| Subject: | Junior gears |
| Date: | 12/18/2000 12:26 AM |
| From: | rbur-@transport.com |
|
It seems to me there are 2 very different view points on this matter: 1. Juniors with aspirations outside of Oregon need to get used to the gears they will be REQUIRED to use in national and international races. 2. Local juniors who do not plan to go any further than Oregon want to use any gear they want. For those who fall under group #1, just do it and get on with your life. These gear restrictions are from the International governing body, and if they lift the rule, so can we. Buy one set of gears and use them in all the races. One junior from many years past (Hans Selvog) won Delta Park against the Sr. men in a 48x15. When I raced as a junior MANY years ago, we used the restricted gears for all our races, even with the seniors. I can honestly say that none of us ever lost because our gears were too small. We lost because we crashed, did not know enough to get in the correct position, or used too much energy too early in the race. We were juniors and learning. Greg Lemond used those restricted gears as well when he raced and won the Junior road trials. By the way, he was too young to compete against the 'older' juniors at the international level and needed to wait one more year to win the worlds as a junior. He also used restricted gears when he raced against, and beat, most of the senior riders in the USA. juniors who fall into group 2 should talk to an experienced coach about the use of a fixed gear bike in the winter, and riding the track in a small gear to develop the spin necessary to be really competitive. If a junior develops the proper spin, s/he can beat another junior in a larger gear in anything except (perhaps) a downhill sprint. For example, a rider in a 50x15 (50 tooth ring and 15 tooth cog), pedaling at 90 rpm is riding at 24.1 miles per hour. To ride at 32 miles per hour, the rpm's increase to 119. How often do you ride a race at 32 mph for a long time. Delta Park usually goes at an average of 28 miles per hour. If you use 52x14, 90 RPM gives you 26.8 mph. 110 RPM in the same gear is 32.7 mph. As a Senior rider, I won Delta Park many times. I never used a gear greater than 53x14 in the sprint, and usually rode the tailwind section in 53x15, and the headwind in 53x16 or 17. It can be done, and done well. Robert Burney, JD 111 SW 5th Ave., Suite 2260 Portland, OR 97204 rbur-@transport.com 503-972-0195 fax 503-972-0172 Specializing in business and estate planning using insurance and investment products. |
