Originally Posted by blue_nose
Cross-chaining is so dangerous that it could cause you to spontaneously combust, cause grown men to cry and even turn liquid soap hard
Really, cross chaining is not the big of a deal. Over time, it will wear down your cassette and chain more quickly though. If you have things tuned so that your chain does not rub your FD, you still probably want to avoid the high-high / low-low combos as they place the most amount of strain on your chain. If you are OK with replacing your chain (and maybe your cassette) more often, then ride as you see fit.
That's what I've always thought. New chain, new cogs are on, also with new FD and RD to boot. Everything is shifting like a dream - have a week in New Hampshire planned next week so am looking forward to it!