Heaving, panting, pulling: The concrete ramp at the Rifugio San Giovanni continues to point steeply towards the sky. Struggling marathon riders press on their gear levers in vain, even though they know that their chain is already clinging to the 36 mm lifebuoy. For most of them, the last resort is to switch to the cradle. Some of them finally club over the crest with lactate-soaked thighs. Others descend and push.
This is what happened at the beginning of May at the Lake Garda Marathon. With the right gear ratio, the marathon riders could have spared themselves the humiliation of having to dismount. However, riders often lack the sensitivity and knowledge to adapt the gearing on their bike to their wheel size and personal fitness. The new wheel sizes make the search for the optimum gear ratio a mathematical challenge.
You can find everything you need to know about the perfect gear spectrum for your area of application in the translation consultant below as a PDF download.
BIKE is also available as a digital edition.
