Originally Posted by
TejanoTrackie
Yeah, and riding geared will cause CMP in many cyclists, and other sports/activities will cause CMP in many people. OTOH, many people like myself ride/race fixed for decades and don't get CMP, while many who ride/race geared do. One of the races I do on the track involves a full-power standing start from zero rpm in a high gear (90+ gi), which absolutely places the highest possible loading on my knees. When I was racing masters in my late 30's, there a fellow competitor who developed CMP and had to completely abandon bike racing. And this guy was not a gear masher either.
What you are saying is, people are very different from each other. No scientific study that deals with people's physique can overlook this even in the slightest. For instance, there probably are some people with higher predisposition for CMP. Others, such as you, can develop into great athletes without any side effect from cycling in any gear used in track competitions. Is this at all different from "my grandma was smoking two packs of cigarettes since she was 16, and she's still going strong at 88"?
(Note: Neither of my grandmas were smokers)