Originally Posted by
Metallifan33
So when I shift into the small ring in a climb, it's such a drastic change that I spin my legs like an idiot while I shift the RD back into a harder gear.
Is there a better technique to this? When I shift into the big ring, I simultaneously shift the RD 3 times and by the time it takes for the FD to get the chain on the big ring, I'm comfortably in a gear on the RD that makes it all a smooth transition.... Shifting in to the small ring... not so much; the change from the big ring to the small ring happens so fast that I don't have time to make the change on the RD (without stressing the gears by shifting under power).
To make matters worse, it's usually when climbing up a hill and I lose some amount of momentum doing it.
Any tips on shifting to the small ring efficiently for a climb?
Shifting to the small ring before you actually need it. Takes a lot of practice and in my case, it took a lot of repeated rides to actually get to know the topography of my riding area by heart and be able to anticipate when and where exactly I need to use my small chainring.
You could also get DI2 and leave it on synchro mode, but you would still have that longer shifting delay due to both derailleurs moving the chain at the right place
.