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Old 08-07-21, 09:59 AM
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Russ Roth
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Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: South Shore of Long Island
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Bikes: 2010 Carrera Volans, 2015 C-Dale Trail 2sl, 2017 Raleigh Rush Hour, 2017 Blue Proseccio, 1992 Giant Perigee, 80s Gitane Rallye Tandem

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Originally Posted by Viich
Russ - not sure what tire you're running, as that can change the gearing as well, but in any case that is an absolutely MASSIVE gear. Very seldom does a top rider run very far above the classic 55 gear inch BMX standard (44:16 on 20x2" tires, roughly)

My kids are running:

9yo - 42:16 / 54 gear-inch / 170" rollout
10yo - 40:15 / 55.75 gear-inch / 175" rollout

I'm running (as a 42yo inter):
44:16 / 54.9 gear-inch / 172.5" rollout

I definitely want to lower the gear a little for my 10yo, and I think I'm going to try going back to 43:16 for my own bike at my next race.

What your son is running:
45:14 is 64-65 gear-inch / 202" rollout.

Kids around that age can sometimes be successful running slightly higher gears than older kids because they often have trouble spinning to the same max cadence, but I'd say that is pretty extreme. Even the pros run less gear than that on the 8m start hills. Acceleration at the start is generally accepted to be far more important than pedaling later on the track.

BMX Ultra gear calculator is a pretty good resource that takes into account tire size as well.
Thanks for the reply, it did roll out longer than I would have expected and much further than his track bike. I think I'll drop him back down to close to what he was. Last year he ran a 40/14, and he's asking for taller but I think the 41/14 might be good enough. Probably need to get him and his sister cadence computers and take them for some spinning sessions once the path slows down in the fall.
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