What is the secret of winning a single speed race? I don’t have the answer, but I do have a theory. That theory is: the person who can turn the biggest gear the longest will be the winner. I was looking at some data on gear inches and this is what I found:
Gears:----------------------------------------------------------------------------- REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE SP CRxFW GI 85 90 95 100 105 110 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1> 32x20 46.40 MPH: 11.73 12.42 13.11 13.80 14.49 15.18 2> 32x19 48.84 MPH: 12.35 13.08 13.80 14.53 15.26 15.98 3> 34x20 49.30 MPH: 12.47 13.20 13.93 14.67 15.40 16.13 4> 32x18 51.56 MPH: 13.04 13.80 14.57 15.34 16.10 16.87
If this is accurate my 90 rpm cadence with a 32X20 (46.40 gear inches) gear is going to be 1 mph slower than someone(Rick) with a 34X20(49.30 gear inches) gear and pedaling the same 90 rpm. I know there are some freak exceptions to the bigger gear wins theory(Jamie) but as of tomorrow I will be going one gear lower. Hey Rick I think you have something on your back.
