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?
Upgrade to Di2 or Campagnolo Ultrashift levers which allow transitioning to the next gear on the small ring in one motion.
With traditional Campagnolo levers you just push both your thumbs at the same time, dropping up to five cogs in the process. The original pointy hood levers can go from largest to smallest in one motion, although 5 are enough for a compact crank with tight cassette like 50-34x13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21-23.
You could also shift to the small ring and smaller cog soft pedaling as the road turns uphill, but that wouldn't provide an excuse to buy shiny new bike parts.
39x13 and 34x11 are comfortable 24 MPH cruising gears allowing short sprints over 30 MPH.