Chain Crossover Poll
 

How far do you cross your chain? (Assuming your bike has a ten-speed cassette.)

~My bike has 20 speeds and I have no problem going big-big & small-small.

~My bike has 18 usable speeds. (I don't use the outer gears.)

~My bike has 16 usable speeds. (I don't use the outer two.)

~My bike has 14 usable speeds.

~Fewer?

I avoid cross training by using a standard, 130mm BCD, crank on both my commuter & Ti road bike. I have a triple on my Brevit bike, this also reduces cross training.

I use 16 speeds most of the time, I'll cross chain for a short distance is some situations.

Michael

An actual poll might have been better, but I'm not sure why this information would be useful. Haven't thought about it personally, but I'd say any combo where I can't hear the chain is fair game. Of course I try to avoid cross-chaining in most cases. This generally means avoiding the combo of small front/rear and big front/rear.

both my 10-sp and 11-sp bikes can cross chain all day long with minimal noise. i try and avoid it just due to the logistics of riding and shifting. if you're fully cross chained, your options for the next shift are pretty limited. so - yes, i cross chain to the max occasionally, but dont make a habit of it.

I guess I use about 14 gears... I'm pretty good at not cross chaining and don't mind shifting the FD back and forth.

Only about 14 without noticeable noise. Must be the compact crank. My older double can go big/big or little/little with very little sound.

I have a triple crank and almost always use the center chainring. I'll only really switch the chainring if i need a higher or lower gear. Since I also ride on campus, if I'm in with pedestrians (sometimes I have no choice) I'll shift into the smallest chainring to keep me under 6 mph or so...

So to answer your question, I almost never cross the chain and never do the big/big or little/little combo. I'd estimate that most of my riding is done in one of 4 or 5 gears though hahaha

i'll use 14 gears on my own. in a group, 18 out of the 20

I only use one front and one rear gear at a time.

I cross chain big front to big back on the rolling hills. Steady climbs I drop to the little ring.

My bike is odd in that big-big works really well. Small chainwheel to the lower 3 are pretty much unusable.