This was me vs Edwin Ng, 18 years ago (wow.. tht long edi!). Note the surroundings, that was Velodrome Cheras then. BTW, I got my sunglasses free from KFC No money to buy Oakleys then, even though it was waaaaay cheaper than it is now. How cheap ? U can get an M-frame for around RM300, Frogskins for RM170. After I beat Edwin, I moved into the semis, where I had to concede a walkover against a teammate, under coach's order. I ended up 7th, in my 1st ever sprint competition...

U shud've seen the hammering Joo Ngan gave Edwin after that loss. Sometimes I pity him. He had to ride all 5 events in the track (Individual pursuit, team pursuit, sprints, kilo & points race), manages to win like 2-3 of them most of the time. I think his father was too hard on him... in the end, Edwin never did have any impact outside of Malaysia, not even Sea Games.... but he was talented that guy... & strong too...

Depends on how fast U can turn the pedals... in terms of gear inches, of course there are differences...

As I said, it depends on how fast Ur pedalling, & which cog Ur using. A 10 speed system was designed to allow for an extra lower gear or higher gear. For example, with an 8 speed system, it's very rare to have an 11T smallest cog, 12T or 13T would be the norm. That's the purpose of having more cog in the cassette, to have a wider range of gearing. Even if the other guy have a 10speed system, if he's only using 53x16 & Ur on an 8speed also using 53x16, would there be any difference ? If Ur pedalling twice as fast as he is, then U can beat him no matter which gear U use....

How often does one uses 11T or 12T in a ride ? Most proly only when sprinting & descending. The gear U proly be using most of the time is the midrange cogs, maybe 15-17T. so it doesn't really matter. But if the 10speed guy starts to use his 11T or 12T, if U only have 13T as Ur highest gear, then U'll be in trouble edi, assuming that U can pedal at the same speed as he is. Becoz U can no longer upshift.

This post has been edited by tenno: Feb 20 2012, 04:50 PM

There is one famous folding bike brand with drop bars, it's called Bike Friday. The owner of Bike Friday used to race on folding bikes... long time ago la..