Jeff Tedder & Shari

I agree with Ken...I went to my first Wednesday night Clinic last night and
learned alot, had some fun and got to get a little workout in at the same
time....Thanks to Ken and the rest of the instructors for taking the time to
help all us Newbie's to the track...
Jeff
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ken Lee"
To:
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2008 10:18 AM
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Gear Ratios on Track.. Help!

>I agree with Mark, Mike, and Einstein--I mean Danny. However, the best way
>for new track racers to learn what gearing might work best for them is to
>attend our Wednesday Night Track Clinics. Install an 82-88 inch gear and
>come on out.
>
> There is more to learn about racing at Alpenrose than just riding the
> banking and gearing. We teach track etiquette, techniques, and explain
> what all those colored lines mean. It's important to know about all this
> before you start racing because it makes racing safer. The most dangerous
> times at the track are when riders fail to observe the general rules,
> especially during warm up.
>
> We've been making more of an effort to group riders according to ability
> and comfort levels at recent classes, and have short races at the end of
> the class which help new racers get a feel for what to expect and prepare
> for on Friday nights. You'll get a better idea if you need to move up or
> down in gearing in these sessions before you start racing for real.
>
> The Mt. Tabor races have thinned out the clinics a bit this month so if
> you have been thinking about giving the class a try, next Wednesday might
> be a good time to do it. Classes are $5 and we have rental bikes for an
> additional $5. We start at 6 PM, but try to arrive around 5 PM if you
> need to rent a bike. You can also bring your own pedals.
>
> Hope to see you out there.
>
> Ken
> _______________________________________________
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> obra@list.obra.org
> http://list.obra.org/mailman/listinfo/obra
> Unsubscribe: obra-unsubscribe@list.obra.org

Ken Lee

I agree with Mark, Mike, and Einstein--I mean Danny. However, the best way for new track racers to learn what gearing might work best for them is to attend our Wednesday Night Track Clinics. Install an 82-88 inch gear and come on out.

There is more to learn about racing at Alpenrose than just riding the banking and gearing. We teach track etiquette, techniques, and explain what all those colored lines mean. It's important to know about all this before you start racing because it makes racing safer. The most dangerous times at the track are when riders fail to observe the general rules, especially during warm up.

We've been making more of an effort to group riders according to ability and comfort levels at recent classes, and have short races at the end of the class which help new racers get a feel for what to expect and prepare for on Friday nights. You'll get a better idea if you need to move up or down in gearing in these sessions before you start racing for real.

The Mt. Tabor races have thinned out the clinics a bit this month so if you have been thinking about giving the class a try, next Wednesday might be a good time to do it. Classes are $5 and we have rental bikes for an additional $5. We start at 6 PM, but try to arrive around 5 PM if you need to rent a bike. You can also bring your own pedals.

Hope to see you out there.

Ken

Mike Murray

Beginning riders should be on an 82-86 inch gear and Cat 1/2 riders will go
to 92 or so at Alpenrose depending on the event. For those that have
difficulty with the arcane gear inch subject and/or those that have the most
common 46 or 48 chain ring that is 46/15 or 48 /16 for beginners and going
down to a 14 tooth for Cat 1/2. A 46/14 or 48/15 will be a good general
gear for just about everyone. Ideally you should get 3 sequential chain
rings and 3-4 sequential cogs. That way you can make gear changes in about
2 inch increments over a wide range without having to shorten or lengthen
the chain. If you get 46, 47 and 48 chain rings and 13, 14, 15, 16 cogs you
can get gears ranging from 78 to 100 on the same chain. This way you can
play with them and figure out what works best.

For what it is worth, the rental bikes have a 46 ring with a 14 and 15 tooth
on the double sided hub. This gives you an 82.8 (good for training
sessions, women and most beginning racers) on one side and an 88.7 (good for
stronger riders) on the other.

Mike Murray

-----Original Message-----
From: obra-bounces@list.obra.org [mailto:obra-bounces@list.obra.org] On
Behalf Of T B
Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 13:52 PM
To: OBRA MAIL LIST
Subject: [OBRA Chat] Gear Ratios on Track.. Help!

HELP!!!!

