Originally Posted by
brawlo
Too damn well! At the carnival mentioned above due to the roller derby being between other events, I was rushing to change gears for the track events. I kept the gearing that I had been used to with my regular 175s. The 165s being 6% different really wasn't a lot, but it was enough to take the snap out of accelerations and I suffered badly in the keirin race where I ran a bigger gear. But that was going virtually overnight from 175-165. I honestly believe that after a month or so, you could condition yourself to adjust to the gear.
I began running 165s during 14/15 due to fit issues, however getting a new custom frame that actually fit me for 16/17 I went back to 175s. The biggest reason was due to the 165s being enough for some muscles not to work effectively. 175s saw better recruitment, but I'm not shorty at 6'5"
Yeah, there are factors with leg length, too. The guy who had the fastest Man 1 lap at Masters (19.7") used 155mm cranks...but he's one of the shortest guys there. On top of that, he has relatively short legs and longer torso for his height. So, personal measurements do factor in.
Regarding getting used to it: You can't get blood from a turnip. You can only press so hard on the cranks on any given revolution. Physics says you have to press harder and more often using shorter cranks. But, the up side is that you can win with aerobic power by revving it up using lower max torque but higher rpms, like a rotary engine car. So, it's a different sort of power. THAT you
will learn in that month. I mean, it's like, "OK, let me over-rev these cranks to start this sprint..." and you do it then shift pedal styles to maintain that new speed. I would touch 165RPM in match sprints....like it was nothin'. I also wasn't as gassed throughout the race day. I would even hang on mass start races longer than I usually would in years past.
Racing is really different between the crank lengths.
The down side is you could lose that "freight train" momentum that can carry you as you rest on the pedals.