I went there this saturday and I took a few pics with my phone cam.

I also took a few shots of their rental bikes.

=) Enjoy !

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-07-06_1046.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-07-06_1048.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-07-06_1049.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-07-06_1050.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-07-06_1051.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-07-06_1052.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-07-06_1053.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-07-06_1055.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-07-06_1056.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-07-06_1057.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-07-06_1058.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-07-06_1059.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-07-06_1100.jpg

looks like in good shape. I thought it was all crappy because of the huracanes


thanks

the lights haven't been fixed yet.

piccolo is the most underrated velodrome in the US.

I went there this afternoon.

There were 3 people there when I came in and they were almost done...

After they were done, I got on and got a feel for the track on the flat part... then I started to test out the banked parts... little by little ... I worked my way up to the bank just above the thick blue line...

After about 3 or 4 laps, I was up on the bank and it felt so damn good !

I spent about an hour there by myself... those people that were there left and I had the whole place to myself.. not bad for 3 bucks !!

Some extra thoughts...

#1. I need drop bars. (my crappy chopped bullhorns don't give me a good body position).

#2. I need to select the proper track gearing... right now, 40x16 doesn't cut it. lol

#3. I need slick tires, much thinner ones than my ballzmart $ 8.95 bell tires.

#4. I need to move my seat forward, so that I can stab at the pedals a lot harder, my street setting is much farther back for comfort ... but its useless for the track.



well, thats it for now. =)

and bullhorns are not allowed for mass start races (if you plan to).

and bullhorns are not allowed for mass start races (if you plan to).


Thanks.



Here are some pics from yesterday (Tuesday Afternoon).

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-10-06_1717.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-10-06_1718.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-10-06_1716.jpg

well 40x15 in a big track wont work at all hehhe... get some like 47x15 or so to begin with.

- Take out those awefulll horn things
- Slick tires? u need tubular tires... any clincher no matter how thin and ultra super duper it is, it will have the same result. Not responsive and tooooooooo much drag. Hope u could afford tubular rims or wheels. and the put any road tubular there (entry level guy ok?)
- use a hmm darn!! dont know the word in english for this but i'll explain. Construction people uses a cord with a weight at the end to check where the exles go... a level.. well i tihnk u guys know what im talking about, check the front of your seat and see where it falls compared with the BB. The ideal is to be between 1 or 2 cms (inches sucks :P) behind the center of the BB. Always u can put the seat to falls just on the center of the BB but sometimes it is too much...

Brian Piccolo isnt a hard track to learn. I would say its quite easy to learn... u r doing well, always put the center of gravity towars the bank u know... as a comment... it is easyer go in the upper part of the bank than in the lower part hehehe make sense? a lot!.. (homework)

Once u get at the upper part u had have mastered the main part of the process. So go ahead to the upper part. Do a couple of turns in the upper bank, then go to the lower bank (red line), Then Up again, down again, up/down (u have to master the track and your bike)... suddenly the curve banks will look flat when riding... :)

The next step is go over the pedals in the curves... try to master that

The next step is figure it out how slow u can ride your bike on the curve banks. Thats a things some people is scared to do but u will figure it out the 1st time u slide from the bank because u were going too slow. After that ull have the speed recorded in your legs and mind. Depends of the person, bike and wheels obviously aswell. In London canada I ride veeery slow in the banks, I like to scare people hehe... it is always good to know your limits and the stuff u r using ok? Please do not abuse I dont want u to get HURT or damage your machine ok?

The next step is combine all the stuff learned. and ull be ready :)

Good luck .. :)

UM

Thanks for the info Ultraman !

I did like going on the top part of the bank, I was all alone so I had time to play and see how different parts of the banks felt... I sould start on the outside and end up near the top, about half way through the turn I would lean in and the speed was just awesome as the steel slope catapulted me as fast as I could spin onto the next straight !

=)

I don't know if you are allowed to do that in a real race but I was there alone so I was just experimenting. lol

I plan to get a track bike soon, so that I can have the proper clearance with the pedals and so that I can get some tubular tires....

I was considering the Bianchi Pista, but I don't know if the rims are tubular compatible or just for clinchers...

