Why and how much is riding big-chainring-frong small-cog-rear a negative practice?

Question

A friend of mine is riding consistently in largest chainring front and smallest cog rear. The corresponding teeth counts are respectively 44 and 11.

The bicycle is an Acera-level mountain bike with very light and fitting them frame. Gears shift relatively quickly and reliably.

Their average speed is about 30km/h, while commuting 20km total per day. The traffic is average.

Their acceleration at traffic light is low. However, I have observed no other drawbacks. To my surprise, the chain and smallest cog are still operational, after 1-2 years of year-round commuting - dust, snow, salt, mud, rain. (measured with a chain ruler)

Also, when it becomes impossible to ride this gear (standing up), they switch to a much much easier gear.

Is this a reason for concern? Knees, traffic safety, mountain trekking endurance, bike components wear (from most important to least important)?

EDIT: A couple of clarifications:

• The tires are 26x2.0 semi-slicks.
• It was a mistake to claim average speed of 30km/h. This is rather cruising speed. On the other hand, starting from a red light or recovering from a difficult turn takes forever (5 seconds for example).

Answer 1

As commented by @Daniel R Hicks the problems I would be concerned about are to his own health. The bike components that will wear out prematurely are simpler to replace.

Potential health issues are knee problems from "mushing" all the time. MTBer's tend to run lower cadence than road riders, for valid reasons, but when on the road tend to run closer to road cadence. Mushing causes excessive pressure on the knee, causing the joint to wear out - its an Orthopedic surgeons retirement plan, in 20 years time he will be doing knee replacements.

The other concern is mixing it with traffic in high gear. You have limited ability to accelerate and your balance is often compromised. Under usual conditions, not a problem, but in an emergency that could be the difference between a close call and a grease mark on the road.

Less of a concern, and people physical attributes vary, is endurance and aerobic capacity. The reason for spinning faster is it provides maximum aerobic efficiency. Under about 80RPM you are not able to maximize the power output of you legs. Beginners often spin too slow, as the optimal cadence needs technique and practice to learn how. To some it feels you are going faster mushing as it feels like it takes less effort if you spin faster. I find a good test is to get them to change down a gear, keep the same effort and monitor their speed. Most are surprised to see an instant increase of 1 or 2km/h for no more effort.

If you are really keen to get him to spin faster, put him on a bike with short - really short (like 145mm off a kids bike)- cranks for a few rides. As you have much lower torque, you have to spin to go fast, but spinning smoothly is easier, so you just do it. It's a great training aid.

Answer 2

Riding everywhere in one gear is usually not a good idea, unless you're on a SS/fixie. And SS aren't a good idea everywhere (like where I live, for example, an island with almost no flat spaces at all), but the gearings they have are usually somewhere in the mid-range, where you can speed up relatively quickly, won't blow yourself out cruising, but won't be winning any races, either.

Heaviest gearings may contribute to knee problems, but the much more immediate concern is that it makes riding a bike more of a chore than it should be. I live in a hilly place and I'm nearly constantly changing gears, and when I go someplace flatter I still find myself changing gears all the time based on wind. The only time I don't is sidewalk riding, 4th-grade style.

So... if your friend wants to ride 4th grade style, that's his issue (and his knees, if the medical thing is true). For people who spend a good bit of time on their bikes (commuting in my case) riding in the biggest gear everywhere sounds like a bad idea.