Originally Posted by
Doge
I already gave my opinion about enjoying variables. But to this OP...You mean actually allow all racers in the race to use the same equipment? Like juniors would be allowed to use the same gears as adults? I would vote for that. At this time there are a group of pretty fast racers being handicapped by the rules. Fix that first.
The gear restriction isn't a lifetime thing, and I tend to think its a good thing. I'm not sure I can definitely say that the lower gears improve pedaling technique, but I think that its probably good thing for kids under 18 to be handicapped when compared to adult riders, it effectively prevents overeager parents from pushing their kids too hard and too early into world class competition. Other sports have age-grouping leagues to limit this, like little league baseball and the high-school-->college-->professional progression in football. In sports that don't have those systems like gymnastics or some extent, track and field, you get a decent amount of exploited kids that burn out before they reach adult competition.