I don't want to break the bank as I dont plan to compete but I do want to train more and more...

HI again...

Dude i wish to be the to teach u a few more things... about the bike u want to buy.. the bianchi pista (the steel chrome one) is an entry level frame is more like a road frame with track dropouts... even has brake drills on it... well for 700 bucks its fine... the fuji pista its the same kind of bike so basically the bianchi, langsters, fuji pista and hmmm raleigh something are the same kind of bike.... and the price is similar.... I tihnk the raleigh and the langsters have brakes on it.. Oh all of those have clinchers (get tufo tubular clinchers and problem solved but i have no clue how they work in a track)

The next option is go to ebay and get a real track bike for 700 - 900 bucks... depends on u...

good luck dude :)

I found these on ebay: Item number: 7211028933

They are TUFO clincher tubular C S22

Link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7211028933&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Fcgiurl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fcgi.ebay.co m%252Fws%252F%26fkr%3D1%26from%3DR8%26satitle%3D7211028933%2509%26category0%3D%26fvi%3D1


Let me know if these are the right kind of tires....... ????

They sell for $ 30 each.

If I buy 2 of them, the seller gives you the special sealant for free..

Is this a good deal ?

tubular tires are also called sew ups, so you can look for those, too.

ford, i'm not worrying about that sort of thing just yet. get a track frame with better geometry and then think about components. use actual track drops, get a higher gear.

i dunno, that whole bike is one that isn't cut out for the track, so i'd use it like you are now and just work on assembling everything else.

i'm riding a bianchi pista, and man, they're not a bike you want to stop at, but a fine bike to start with. upgrade the parts on it as you go through a season and an offseason, and try to get a better frame to put the better parts on for the next season. that's my plan, anyhow. i'd suggest it, since cost's probably as much of an issue for both of us.

by the way, been a while since i've seen pics of your bike. it's looking good.

same ones....

Get the stuff that goes inside because if u get a flat it will be imposible to fix them up. Are tubeless....

:)

Humancongerel its right...

:)

I would forget about tubulars for right now. They really do not make much of a difference until you are competing at the highest levels. Many people who race on tubies actually train on clinchers...

1) The Bianchi Pista($550 MSRP) seems like it would be great for what you want to do. I plan on racing and I almost got one.

2) If you have been brainwashed by the "cool kids" in the SS/FG theads and are convinced a Pista/Langster/Mercier/Motobecane, etc are not good enough for you then you could buy a frameset and build up from scratch. Chucks bikes has a Tsunami '05 frame for $285.

3) You could watch your local Craigslist, the Ebay/CL thread in SS/FG and the SF CL to watch for a track bike to come up...but they typcally go for higher than retail since they have "upgraded" parts.

p.s. I wish our track was open at all times....We currently only have saturday beginners sessions going, and during the year the only other sessions are planned practices.. I doubt I will ever have less than 5 other people on the track at the same time.

I went by the velodrome this morning, nobody was there but some in-line skater kids on the inside track..

The riding season starts in a few weeks, so I plan to attend some of the training sessions and hopefully someone will let me join in and train with them.

I gave in and ordered an ebay bike to start off with... I will upgrade it as I see fit and then eventually get a real good frame to race with ... that is.. if I ever really get into racing.

I have only actually ridden the velodrome once, and that was last week on tuesday so I'm just a total newb. lol =)

Either way I liked it enough that I think I will at least give it a real try. If I like it then I'll stick with it, if not then at least I have a beginner track bike to rip up the streets with !!!!

I have seen this bike on fixgedgeargallery.com a bunch of times + it comes with the exact same crankset and cog as the Bianchi Pista & a bunch of other entry-level track bikes...

I know that I'll have to upgrade the wheels and hubs soon, since they are most likely really low end ones... but at least I'll get to pick what wheels/hubs I want instead of paying $500 + and still have to upgrade the wheels ....

I paid $ 350 shipped.

