16/38 sprockets??? Where'd you come up with those #s? Believe me, ive tried many combos out there, of course racing against the same person, 300ft, 600ft, etc. First off, a 16 front is wayyy too big, the reason you are loosing is because yall are only racing a short distance. A 16 tooth front is made for top end (long 6th gear pulls). Another addition to your losses is your 38 tooth rear, which is also for topend. So you do the math, you have both sprockets on each side of the spectrum on one setup, OVERKILL, you should wash him by at least 5 bikes. My suggestion is to try either a 14front 41rear or a 15front 43rear. With those mods i think youll like the 15/43, and as i said before, just a suggestion, good luck :thumbsup: