CrimsonKarter21

After racing at the National level this past week I've realized that I am not as good a cyclist as I thought I was; But I'm still awesome at a state/regional level (MidWest Regional 3K Champion [TRACK], Ohio State Time Trial Champion [ROAD]) and I'm confident that I'm a 100% better road and track racer now than I was a week ago.

Okay, long story short;
-My team and I left on Thursday the 28th from Cleveland, we went to Indy to race at Major Taylor that night
-Major Taylor had a definite possibility of rain, race cancelled, drove to Columbus, Missouri to sleep.
-Left early, arrived in Colorado Springs at around 2:00pm Eastern (12:00pm local)
-Got an hour of practice before all racing the next day (Sat), 3K is that day.
-I ride the 3K in 3:52.xxx, I get 11th place. The difference between 8th place and 22nd is three seconds.
-If my last three laps in the 3K were the 1.2 seconds faster each (the same pace as my first 6 laps), I would have had a podium finish.
-Sunday I ride the 1K, I ride it in 1:15.xxx, a fast time for a sea-level track. The winner rides it in 1:06.xxx, a pro-level time 1+ second faster than second place.
-I end up with 15th place.
-No racing on Monday, but on a practice run, I rode the 1K in 1:11.479. The difference? I used drop bars this time.

All in all, I am better in mass-start races than I am in time trials because I'm good with spur of the moment strategy and psychology, but couldn't because I'm only a Cat 4, and I need to be a 3 for the mass starts.

What I've Learned
-After only 5 Track races, I'm better than half of the 17-18 y/o's that showed up to race.
-Doing 400 mile weeks at the Mike Fraisse Sports Resort in New York will make you a better rider
-I can compete at a National Level in my first year of racing
-Thin air does amazing things to your lap times and speed
-An aero helmet makes a huge difference, as does a Nimble tri-spoke front and Zipp 909 rear disc. Aero bars, not so much.
-I'm a better racer now, and have done what anybody else rarely does
-I've got a lot more connections in the cycling world.




All Pictures from the 3K




My [borrowed] steed, a "Pre-Bowery" Giant Bowery. A $400 bike that uses the Giant OCR geometry and crappy thick 6061 AL. And I still beat half of the vastly more experienced field on it.
I'm trading in a 4031 CrMo track frame for a pro-Kierin frameset/headset/seatpost made by Erba.

Bullseye

Any theories on this? You simply don't produce as much power in the aero position?

Congrats on going out on a limb and doing well.

-Bullseye

CrimsonKarter21

I couldn't put in as good a sprint in the base bars. My gear was 51x14, and the standing start was a pain in the ass. A Kilo is only three laps, and the first one should be a dead out sprint, then a seated balls-out effort, then the last lap is 100% more intense than the 2nd lap.
Aero doesn't matter that much when you have to sprint during a shorter race. But in the 3K, you need aero. And for the record, I'm a great track sprinter, but for some reason I'm not so good on the road.

within

Hey man, your mellon in photo number one is perfectly positioned in front of that tree way back yonder. I thought you had a clown wig on for a momentito! An extra 10 points if it is a wig. How did you crunch that panel above the right tail light in the last pic?

Good luck to you!

CrimsonKarter21

My coach hit his mailbox.

My new track parts should all be here any day now. Since Nationals, I've decided to slash all road bike funds and put EVERYTHING into the new track bike.
The next step is either Reynolds DV Track wheels, Cane Creek Aros or Zipp 404's, and I'll always have a Zipp disc for when I need it. The Zipps are the most aero I think, but I sure do love Reynolds.

Duke of Kent

Get 606s or 808s instead of the 404s. If you're only racing track on them, why not go for the faster set of wheels? They only weigh a little bit more, and are much more aero.

waterrockets 

Great showing. Thanks for the reports.

I really need to try the track some.

CrimsonKarter21

Those are on my list for if I get enough funds. The Blackwell 100mm's vs the Zipp 808's... Mmmmm.

garysol1 

Boy do I wish had that kind of confidence.....

pinky

Mike Fraysee Sports Resort? Does the come with EPO and/or testoterone cocktails his (former) guys have been getting nailed with?

Good luck in your endeavors.

chzman

track bikes are the strawberry jam.

i have always wanted a custom Don Walker track bike, but word on the street is you might be waiting a very, very long time.

chzman

oh and if (or when) you decide on a wheelset... you should get your rim of choice laced up to some Phil Wood track hubs. there isn't a better hub on the planet.

Snuffleupagus

Good showing man. I'd love to do some track work. No hills, and not to toot my own horn too much, but I think I could jack up a 3k pretty well

smoke

good on ya for taking a chance and going out to colorado, crimson. i think it sounds like a good start. now you know how many you have to beat

ratebeer

Good on ya, CK!

Have you been fitted on your track bike? Looks like you'd be more comfortable and faster on your base bar if you dropped your grips and possibly narrowed them (ala your drop bars.) Adjustable stem?

And yeppers, 808s spank tri spokes.

CrimsonKarter21

The Reynolds DV Tracks come with custom Phil Wood's. My wheelset that I'm building is only for training and mass-starts where I'm afraid of destroying my carbon wheels.
The hand-built's are as follows:

Velocity Pro Elite tubular rims
Dura-Ace 7700 32 hole hubs
DT Swiss Aerolite spokes (EP) or Sapim CX-Ray (non-EP)
Alloy nipples

The tires are Tufo Track tubulars and my glue of choice is 3M Fast Tack, which is my coach's favorite glue even though it isn't supposed to be for tires.

No... 100mm stem on a medium frame. The only things that are specific to me are the seat, pedals and bars. I hate the geometry more than terrorism. And the stem is a Nashbar.

Ghostman

I'm glad you are so awesome... Please keep up your awesomeness...

chzman

I knew this... but they are the low flange hubs, in black, and custom drilled for the low spoke count... that wheelset sounds awesome.

when i posted that, I wanted you to get the high flange, high polished Phil's. They are oh-so-pretty.

Bantam

I want to give the Kilo a shot. I' too small, but I still think it looks fun.

aprilia4life

That 1 - 2 seconds is no small difference.. You may think you are close, but you have nothing.

recneps

arnt you a little overgeared for a junior?

CrimsonKarter21

51x14, no gear restriction for the 17-18 Men's. I regrettably did the 1K with this gear, I should have gone in a 49x14 for a better start.

I went 3 or 4 seconds faster in practice. And yes, a few seconds is very hard. Thankfully hard work and determination don't show up in tests, at least not next year.

And oh-so heavy. Dura-Ace and Campy spin equally as smooth, unless you spend $250 more on ceramic bearings. Nobody runs on Phils at the track.
And high-flange vs low-flange is outdated now with deep dish rims and super strong spokes. They're the same now. A build with Dura-Ace hubs weighed ~1400g, the same build with Phils weighted ~1850g.

recneps

Really I was sure juniors were restriced to a 48*16 gear on the track.

recneps

nvm guess its only 10-16

CrimsonKarter21

Actually, the restrictions lean out a little bit as you get older, the 10-12's run on an easier gear than the 13-14's and the 15-16's are racing on harder gears. The 17-18's aren't restricted.