Originally Posted by Mike T.
If it's that short and steep it must be our Forest City Velodrome in London Ontario. Most of our rentals are the low-budget KHS 100 and no-one clips pedals with those and I think the one lap track record (8.14 secs) is held by a good rider on one of those bikes.
Lots of racers rent them and use them for madisons and every other type of event. Plus they're rolled out by beginners every day.
So.......if this low budget bike is fine for that track them most other bikes are too. There are quite a few Fujis there as well - both rentals and privately owned.
Zach Bell has his own track bike, a Cervelo p3. It's true that it's the engine that matters, but if someone is going to put money down on a bike and they can afford it, it's best to get a bike that fits, and offers the performance that you are looking for. I would find a bike that's a little more on the "responsive" side. Look for slightly steeper angles and less rake in the fork. You'll also want a bike that's slightly shorter. On tight tracks, having your body a little more "hunched" as opposed to spread out like on a roadie helps to deal with the centrifugal forces. It just puts you in a better position to brace your upper body, a little less fatiguing as it also lets you sit up if you need to. Aim for a bike that's about 2 cm shorter in the top tube and about i-2 cm shorter in the seat tube than your roadie. This position will also serve you well a little further down the road once you develop your handling to a point that's good enough to allow aero bars for pursuits. The Fuji's and the Felts seem to be great bikes for smaller tracks, a lot of riders in this area (Southern Ontario and Michigan) seem to like them a lot. Those are my suggestions.