I am looking to get into track racing but i dont know what gear ratio to
use. Riding the track is not my issue as i ride it many times a summer. I
simply do not know what gears to run. I am looking to do the Fast Twitch
Fridays, so what would be a good ratio for Match Sprints? Should i be
looking for max acceleration or full boar speed or a combination of both? I
dont want a gear that ill be maxed out on before the sprint is over do i?
And, what would be a good all around ratio for racing on the track?

Thanks for the help!

_____

Search that pays you back! Introducing Live Search cashback. Search Now!

Dan H

As long as we are talking about gears, it should be mentioned that gear ratios as they pertain to bike racing are not based on real gears but a hypothetical 27" wheel. I used to base my gear ratios on actual tire diameter but if you do that the number of sprockets for a given gear will vary slightly. If you use the hypothetical 27" rear wheel, a 50 X 15 will always be a 90" gear even if with your 19mm tire it's really a 88.67.
Another tidbit: Gear inches reflect the diameter that the wheel would be if you didn't have gears. Multiply by 3.14159265358979323846 (pi) to get the distance traveled for each crank revolution. (or wheel revolution in the case of high wheelers)
Another tidbit: a 700 X23mm tire is about the same diameter as 26 X 2.00 tire.
Don't get me started on 29ers!
http://www.jbarrm.com/cycal/cycal.html
Dan Houghton
Southwest Bicycle
3605 SW Multnomah Boulevard
Portland, OR 97219
www.southwestbicycle.com
503-246-0333

----- Original Message -----
From: Mark J. Ginsberg
To: T B ; OBRA MAIL LIST
Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 7:55 PM
Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] Gear Ratios on Track.. Help!

depends on your category, and then having one or two gears near each other for different races (or different days)

my personal opinions, which you can use as a starting point
cat 3- 86 inch gear
cat 1-2 88-92, depending on the event and the person.

Mark Ginsberg

T B wrote:
HELP!!!!

I am looking to get into track racing but i dont know what gear ratio to use. Riding the track is not my issue as i ride it many times a summer. I simply do not know what gears to run. I am looking to do the Fast Twitch Fridays, so what would be a good ratio for Match Sprints? Should i be looking for max acceleration or full boar speed or a combination of both? I dont want a gear that ill be maxed out on before the sprint is over do i? And, what would be a good all around ratio for racing on the track?

Thanks for the help!

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Mark J. Ginsberg
Attorney At Law
1216 SE Belmont St.
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 542-3000
Fax (503) 233-6874
markjginsberg@yahoo.com
www.bikesafetylaw.com

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Mark J. Ginsberg

depends on your category, and then having one or two gears near each other for different races (or different days)

my personal opinions, which you can use as a starting point
cat 3- 86 inch gear
cat 1-2 88-92, depending on the event and the person.

Mark Ginsberg

T B wrote: .hmmessage P { margin:0px; padding:0px } body.hmmessage { FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma } HELP!!!!

I am looking to get into track racing but i dont know what gear ratio to use. Riding the track is not my issue as i ride it many times a summer. I simply do not know what gears to run. I am looking to do the Fast Twitch Fridays, so what would be a good ratio for Match Sprints? Should i be looking for max acceleration or full boar speed or a combination of both? I dont want a gear that ill be maxed out on before the sprint is over do i? And, what would be a good all around ratio for racing on the track?

Thanks for the help!

---------------------------------
Search that pays you back! Introducing Live Search cashback. Search Now!_______________________________________________
OBRA mailing list
obra@list.obra.org
http://list.obra.org/mailman/listinfo/obra
Unsubscribe: obra-unsubscribe@list.obra.org

Mark J. Ginsberg
Attorney At Law
1216 SE Belmont St.
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 542-3000
Fax (503) 233-6874
markjginsberg@yahoo.com
www.bikesafetylaw.com

T B

HELP!!!!

I am looking to get into track racing but i dont know what gear ratio to use. Riding the track is not my issue as i ride it many times a summer. I simply do not know what gears to run. I am looking to do the Fast Twitch Fridays, so what would be a good ratio for Match Sprints? Should i be looking for max acceleration or full boar speed or a combination of both? I dont want a gear that ill be maxed out on before the sprint is over do i? And, what would be a good all around ratio for racing on the track?

Thanks for the help!

_________________________________________________________________
Search that pays you back! Introducing Live Search cashback.
http://search.live.com/cashback/?&pkw=form=MIJAAF/publ=HMTGL/crea=srchpaysyouback