Ted Ernst wrote:
>> (snip) Back to the track. I keep getting side anecdoted.
>> By the way, 50x16 is 25x8 or an 88" gear as we used to measure
>> with 28" wheelchart. That was a most popular gear for average
>> fixed racing. 26x8 was for the good guys on road, and the team
>> race and six-day gear of choice, which was called 91. The
>> sprinters used 25,24,23x7 which had more leverage from chainwheel
>> to crank end so had a slightly quicker jump, but not the rolling
>> of the larger chainwheels for longer distance races. The smaller
>> CW's "died" sooner and you had to push a little harder to keep
>> them rolling than the big chainwheel that rolled longer and it was
>> just a little easier in the team and mass start long events. (snip)
And then there is the 96" gear...
"Martin seemed suddenly to wake up. He opened the kit bag and oiled his wheel, putting graphite on the chain and adjusting the bearings. Joe was halfway down to the saloon when Martin passed by, bending low over the handle-bars, his legs driving the ninety-six gear with rhythmic strength, his face set for seventy miles of road and grade and dust." -- Jack London's semi-autobiographical novel, Martin Eden (1909).
Chuck Schmidt
South Pasadena, Southern California
United States of America
http://www.velo-retro.com (reprints, t-shirts & timelines)