Originally Posted by
Drillium Dude
...but really, who would use the smallest cogs out back with the smallest ring in front? Or big/big?
DD
No one rides around in the big-big on purpose, but even smart people make mistakes sometimes. If you shift onto the big-big without meaning to and the chain is too short, you're going to break something, and maybe hurt yourself. A slack chain in the low-low combinations is not ideal, but it's not really a safety issue. I cheat that way all the time, but learned the hard way about making sure the chain can handle the big-big. Even though, you know, you're
never going to use the big-big. Except maybe that one time.