![]() ![]() You may not be able to feel it and it may seem like you're going nowhere fast, but it works. Spinning is merely continuing to pedal as fast as you can to keep that forward momentum up even though your pedaled out. If you stop pedaling a bike the natural friction from the tires on the ground will start to slow you down, not to mention the added resistance of your pawls in the cassette/freewheel, however little it may be, also contributes to you slowing down. Sure, you can eventually get up to a faster speed with a higher gear ratio, but by then its too late, you've already lost. The other 10% is just keeping your place, which is a lot easier from in front than it is in behind. 90% of any race is a sprint to and through the first turn. You can't do that with a gear ratio that is too hard to push out of the gate. ![]() The most important thing that I finally realized, even though it's been said to me 1000 times, but until you've experienced it enough for it to sink in you'll never understand it, the most important thing about any BMX race is getting the holeshot and coming out of the first turn in front. Had I continued to ignore the recommendations of others that have not just been doing it, but doing it and winning, I would still be that person who is always in the back. I'm coming out of the gate with everyone else, not behind everyone else, I'm getting to the first turn at the same time or in front of other riders and I'm coming out of the first turn as well as across the finish line in front of other riders. I can't express enough how much riding the appropriate gearing has actually helped my racing. It's too easy to pedal and I complained and complained and complained, but what did I really know. The summer of 2011 I finally listened to them and set my cruiser up to 39/17 although I had no idea what spinning even is. Reluctantly, I started asking around again about what gears I should be running and with every person I asked (and still squalking about their responses and giving my same old and tired out excuses) they were all in agreement that I should set it up to 39/17 and leave it and learn how to spin. Not just the back, I was WAY in the back.Īs the years progressed and I gained something that resembled being in control of my bike and actually being close enough to someone else that I just might not get last this time I started to think again about how the gears are setup. I was typically always at the back of the pack. It didn't matter much for me at that time because I had little to no bike control and speed wasn't an issue. At least those were the excuses I used for running a crazy combination like 39/16 on my 24" cruiser. There's no pedal in me, I'm out of pedal before I even hit the first jump. For a few years I fought that suggestion as it always felt way too easy. Many people told me that I should have a 39 in the front, 17 in the rear and just leave it. When I bought my first race bike in 2007, I immediately said, "This is way too easy to pedal" and at the first opportunity I started playing with the gears. ![]() One of the most popular questions asked around any BMX track is, "How should I set up my gears?"
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