I can only speak for the UK and to a lesser extent France.
In the 50's for road racing most of us used a three tooth gap in the chainrings, usually 46/49, 47/50 or 49/52, with 14/16/18/20/22 block.
Mike Waite
Amersham Bucks UK
mrwaite@btinternet.com
<joebz@optonline.net> Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2004 2:55 AM Subject: Re: [CR]Did the old racers use half-step gears?
> Joe,
>
> It seems that the Koblet example is not the exception, and the texts
> did not mention that he used something non-standard. In fact, they
> talked about something that was his "base gear" and how he had chosen
> one that was too high or too low (don't recall) for one stage. Also,
> the fact that the racers changed gearing almost every stage seems to
> indicate that they didn't use half-step. Half-step has the advantage
> of providing a relatively wide range of gears, with no need to
> customize it for the conditions.
>
> I don't know any old racers who could help. The randonneurs used
> cross-over gearing back then, often a 48-32 front with a 14-22 or
> 14-24 rear. But of course, their derailleurs were able to handle
> those chainwheel differences. (I can imagine the racing derailleurs
> would have been designed to do so, too, if racers had demanded it.
> Chicken-and-egg, as usual.)
>
> Anyhow, both the Koblet story of "base gear" and the fact that he
> does not appear to have been an exception seem to indicate that there
> is more to the story.
> --
> Jan Heine, Seattle
> Editor/Publisher
> Vintage Bicycle Quarterly
> http://www.mindspring.com/
>
/classicrendezvous