There’s a lot of cyclists who strive for more time in the big ring.  For those that don’t know what I’m talking about, I mean to get out and ride in the big chainring (the set of chain rings affixed to your crank). The pedalling may be tougher in the big ring, but the speeds reached can be much higher.

Whether you have a compact or any other configuration of chainrings, there’s just something about grinding out a ride totally in the big ring.

Okay, before going any further with this….let me just go on record as saying that getting out on a bike is the most important thing of all.  It really doesn’t matter what chainring you’re riding in, as long as you’re getting out there and enjoying your ride.  But, for those who are fixated on life in the big ring…..this one’s for you.

When I lived in Canada, I was located in the city of Saskatoon….one of the flattest places on earth. Seriously.  I’d have to search very hard to find a hill greater than 6% grade.  So while we were living there, it was pretty easy to live life in the Big Ring.

Then we moved to Austin.  Still nothing compared to the hills and elevations found in Colorado and other mountainous areas….but for a guy who had just come from Saskatchewan, it was more than hilly enough for me.  Plus, we were living in west Austin and close to the hill country so my rides involved much more climbing than you’d find in other parts of the city.

When we first arrived, I was no longer able to live in the Big Ring.  I could be in it for parts of each ride, but never the whole thing.  I can’t remember exactly how long it took, but one day things clicked and I found myself riding an entire route in the big ring.  I think it also had something to do with a pep talk by my friend Ian, but all of a sudden I had found myself confident and strong enough to stay in the ring.

From that day, until we left Austin in November 2012 I consistently rode each ride totally in the big ring.

Then came Grenada.  Yes, a whole new terrain and a whole bunch more hills to climb.  All of a sudden, those climbs in the Austin hill country were looking pretty flat.  Once again, I found myself able to get into the Big Ring for certain portions of each ride but never even close to being there full time.

Then it happened…..again.  Last Friday, after being in Grenada for just about 3 months…..I completed a full ride in the big ring.  I had found myself spending more and more time there for the past few weeks, but this was the first time I had spent the whole ride there.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to live in the big ring here on this mountainous island, but I know I can do it in some segments and I know I’ll be spending more and more time there each ride.  It feels great.

So how about you?  Is this something you’ve been striving for?  If so, I say to just keep on pedalling and you’ll find yourself slowly creeping into more time in the big ring.   Build your strength and build your confidence….and before long you’ll find yourself there.

Note: After seeing a few of the comments from this post, I came to realize that I didn’t do a great job at explaining things very well this time.  Going into the big gears should only be done when you’re strong enough to no sacrifice technique or efficiency.  When I talk about spending time in the big ring, I was referring to effectively pedalling there.

It was just last summer that I was living life in the Big Ring.  Being in Saskatchewan and riding the flat prairie roads provided the setting for some great big ring riding.  But then when I arrived in the hill country of Austin last September, that was brought to a sudden halt.  It then become more like a part time big ring life with a striving for more and more time in the big gears.  But for the past couple weeks I had to live life without any big ring at all.

It all started with a few rides of having trouble shifting from the small to the big ring….and then one day it just wouldn’t shift all together.  At first I thought my derailleur was shot, but then a second opinion by my friend Jamie of Reveille Peak Ranch found that it was actually the shifter that was the problem. Seeing that my bike is not quite two years old, Jamie recommended me using my twitter power and get the word out to Trek.  So that night I shot out a friendly tweet to @TrekBikes asking what they could do for me.

Before long they had tweeted back asking for more information and the next thing I knew they had DM’d me their e-mail address.  From there I was put in touch with William from Trek’s Technical & Customer Service Center and he said they would take good care of me.  The only tricky thing was that I had bought my bike in Canada, but William said that Mellow Johnny’s would look after it here in Austin.

I called Mellow Johnny’s to make sure this was all cool, and one of their service dudes, Chuck said I just need to bring in the dud shifter and my receipt and I was good to go.  I have to put a great big shout out to Chuck as he gave me some super awesome service right from the first time I called, to me picking up the new part a week later.  Seeing as only the part was under warranty, MJ’s would have had to charge me to put on the new Shimano and to re-tape my handlebars.  Being the cheap guy that I am, I decided to take it on myself….with the help of Jamie of course.

Oh, and while all of this was going on and I was waiting for my new shifter to arrive, what was my riding like?  Well, I did still take out the bike (minus one shifter and a front brake).  The first time I grabbed my handlebars it sure felt weird not having the shifter hood to grab onto.  I felt like my left hand was going to slide right off….I also felt like I was riding some sort of half fixie/half road bike.  I’m sure I had a few strange looks from other cyclists on the road, but at least I was able to keep on riding….without being able to shift into the big ring, of course.  This also gave me a good reason to take out “Tina Turner” a few times and I ended up putting more miles on her than she’s ever seen.

The Trek is all fixed now and I’m back loving life part time in the Big Ring.  How much time do you spend in the Big?  Do you find yourself pushing to spend more and more time in it?

Big Ring photo courtesy of She Bicycles

Photo c/o the wonderful Cassi Yost of www.shebicycles.com

If you would have asked me at the beginning of this riding season to explain the type of cyclist I am, I would have said I’m a spinner who spends quite a bit of time in the small ring.  In fact, that is exactly what I told Victor from Bicycle Lab when he did the bike fit on me this spring.

But something has happened this year.  I’m not sure exactly how it happened, but I honestly cannot remember the last time I shifted into my small ring.  I have been living in my big ring and loving it.

Windy days, inclines, whatever….I’m in the big ring and staying there.  Now, I am not exactly situated right now in the hilliest place on Earth. Yeah, Saskatchewan is not known for its mountains. Once I get back to Austin and some of the other locations I plan on cycling very soon, it might be a different story.  But for now I am feeling really strong and powering my big ring through whatever stands in my way.

There is just something so good about completing an entire ride in the big ring.  I’ve also found that my cadence is a whole lot more consistent while here as well, and I’m able to get into a nice groove.

So what’s changed this year?  Well, I can only think of three things to contribute it to:

1. Diet: I’ve always had a pretty good diet, but about 10 months ago I cleaned it up even more.  The inclusion of homemade falafel, green smoothies, hemp hearts, steel cut oatmeal, and becoming 95% vegetarian….has made me feel like I’m firing on all cylinders.
2. Bike Fit: As I mentioned, I had a bike fit done in April and I know that the alterations have done me good.
3. Hard Work: I’ve been giving it all I have for days on end and my legs and lungs are delivering.

For any readers who aren’t sure what all this “big ring” talk is about, let me get technical for a second. First of all, when a pro rider talks about the Big Ring they likely mean the absolute top gears of the big ring (Chain on smallest sprocket in the back).  For me, I’m referring to the large front chainring on your bike (the Crank).  I could also get into the tooth set found within the ring, but we’ll leave that one for another post.

What ring do you spend most of your time?  How do feel the big ring compares to the small when riding?