"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - New Track BIke

I had a great time this year racing and training at the LA Velodrome in Carson, CA and had the opportunity to meet new cyclists as well as race with Cleave. Traveling with a bike on the airlines is getting harder and more expensive each year plus the risk of damage and loss. So I decided to rent a locker at the velodrome and put an additional track bike there so I could fly down and race.

I decided on a Felt TK2.

Classic garage door pic, 58 cm frame size.

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/rallen94402/Felt%20Track%20Bike/IMG_1386.jpg

The carbon endurance bars that come stock are very cool.

Here is the marketing pitch from the bar manufacturer...

SPHINX is a dedicated endurance racing bar. World points racing champion Cameron Meyer helped our team engineer this design. Its unique forward ‘bend’ supports the rider in the ‘sphinx’ wide-aero position pioneered by the great Spanish track champion Joan Llaneras. This innovative bar combines a new UCI-compliant aerofoil top section with lower handholds from the established and popular ERGOSUM. The ‘wingtips’ of the aerofoil meet the upper part of the round-section drops, which are slightly tilted up. This allows riders to hook their wrists inside the bend, palms facing outwards. The vertical section of the ‘bend’ flattens into a narrow aerofoil section, and then joins the bottoms which provide a conventional round-section handhold for the sprint. SPHINX provides optimized positions for points and Madison races that alternate between level high speed and all-out sprinting.

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/rallen94402/Felt%20Track%20Bike/IMG_1389.jpg

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/rallen94402/Felt%20Track%20Bike/IMG_1387.jpg

You'll win Worlds next year just based on how bad ass that bike looks.

Those handlebars are an abomination.

It makes sense now after finding a pic.

http://velonews.competitor.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/track-worlds-day-1/meyerptstwc2_310-062.jpg

great looking bike -
and those bars make lots of sense after reading the blurb.

That's a pretty bike there. Makes me jealous. My track bike is nowhere near as classy.

if I had a track bike I would get those bars.

I gotta try track riding once before I die ... I'm a crit type guy, so I'd probably like it.

Track racing is a blast. We need a track in CT, an indoor one. One of us must know someone in the hedge fund biz that needs to cash out before the stuff hits the fan. A few mil and we'd have a beautiful track somewhere on a cheap piece of property, ideally centrally located near some highway. Pellet stoves for heat or something, maybe geothermal.

forgot. that's a kick ass bike.

You'll win Worlds next year just based on how bad ass that bike looks.

You have part of the equation. Having a bad ass bike in LA on the 250 meter track and training and racing with the bad ass fast guys will make a difference at Manchester next year.

It makes sense now after finding a pic.

http://velonews.competitor.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/track-worlds-day-1/meyerptstwc2_310-062.jpg

That is a great pic. I had my bike on the trainer and the hand position shown is quite comfortable. I like the stripes painted on the leading edge of the 3T bars.

Track racing is a blast. We need a track in CT, an indoor one. One of us must know someone in the hedge fund biz that needs to cash out before the stuff hits the fan. A few mil and we'd have a beautiful track somewhere on a cheap piece of property, ideally centrally located near some highway. Pellet stoves for heat or something, maybe geothermal.

I will second that track racing is a total rush. CDR, what you need is a hedge fund principal who has already made his millions, is not under federal investigation and is an avid track racer.

Track racing is a blast. We need a track in CT, an indoor one. One of us must know someone in the hedge fund biz that needs to cash out before the stuff hits the fan. A few mil and we'd have a beautiful track somewhere on a cheap piece of property, ideally centrally located near some highway. Pellet stoves for heat or something, maybe geothermal.

You're not too far from Dundas, and with the Pan Am games in the Toronto-Hamilton area for 2015, they're planning on building a velodrome here. At this point it's only a temp facility, but the push is on to make it permanent...It's just a matter of raising the funds...

BTW cool bike!

I will second that track racing is a total rush. CDR, what you need is a hedge fund principal who has already made his millions, is not under federal investigation and is an avid track racer.

You'd think that with all the hedge funds in the area where I grew up that I'd know someone. But I don't. Arg. They're one whatever away. One degree of separation. Friends of friends, but not friends directly. I still think $100k is a lot of money so I'm still poor. Those guys... that's a default screen selection for buying/selling something. They live in a different world. Like "We need more default pull down settings. It only says 1, 2, 5, and 10 right now. We need it to say... oh... 10, 50, and 100 also". So if they buy big DOW futures (http://www.cmegroup.com/trading/equity-index/us-index/big-dow-djia_quotes_globex.html) ($25/point of the DOW, i.e. 11500x$25 for one future, i.e. $287k, $14mil, and $287mil for the default settings, meaning they set up their stuff to buy or sell 10, 50, or 100 futures at a time).

