Originally Posted by
buffalowings
When I, "dump" too many gears, I end up feeling like I lose a lot of speed and reach an overly high cadence.
That was always the trick with DT shifters. You had to shift not for where you were but for where you were about to be. You had to anticipate what gear you were going to need before you needed it.
A perfect example is the idea of shifting before the corner so you would already be in the right gear to exit the corner. When racing against kids who never used DT shifters I would always hear them shifting after the apex, as they stood, exiting the corner. I would already be in the correct gear nd wouldn't have to stand or jump and could just spin it back up, gaining a few positions in the process and using less energy. I could do this because I learned to race on DT shifters.
This advantage dissapears once you move up the food chain or ride with more experienced riders.