"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - another junior gearing thread.....

what would be my smallest cog if i was gonna race juniors with a standdard 50 tooth compact crank? thanks everyone!

You could go with a 14 in the back as your 'smallest' gear. That would have you rolling out to a distance of 24' 9". That is well within the limit. If you go up to a 13 tooth, then you would fail the rollout by 8".

Please ask more questions.

what is the rollout length, and how do you do it?

what is the rollout length, and how do you do it?


Rollout length is 26' or 7.93m. I know this because of 2 reasons. 1st: I work with Jrs regurlarly. 2nd: I'm a USCF Official. I also spent, since last Thursday (8/19), at Jr Nationals where I got to practice more rollouts than I ever thought I'd do.

Obviously I want to be somewhat anonymous with my identity. The racing isn't about the officials, it's about the racers. They're the show, not me, or any other official. I'm happy to teach, help, and answer questions.

Just an FYI for all racers. Starting Jan. 1, 2007 we will be using UCI rules, in regards to bikes. That means the geometries and the mass of the bikes must be UCI legal.

Again, ask more questions.

Is a 52 tooth big ring with a 14 tooth small cog alright. Is it easy for shops to get 14-25 / 14-27 cogs. Thanks

Is a 52 tooth big ring with a 14 tooth small cog alright. Is it easy for shops to get 14-25 / 14-27 cogs. Thanks

Yes, it is alright. When you do the rollout, it should put you at 7.85m (8cm safety margin). Remember the maximum that you can rollout is at 7.93m (26ft).

Good choice to stick with. Fewer things to change out in the long run. Stick with Jr. gears, and you'll have no problems.

what would be better, a 53t than blocking out i think up to the 14t cog, or getting a 48t chaining and just blocking out my 12t cog. I currently have a 53t and i dont want to block out my four or five gears. Im doing battenkill in the cat 5 under 35 and need to pass roll out, but still need somewhat of a big gear. I have the power to spin a bigger gear and can get a good spin (dont have cadence) which would benefit me the best?

Will it be hard on the downhills? and dose anybody know what the cat 5 race is like speed wise?

Son, grab the shotgun. We have a zombie thread to kill....

haha, i didn't want to post a new thread for just this one question.

If you're not racing as a junior, why would it matter?

i am a junior. im currently 18, and am racing the cat 5 category because apparently all the crits i won did last year were not towards my upgrade.

the junior categorys are 1-4

To answer your question though, if you throw a 48 on up front, you'll have a much wider gear range than if you did a 53 and blocked the 14 and down. You might even need to block the 15 with a 53 up front. It's been a while, so I don't remember off the top of my head. You can't worry about high end as a junior, because well, it's limited. There's nothing you can do about it. You're much better off having a wide gear range.

Btw, the 5's aren't that bad, but Battenkill is a tough race. Do a few crits before hand to make sure you remember what's what.

Thanks for the explanations.

Are Juniors riding in Cat 5 or 4 races subject to the same gearing restriction? When the sprint is going at at 33+ mph, the 50x14 gearing is pretty short. Also, on any downhill, they are already slower anyway due to weight, it would be pretty tough for them to stay with a pack on a downhil section without spinning out.

Thanks for the explanations.

Are Juniors riding in Cat 5 or 4 races subject to the same gearing restriction? When the sprint is going at at 33+ mph, the 50x14 gearing is pretty short. Also, on any downhill, they are already slower anyway due to weight, it would be pretty tough for them to stay with a pack on a downhil section without spinning out.

Yes. Gearing restriction is purely based on age, not category or skill level. As for sprints and downhills, you really don't need to worry too much about that in cat 5 races. Just spin up a bit more.

thanks for the help. just wanted to make sure before i threw 50 bucks on a chainring.