like to spin. The more time i spend on the 50 in anything other than downhill/tailwind , the quicker i seem to run out of steam, or i just end up running something like a 50/15 or 50/16.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I live in a pretty flat area and I just looked at my 'get home' gearing. The triple - middle ring, chainline dead straight - and then my compact - big ring, very slight crossover. I suspect that I'd more often find I got home on the small ring on the compact with a slight crossover in the opposite direction. But I'm far from powerful (or fast) and I spin more than grind.

EDIT: oh, I clicked the middle ring on a triple option because I couldn't tick the compact one as well.

 

[brockers]

To spin a high cadence in a big gear you are either going downhill or you are a full time pro. Big gears are inefficient for general riding. It is only when you come on CC that you realise what a wide range of abilities there is and levels of experience. To those who harbour delusions that big gears are efficient, find some You Tube clips of pro racing, TdF etc and look at the cadence.
The vast majority of people I see on bikes are making life hard for themselves, wrong size bike and / or wrong position are the main culprits followed closely by awful gear selection.

Couldn't agree more. FWIW I seem to spend a lot of time in the small ring (a 34) on the flat, generally twiddling between 13-15 at the back for the first twentyish miles, and then wind it up a bit for the return leg using the 50. Was thinking of putting the 39/53 back on but decided against it as my one hour wattage is around 220, whereas a pro using 39/53 who weighed the same as me would be knocking out something over 300W.

 

[al78]

The small ring (34T) as default, I find this perfectly fine for anything up to about 18 mph (I have a 11-28 cassette), then I think about changing up to the 50T ring. If I am only going to be going over 18 mph for a short period (<20 seconds) I don't bother changing up.

I am not a strong rider, and never will be. On a calm day on the flat I can sustain 18+ mph for several minutes in which case I will shift up to the big ring. On the roads where I ride, there are few such sustained flat sections so most of the time I leave it in the 34T ring.

 

[pepecat]

I've got a triple on the front - 50/39/30 and generally twiddle along on the 39 on the flat. Usually i tick along at about 15-16 mph quite happily, but it's sometimes higher. I figure uphill (big uphills) equals little ring, flat equals middle ring, and downhill is big ring. Mostly i ride in the middle ring, but i think that's partly my fault for not making good use of my gears.

 

[HLaB]

None, my old Flat wasn't big enough.

Seriously though, I ride most of the time in the biggest chain ring I've got, 48 on the Ridgeback Velocity Town Bike, 52 on the Compact Kinesis, 53 on the Bianchi double and 52 on the Sirrus tripple. If its a strong wind or I'm riding in a group, I sometimes drop the Kinesis to the 38, the Bianchi to the 39 or the Sirrus to the 42.