=)


I ordered this one, Mercier Kilo TT 57cm (c-c) is 60cm(c-t) with TT of 575mm :

http://i15.ebayimg.com/03/i/03/1f/f4/e8_3.JPG

Not a bad price... not a bad idea... i think u took a good desition... I hope I could go to miami asap hehehe... have to try my tesch :D

ps: put tubular clinchers and ull be all set :)

That is a great bike if you are going to ride it on the track!
The dudes on SS/FG want to get a bike to skip/skid, otherwise tear up on the street. The chances of them killing tires/stripping hubs, etc is much higher than someone riding the bike on the the track.
The number one complaint of those bikes is the hub...which might be easy to strip under hard wear...on the track you will not be putting the kind of backpressure on it that a street rider would.
One of my racing wheels actually does not even allow a lockring!!!

One of the racers at our local track,Hellyer, rode the Motobecane last year, and never lost a race with it...he just sold it on eBay for $400+...even though he got it from the same place you did for about the same price you did!!!

p.s. I believe people on ss/FG said the Mercier frame is the same as the KHS flite 100.

Thanks for the positive feedback...

Just FYI, from what the guys on the SS/FG say about this bike is that it is a cheep, low cost, mass-produced bike from Taiwan or somewhere in china.

I don't really mind the fact that its low cost considering that I am only just thinking about getting into the sport + I don't plan to ride this one on the street ... its just for me to train @ the velodrome...

For $ 307 + 40 shipping, at least I won't sink the ship........ + It comes with the exact same crankset & cog that the Pista & KHS Flite 100 have....

The only thing about it that is truly cheeper than the Pista and KHS is that it doesn't come with a threadless fork thingie .... ohh well !!!!!!!! that is probly why it costs $ 150+ less than the competition.........

=)

lol

gooooooooooooood deal :)

:)

More Pictures !

Here are a few from yesterday... I tried out my new Ebay bike... Mercier Kilo TT and it rocked ! (Now I am just waiting to get my Tufo tubular clinchers ... =) )

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-19-06_1637.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-19-06_1638.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-19-06_1639.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-19-06_1640.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-19-06_1641.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Piccolo_Park_2006/01-19-06_1642.jpg

careful on the ones you ordered man... they are ultra thin.. 700x21 might work out good on the velo though... let me know if you have a ***** of a time on the drome with that size tire.

BTW. think you made a great descision on the bike. This coming from one of those FG/SS fags you guys are hatin on . Just kiddin... ride on

U rock man!....

I wish I could go theeeeerreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee snif i miss the track!...

:)

I had a great time at the track yesterday, and the new bike is much much better to ride than my street bike ... !


For the time being, I plan to ride this one strictly on the track... I will hopefully get a really good wheelset for it within the next few weeks/months.

I also want to find a good chain tensioner, so I don't have to worry so much about chain tension and wheel alignment...


Also, what chain oil/lube/grease do you velo guys suggest ?

I want something clean and easy to work with that HOPEFULLY won't turn the chain black... ?

put any stuff there, when racing oil is only a detail... because u r too tired to been worry about it :p

Thre is some dry lubes those do not turn the chain so black... but u r in the miami area so i would be more worried about corrossion u know (salt in the air)...

UM

There's a bunch in this tread too: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=164998&highlight=piccolo
Sorry if you've already seen it.

Just a little update, had my first official practice / racing today.

Unfortunately, there were no other beginners on the track, so I did not ge to race with the pro's, I only had the chance to run 4 time trials by myself..

anyway, I don't have the result sheet with me (forgot to pick it up) but I do recall my best standing start single lap time was 30.4 seconds. (This track is 333.3 m.)

This was my 3rd or 4th time on the track and I have NEVER attempted a time trial before.

The guys @ the track tell me that a pro can run the single lap time trial in 27 seconds or better.

I hope to improve, and with the really helpful people @ the track, I know I will have lots of support.

=)

Not to be a *** or anything...but if you went 30.4, I think the Pro's are going to be A LOT faster than 27. The difference you are talking about is only 10%..

If you have never done one, have no practice with standing starts(or technique for flying laps) have never specifically trained for racing and are within 10% of the pros(on your brand new, bottom of the barrel Mercier with wheels you think you need to upgrade, you have a HUGE future in front of you!!!


