Originally Posted by
BFisher
Comparing a casual vintage bike collector/rider to a vintage pro racer isn't really fair. Those riders put lots of miles in and did so to be competitive with other high level riders.
I was asking the same thing of a shop owner years ago. He was working on my touring bike with triple crank and I mentioned gearing. I asked how anyone could live with a double (this was decades before the "compact double"). Anyway, I said I pass lots of racers in my granny gear on hills. His response is possibly my favorite bike quote of all time ... "you pass lots of riders with racing clothes on". And continued to say if you/racers were in a low gear you got dropped.