Originally Posted by
carleton
Even before the rise of big gears, no one would hit more than around 140-145 in a sprint. 150 was "spinning out". .
I gotta
respectfully disagree. I lived those days. I survived three years of Friday Nights under the Lights at Hellyer (Hell Yeah). I rode sub 11's in a 90 inch gear and went 4-6 inches smaller to sprint in. I spun north of 150. The only person who rode big gears was Rory O'Reilly and I was in awe of his 103" kilo gear but I could still beat him in a sprint by hanging on his wheel and going ape into turn 4. The sprints were much shorter,hence the low gears for a nasty jump but occasionally some idiot would jump at the bell and you had to spin it up to run them down.
When I took up Sprinting again three years ago I had to relearn how to sprint in the new age. At 59 I appreciate the new style, slower cadences and less contact.