RichieRichRK said:
I'm fairly new to road riding....I love this bike, such a smooth ride....I've been putting miles on it almost everyday....But I have a "Noob" question...The front chain bracket has 2 rings....Which ring would be more ideal to ride with? Right now I am with both....Because when I'm in the middle gears it's alight....But when I go into the harder gears the chain rubs on the front derailur so that will make me switch into the other gear in front....What do you guys think?
Congrats--you should check the beginners forum so you can learn more about cycling (maintenance, jargon, etc.). Many questions that you may have probably have already been asked. Speaking of jargon, the "chain bracket" you are referring to is called the "crankset" or "cranks." You have 2 of them, the inner ring, which is smaller and the outer ring, which is larger. It is harder to pedal when the chain is on the larger chain ring, and vice versa with the smaller ring. The opposite is true with the "cassette" which are the round cogs on the back wheel on which the chain sits. Your cassette has 8 cogs. Since your chain can be on 1 of any 8 cogs and on 1 of either 2 chain rings at the same time, your bike has 16 speeds (8x2). The easiest gear is when your chain is on small front chainring and the largest cog in the back. To upshift (meaning making it a little harder to pedal), shift one gear so that your chain gets on the next smallest rear cog.
The reason why your chain is rubbing against your front derailleur is because the chain is either 1) on the smaller front chain ring and the smallest rear cog or 2) the larger front chain ring and the largest rear cog. Either of those positions is called "chain crossing" because if you look down while riding your bike in either of those gears, it looks like the chain is in an extreme diagonal or crossed position. Either of those gears will get the chain to rub the inside of the front derailleur. You can avoid this from happening by not using those gears. Hope this helps.