Road Bike Racing - i've sorta got the racing bug

hi folks. i think i caught the 'racing bug' recently. i've been doing a lot of road biking, all through the winter and now that it's spring i'm doing a lot more of it still. i've been on group rides and all that. lately i've kiind of gotten interested in racing. never done it before (organized racing, at least), but i think it sounds like fun. i'm not really competitive and "psyched" etc, but i think racing seems like an interesting facet to road biking. so i'd like to try it.

my problem: i ride a fixed gear road bike. it's all i've got, and for my purposes up till now, it's all i want. i like taking it on group rides out in the hills. it's very challenging, but a great workout and much fun. unfortunately, i don't think it would be a good racing cycle. i fear they wouldn't even let me in w/o a rear brake. plus, going through turns w/ the pedals turning could be unsafe in a tight bunch. so, obviously i'd need a different bike to race w/. since i doubt i'll be using this bike too often (basically, just for racing and enough training rides to familiarize myself w/ it(gears and freewheelin and all); i'd still llikely use my fixed gear most of the time b/c i enjoy riding it so much), i'm kind of curious how cheap i can go and still get a racing bike that will hold together and be safe. not looking (at all) for "trick" and light and fancy. more of a workhorse. i'm poor, kind of a retro-grouch(which is weird in 24 year olds), and just don't care that much about the "new best thing". i firmly believe at the level i'd be racing (local), bikes don't win races. the engine/riders do. so, all that said: can i get some old steel frame w/ a 6 or 7 speed casette and downtube friction shifters and race it? i realize i'll be at a disadvantage, but, i mean, they used to race bikes like this 20 years ago, right? maybe some suntour derailers (supurbe or cyclone), similar cranks(maybe 105's), mid level wheels that i can build myself to save money on, italian steel frame (i've got a thing for italian steel), i'd probably splurge a little on brakes and get decent ones b/c i'm paranoid. does this sound sane, or just stupid? i was at a local race this weekend watching and of course everyone had new trick stuff, so it's hard to tell.

basically, i'd really like to get into racing. i don't have much money i can spend on a bike and actually prefer to build up an older eclectic ride myself to buying one off the shelf. is this unwise/unsafe/stupid/a waste? any opinions? help on what type of stuff i should be looking for? thanks in advance.

dan

i guess another similar question could be:

what kind of stuff did you racers used to use for racing that has been replaced by newer, tricker stuff. so, components that could and have been used for racing, but are now eschewed in favor of current technology. i think these older technologies are much cheaper, is why i ask. thanks.
dan

so no one has any suggestions on cheaper gear for racing? frames, components, wheels, etc? is this in the wrong forum, perhaps? or does just no one care?

When I raced my bike had indexed downtube shifters. These have of course been replaced by STI crap. It's my firm contention that downtube shifting is fine for 90% of the riding public. You'll hear stuff about safety but it's a load of crap.

You can very easily get by with a decent steel frame with downtube friction shifting. The difference between you and some yupy with a carbon fiber frame and full c-record campy grupo will not be as huge as people want you to believe. As you said, riders win races - not bikes.

Colorado cyclist, supergo and some others have great deals on aluminum bikes with like Shimano 105 or Ultegra. Any of these bikes would be fine for racing. I would not recommend doing crits or road races with a track bike. I too have the racing bug, after riding all winter with my team and now having raced a few times with some success.... It's can be a lot of fun... Somehow it hurts so good...

As you said, riders win races - not bikes.

Especially the lower end racing...roundy round cat V and IV stuff...

Now, if you get to ride a point to point type race....at a higher level where there is less variation between rider skill sets, then a bike can make a difference..the better the category the steeper the pyramid of rider skills.

i say go for it, i don't know if id go for the friction shifters, but definitely indexed downtube would be fine. you would be at a disadvantage, but it would still be fine. don't know how you feel about ebay, but sometimes you can find an amazing deal on an old racer that nobody wants anymore...couple hundred for the whole setup, or even less. i'd be interested in hearing what you build up for your first race...

still looking. keep scouring ebay and i just feel that the stuff that's been in my price range so far is not reliable. i think it would be fine for me if it didn't break, but i'm sure it would break. for instance: an old schwinn tempo bike for about 200. i'm sure it would be fine for me so long as it stayed in working order. but the wheels were crappy and i didn't have much faith in the brakes and when you consider stuff like that, it's not so much of a deal. so i'll keep looking untill i either find something i think is reliable in this price range, or my price range increases a little. thanks for the help so far. if anyone else has any suggestions or anything, let me know.

dan