To me it's just numbers. To them it's money that they make and lose. For the cost of 10 big DOW futures we'd have a velodrome in the state, a crazy nice one. And something like 10 or 20 years seed money to keep it going. 500 big DOWs and that's a velodrome in every state.

Hm I should ask around. Heh.

Those bars make sense. When I had a track bike I rode on the streets w/ track drops, I would often put my hands in a similar position on long, flat sections of road. Cool that they come stock, the whole bike looks great!

Hm I should ask around. Heh.

For even a few hundred $K you can have a pretty nice track. I think Dale Hughes has said something to the effect that if you can get 200 of your closest friends to put up $1K each, he can get you a track. At that price it's going to be an outdoor 200 m deal on public land like they have in Rochester Hills (Detroit Suburb) but doing it that way also comes with a built in community that has a personal interest in seeing it succeed. The Rochester track was built pretty much that way (with a lot of donation smaller than $1K, too). Maybe add another $100K (probably quite a bit less) for an inflatable dome like in Burnaby, and you have a year round facility. IIRC, Forest City Velodrome was built for about $100K canadian (which was probably about $70K US at the time, but is now closer to $100K US), though the rent on the building it's in isn't cheap, so they have to work hard at keeping it full of paying customers.

And short tracks are fun-- I haven't been on the Detroit track (I'm only in Detroit at xmas) but Forest City is great. My first thought when I got off was "hey, would could build one of these on the infield in Carson!"

And back on topic:
Hermes: glad to see you're going to be spending more time down in Carson! Though I'm a little surprised you don't drive down-- air travel has gotten to be enough of a pain that it's almost a wash timewise in the drive vs. fly decision between LA and the bay area.

Sweet bike! I'd like to take a spin on one of those sometime. The bars seem to provide good function, too.

For even a few hundred $K you can have a pretty nice track. I think Dale Hughes has said something to the effect that if you can get 200 of your closest friends to put up $1K each, he can get you a track. At that price it's going to be an outdoor 200 m deal on public land like they have in Rochester Hills (Detroit Suburb) but doing it that way also comes with a built in community that has a personal interest in seeing it succeed. The Rochester track was built pretty much that way (with a lot of donation smaller than $1K, too). Maybe add another $100K (probably quite a bit less) for an inflatable dome like in Burnaby, and you have a year round facility. IIRC, Forest City Velodrome was built for about $100K canadian (which was probably about $70K US at the time, but is now closer to $100K US), though the rent on the building it's in isn't cheap, so they have to work hard at keeping it full of paying customers.

And short tracks are fun-- I haven't been on the Detroit track (I'm only in Detroit at xmas) but Forest City is great. My first thought when I got off was "hey, would could build one of these on the infield in Carson!"

And back on topic:
Hermes: glad to see you're going to be spending more time down in Carson! Though I'm a little surprised you don't drive down-- air travel has gotten to be enough of a pain that it's almost a wash timewise in the drive vs. fly decision between LA and the bay area.

We usually spend two weeks a year in SoCal and my wife and I drive down with bikes. But for a weekend race, flying seems better and the Jet Blue to Long beach flights are cheap. Plus, if I come down to LA on business, I can work in a track session.

Vittoria Diamante Pro lite tires came on the bike. They feel tacky to the touch and I assume they will not slip at LAV.

Ordered a Fuji 1.0 to keep out west. We'll be seeing you at Hellyer.

Nice rig, like to hear what you think of the bars stiffness-wise.

Vittoria Diamante Pro lite tires came on the bike. They feel tacky to the touch and I assume they will not slip at LAV.

Any tire will slip there if you ride slow enough in the corners...

but those should be fine. If you want to move up a step with clinchers, the conti supersonics are pretty nice.

I went to the track yesterday, Hellyer, and did a workout. It was pretty easy workout but felt hard - no track legs. So I do not know about how the bike handles at high power and speed in the turns. The position on the top of the bars is very nice although they felt a little flexy in the drops. I think they will be fine for training and points / scratch races. I do not know about sprinting.

