Originally Posted by
big chainring
Well, when it comes to gearing, look back to the greats in cycling history. In 1956 Ray Booty, "the boot", was the first man to break 4 hours in a 100 mile TT. His record of 3 hrs 53min 28 sec, stood for 34 years.
As was the custom for many english riders back in the day, he rode his bike to the race on the previous day....a 100 miles.
25+ mph for 4 hours. What was his gearing?, 84inch fixed, or equivalent to a 50x16.
102 RPM. 84" would be a 53 x 17. Now if you were doing this on a geared bike, you would like to have the 16 and 18 as options. (See my previous post.)
I rode a race of 105.6 hilly miles in 3 hours and 58 minutes years ago. Only used my 13 downhill and perhaps the final mile. (A bigger gear would have made no difference.) The time I spent in the break, I used the 14 and 15. Yes I was riding a 54 but 54-14 is the same as a 50 x 13.
Ben