On the road and track I am consistently slower with 160's and I'm 5'3" with short legs. 155's are a complete disaster.
The blanket statement about nobody losing power is complete BS. I spent years adapting my body to put power over the top of the pedal stroke and having a tight hip angle because I had to. Without that tight hip angle I'm unable to replicate the same power as I do on 165's or 170's no matter where I put my saddle.
You may think, just lower the saddle to get a tighter hip angle. If I do that then I don't get full leg extension -- which equals lower power.
You may also think, move the saddle forward. Nope, then I can't start the pedal stroke as early.
Another thought: just pedal faster -- well I can pedal efficiently from 70 rpm to 125 rpm (because of the fixed gear track racing I peak out near 145 rpm). I'm consistently slower using the shorter cranks.
Edit: not picking on you, you just happen to be the last poster before I saw this.
The blanket statement about nobody losing power is complete BS. I spent years adapting my body to put power over the top of the pedal stroke and having a tight hip angle because I had to. Without that tight hip angle I'm unable to replicate the same power as I do on 165's or 170's no matter where I put my saddle.
You may think, just lower the saddle to get a tighter hip angle. If I do that then I don't get full leg extension -- which equals lower power.
You may also think, move the saddle forward. Nope, then I can't start the pedal stroke as early.
Another thought: just pedal faster -- well I can pedal efficiently from 70 rpm to 125 rpm (because of the fixed gear track racing I peak out near 145 rpm). I'm consistently slower using the shorter cranks.
Edit: not picking on you, you just happen to be the last poster before I saw this.