Bike looks incredible. I hope it serves you well!

hermes-- I tried to reply to your PM but you're either set up to not receive pms or aren't allowed (according to the UBB pm system)

hermes-- I tried to reply to your PM but you're either set up to not receive pms or aren't allowed (according to the UBB pm system)

Hi BD, I will check it out. Sorry for the glitch.

I am thinking about this bike for my next purchase. It would replace my current track bike that I use both for commuting and racing on the track. It looks like these handle bars will not allow for a front brake, is that true? The front fork is drilled to my knowledge.

I am thinking about this bike for my next purchase. It would replace my current track bike that I use both for commuting and racing on the track. It looks like these handle bars will not allow for a front brake, is that true? The front fork is drilled to my knowledge.

The front fork is drilled. The handlebars do not look like a brake will mount. Check with the LBS. The bars are very flexible and in general, I do not like the feel on the track. They are fine on the tops but in the drops with any acceleration or power, the bars flex a lot, IMO. I plan to change out the bars for a traditional endurance bar setup.

I've read that older tk2 models have an asymmetrical rear to accommodate for better left turns. Do you know if that is true for this version of the tk2?

I have a dura-ace BB + dura-ace crank set, would I be better off keeping those around to replace the SRAM versions on the tk2?

Also, the wheels are a bit busy for me, can you confirm if they are just stickers or not? I'd like to peel them off if possible.

Thanks!

I've read that older tk2 models have an asymmetrical rear to accommodate for better left turns. Do you know if that is true for this version of the tk2?

I have a dura-ace BB + dura-ace crank set, would I be better off keeping those around to replace the SRAM versions on the tk2?

Also, the wheels are a bit busy for me, can you confirm if they are just stickers or not? I'd like to peel them off if possible.

Thanks!

I cannot address the "left turn" issue on Felt track bikes but offer the following -

"Note that a more stable bike will help the rider stay upright, but cannot be steered with as much precision. One reason track bicycles have less trail is because they are made for a precise ride rather than an easy one. A racer would rather have greater control and take responsibility for keeping the bike upright. This is especially important when the rider is out of the saddle and pushing hard on the pedals. At this time, the bike is being flipped rapidly from side to side, and if it has a large trail, it will wobble as it does so because the front wheel will turn with the lean."

IMO, the TK2 is good at the track out of the saddle in the turns.

I changed out the SRAM crank and bottom bracket for a D/A Crankset which really works well.

The wheels have stickers.

Dale Hughes' Rochester Hills track is an interesting story.
Yes, he got a lot of donations from the cycling community, but he busted his arse in the summer of '01 building it with just a small core group of volunteers. I remember seeing him driving home (in the opposite direction) dragging-butt tired and looking like a dirt miner. The end result is a track that the community has embraced. The City uses it in almost all of their promotional literature (http://www.rochesterhills.org).

It CAN be done in your town, but you'll need to find a v-e-r-y dedicated group to make it work.

We're having a work day on Saturday if anyone is going to be in the area.

Oh, yeah, baby!!!!! Love it!!!!

I've read that older tk2 models have an asymmetrical rear to accommodate for better left turns. Do you know if that is true for this version of the tk2?

Never heard that about any version-- I have one of the early ones in my garage that shows no signs of it, and just looked at a newer tk2 and tk3 tonight on the way out, and didn't see anything like that either. It doesn't make a lot of sense to do that-- it would handle terribly in the straights, and you really don't need it for the turns because the track takes care of the turns so you don't have to.

I heard that, too, from a couple of sources who heard it from Felt reps. The asymmetrical rear end shows up as looking unaligned at the seatstay bridge when the wheel's straight in the trackends. Shows on mine, which is a 07ish, before they finally started sticking steel inserts in the trackends.

I don't know if it facilitates left turns. I've never had a problem making left turns without an asymmetrical bike. shrug.

I checked my TK2 again and the frame including seat stays and chain stays are perfectly aligned.

Here is the current Sprint World Champion

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u250/rallen94402/corvos_bauge.jpg

I find it hard to believe that one would want a bike biased for a left turn when he is laying down power on the home stretch. I know he would not ride a $1500 Felt but they have to design their bikes for a wide range of power.

Furthermore, how would one do a full power standing start in the 500 meters biased to turn left. One would immediately go down track and lose time.

I am not saying the bias is not true it just does not make a lot of sense if it is true and makes the Felt bike a one trick pony.