EDIT: Now that I think about it, they are going to be much faster than that. I would imagine they can do a 1:09 Kilo or so on that track..That would AVERAGE for 3+ laps at 23 secs..

Not to be a *** or anything...but if you went 30.4, I think the Pro's are going to be A LOT faster than 27. The difference you are talking about is only 10%..
..........

You are right, I think they said the average guy can run 27 on that track.. so yes I am SLOW =)

Either way, its LOTS of fun and I plan to train the entire year.

More Pics PLz! And Btw Nice race :)! Cant wait untill next sunday...

More Pics PLz! And Btw Nice race :)! Cant wait untill next sunday...


Hey ! your first post !

Finally !!!!

Yeah heh... I really hope next race we will have something like 1 standing lap. 200m flying....also you will be able to compare your self to the results that everybody will show!

Yeah heh... I really hope next race we will have something like 1 standing lap. 200m flying....also you will be able to compare your self to the results that everybody will show!

awesome !

I can't wait !!

anyway, check this out: http://www.floridatrackcycling.com/pages/photos.htm

TONS of pics of our track and now I realized who some of those people are !!!!!!!!


check this out: Spiderman ! http://www.floridatrackcycling.com/images/0915.jpg

and one more of spidey ! : http://www.floridatrackcycling.com/images/182132.jpg

.........

EDIT: Now that I think about it, they are going to be much faster than that. I would imagine they can do a 1:09 Kilo or so on that track..That would AVERAGE for 3+ laps at 23 secs..


Here is some info that I thought about..

My time in standing start 333.3 m = 30.4 seconds
Average speed = 333.3/30.4 = 10.96 m/s (convert to mph) = 24.5 MPH

Now, plug the #'s into my cadence calculator & my gearing (48x15) and you get:

average cadence @ 24.5 mph = 95 rpm.

This seems quite low, considering that it is averaged #'s... the peek mph had to be a little higher, but not much...

On my flying start lap, I did in 24.x seconds... *(don't recall the exact # after 24..)

So, lets get this one down...

333.3 m in 24 seconds
Average speed = 333.3/24 = 13.88 m/s = 31 MPH

Cadence calculator says 31 mph = 121 rpms.


So now we have what I can maintain @ my current level for 1 full lap... lol

121 rpm... thats it...


(one question, what is the exact size of a 700c wheel in inches ?) ... just want to be sure since I'm just using 27 inches for my cadence calculator, I am not sure what the exact # should be...
Using 27 inch wheels on my FG roadbike conversion I can run @ 28 mph with a little back wind helping me for a good 1/2 a mile or so .. that is 131 rpms (@ the gearing I had on it at the time)...

but anyway..... I Dgrs....

A flying lap at 24 is pretty good. I thought your 30.4 time you were mentioning was the flying lap...

I've been using this gearing chart: http://www.i1.net/~dwolfe/gerz/index.html

it says that 27 inch is basically the same as 700c but i'm still not 100% sure.

Does your cadence calculator let you enter in "roll-out" distance? Most cyclecomputers use this value(in mm) to make their calculations.
If you look in most(any?) cyclocomputer manuals, it will give you an estimate of rollout depending on width of tires....you could also measure rollout by marking your tire and slowly moving the bike forward until it makes a complete revolution and measuring the distance.

27" wheels are slightly larger than 700c's. That is why many of the road conversion dudes get into trouble with brake reach when they "upgrade" to a 700c wheel(it also drops the BB a little)

Tire-size Circumferance (mm)
26 x 1.75 2050
26 x 2.0 2080
26 x 1.25 2030
650 x 20C 1950
700 x 20C 2070
700 x 25C 2090
700 x 38 2170

HI...

hmmm 39.2 km/h average? well isnt bad.. but isnt fast enough thou... Frodfasterr u have to figure it out that u r a novice... U need more training... more cadence... thats all... but i think u r doing good.. wonder if u r putting some miles on you in the road... and the other important at least for me ... would u post a pic of you while riding in the track?... wanne see your how u ride...

thanks.. :)

ps: I envy u for having the track right there... darn!...

