this post was submitted on 29 Jun 2025
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I wouldn't think of it that way. Just try to avoid twisting the chain too much. If your chain is all the way to the left in the front, keep it on the left half in the back. If you feel like moving the rear to the right half, just shift the front gear to the middle instead. Beyond that, just do whatever feels right.
I usually set the front to the ballpark I expect to be in for the foreseeable future, and fine tune in the rear as I go. It's usually harder to shift the front while pedaling hard uphill in my experience.
I usually just ride the bike as if it was a 1x, never shifting off the second chainring, too much to think about using both, unless it would make climbing easier.
That is a big hint to why you feel you're going slow. On flat or downhill ground I would usually be on the very hardest gear in order to be able to keep up with the wheels. If you're constantly in a medium gear you'll not reach very high speeds on easy terrain.
But maybe you shouldn't worry about that right now. You're pretty new to this, so you don't need to optimize for speed. Just go at a pace comfortable for you, while you get used to this new way of moving. Perhaps it's even a good thing to be going slower right now, that way there's more time to react, and less injury if you have an accident.