Gears
Track bicycles have only one gear so its size is important. A lower gear allows quicker acceleration or 'jump.' But a bigger gear makes sustained speed easier, important in pursuit racing, time trial and bunched races such as points or scratch events. Without a good jump, the rider risks opponents accelerating away; without good sustained speed, he will be unable to keep up with a fast race. Track cyclists practice fast pedalling (cadence) as a compromise.
Long-distance attempts such as the hour record sometimes use high gear combinations such as 52x12 or 55x14. Ondřej Sosenka used 54x13 with 190mm cranks to set the 2005 record.
Read more about this topic: Track Bicycle
Famous quotes containing the word gears:
“Your work is to keep cranking the flywheel that turns the gears that spin the belt in the engine of belief that keeps you and your desk in midair.”
—Annie Dillard (b. 1945)