Friends:
I currently have a 44 x 16 set up on my track bike, the one I ride regularly.
Incidentally, when I first joined the San Jose Bicycle Club in '76 they told me that everyone who participates in their club training races had to use gears that were restricted to lower gears. I don't remember what the maximum gearing was, but I still have a 48 big ring on my Klein, and a 13 max on the freewheel, which I believe was within the allowed range (maybe it was a 14?, or a 93" gear maximum). It was intended to force riders to learn to spin. I resisted, because I had been dropped in road races because (I thought) I didn't have a big 52 or 54 tooth chainring like everyone else, but in reality I didn't know how to spin, yet. But once I got used to it, I never went back to using anything larger than a 48 chainring on any bike that I ride on a regular basis, except for the 56 on my tandem. I use a 44 on my Jack Taylor curved tube, which is my time trial bike, and which is only a 7-speed with a small cog of 12 teeth on the rear.
This is how I remember the gearing I use: 52 x 14 = 100.3" gear, which we all know was standard on most bikes in the '70's; 48 x 13 = 99.7"; & 44 x 12 = 99.0", all of these combinations are within 1.3 gear inches of each other. So when you see that smaller ring on my bike, don't assume I'm using really low gears. I do however, use a 48 x 12 = 108", on my regular road bike these days, and that sucker can really fly!
If you think that's absurd, then keep reading. Other than my significant improvements on the track, I really had no idea how much it had helped my riding. Then one day riding in the Sierra foot hills, with me with my 48 tooth ring, and everyone else using at least a 52, and one muscular weight lifter guy with something like a 54 or 55. I hadn't ridden much in the area for the past few years, and didn't feel handicapped at all. Then the big gear guy made his jump right where the downhill grade got a lot steeper and faster. He always liked to drop back slightly and wind that big gear up before making the pass. When he went around me, my track skills helped me to quickly and smoothly jump right onto his wheel. He did everything he could to shake me, but every time he looked over his shoulder, there I was, smiling. Spinning like crazy. I don't think I could have passed him, but he couldn't drop me no matter what he tried.
My point is that spinning is a good thing, especially when you really learn how to do it right. And a track bike will help that happen better than anything I know of. Especially when you don't use a brake. Just MHO, but it worked and still works for me.
Cheers everyone,
"Bicycle Mark" Perkins Fresno Cycling Club - Historian Fresno, California, U.S.A.
On Tue, 18 Mar 2003 14:18:03 -0800 "Craig Fenstermaker"
<cfenstermaker@cryocor.com> writes:
>
>
>
> In this recent thread regarding stopping fixed gear bikes several
> people have mentioned their choice of gearing for road use. It
> sounds like everyone is using a higher gear then me. I started using
> a fixed wheel for road riding in about 1973. The old timers that
> coached us advocated a 63" gear (42x18). I've stuck with that
> through my 14 year racing career and the 16 years since. What do you
> guys ride?
>
> Jamie Swan - Northport, N.Y.
>
> Craig replies
> 42 X 16 which often seems too much on my hilly commute.
> Anyone got a 3/32" 17 cog for sale?
>
> craig g. fenstermaker
> c/o cryocor inc.
> 9717 pacific heights blvd.
> san diego, ca 92121
> 858.909.2209 voice
> 858.909.2230 fax
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
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