HI...

hmmm 39.2 km/h average? well isnt bad.. but isnt fast enough thou... Frodfasterr u have to figure it out that u r a novice... U need more training... more cadence... thats all... but i think u r doing good.. wonder if u r putting some miles on you in the road... and the other important at least for me ... would u post a pic of you while riding in the track?... wanne see your how u ride...

thanks.. :)

ps: I envy u for having the track right there... darn!...


Awesome, post up when you are gonna be down here !!!

I figure I should throw some new pictures in here, just in case some readers of this forum don't look at the pics sticky on the ss/fg forum...

Alloy Pista 3T bars, 14t No-Brand Cog (Just installed it 5 min ago) ... chain resized to match.

Ran out of black grip tape.. lol

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Mercier_kilo_tt/14t/p1010011.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Mercier_kilo_tt/14t/p1010012.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Mercier_kilo_tt/14t/p1010014.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Mercier_kilo_tt/14t/p1010015.jpg

http://nitrousworld.com/images/bicycle_pics/Mercier_kilo_tt/14t/p1010009.jpg

sweet :)

So why did you put a 14T cog on there(92.6 gear inches)? That is a higher gear than most guys(who have trained all year) race on?

Not knocking..just wondering..I plan to do match sprints in either 49x15(88.2GI) or 50x15(90 GI)...I warmup and am doing training with a 49x16.

You already have a relatively slow cadence for a track rider(95 RPM)...this will drop it even lower(probably down towards 80-85)...

Are you going to try any of the current racing series? There is info at http://www.floridatrackcycling.com/

So why did you put a 14T cog on there(92.6 gear inches)? That is a higher gear than most guys(who have trained all year) race on?

Not knocking..just wondering..I plan to do match sprints in either 49x15(88.2GI) or 50x15(90 GI)...I warmup and am doing training with a 49x16.

You already have a relatively slow cadence for a track rider(95 RPM)...this will drop it even lower(probably down towards 80-85)...

Are you going to try any of the current racing series? There is info at http://www.floridatrackcycling.com/


yes, I plan to race this season. I'm going to go out to the track in a little while, but the weather is nasty, cold and windy ... lol

Anyway, the 95 rpm is only average from a standing start lap ... my actual rpm was alot higher...

I don't know if I'm going to be able to spin the 14t, but I'm going to give it a try. If its 2 much, I'll switch back to the 15t ..


.

update: point taken ZappCatt ... the 14t was overkill for me.

I am going to try the 15t next week and see how it feels...

No prob, it was not a slam at all..just was wondering.

I am also a newb..but am lucky that we have a core bunch of good guys who ride at our track(the double edged sword of Hellyer...lots of good guys..VERY limited opportunities to ride...so if it is open, there will be some knowledgeable dudes...but is only open for a couple of hours a week right now...)

Fordfasterr were you at the track on Sunday moring? It seems I recall a bike like yours, but I can't place you. I was on a red Guru.

I'll link this a little better:

Mikearena (http://www.flickr.com/photos/61383120@N00/sets/1794346/)

http://static.flickr.com/42/84022419_661c7675cf.jpg

Mine (http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewandre/sets/1795570/)

http://static.flickr.com/43/84076190_3da826e752.jpg

Fordfasterr were you at the track on Sunday moring? It seems I recall a bike like yours, but I can't place you. I was on a red Guru.

Yes I was there. I remember you.

I could not stay with the group because my gearing was too high, I gave up early and went home in the freezing weather. Also, I am new, so I don't have the endurance or strength to keep up with the experienced riders.

=)

I'm changing the gear to a 15t for this sunday and hopefully it'll be more manageable.

See you there !

u were using 48x14??? thats too much dude... cya! :)

u were using 48x14??? thats too much dude... cya! :)

duh, I felt like i was climbing up a hill the entire time I was on the track, it was hard to keep a pace line... + it was in the low 40's that morning + wind chill ... I was a wreck !

=)

Ohh, and I forgot to mention it, but as I rode toward the bench to answer my cell phone, I didn't un-clip quick enough and ended up on my arse ! LOL