MrCrassic 

Hey, everyone!

I'm really considering getting an older track bike for sprinting practice. Is this recommended? I already have a Trek 1000, but I use it for just about everything (commuting, recreation, training, racing) and I would like to have that one dedicated bike. Plus, I heard that track bikes are great for spinning and speed practice.

Also, after seeing clips of Quicksilver, I really had the urge to get one :-D

Any suggestions? Thanks!

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MIN 

I'm very happy with my Bianchi Pista (steel.) I run it fixed at 48x18t. Be sure to look for a bike that allows a front brake. Many track bikes don't come with drilled forks for brakes.

obstacle

I've never heard anyone recommend a fixed gear (to a roadie) for sprinting practice...but fixies do rock for spinning and tempo training rides. I spend most of the off season on my fixed gear, as do many people on my companies race team. They do wonders.

mihlbach

Riding a fixed gear on the road forces you to strategize more. For instance, you can't just shift down and granny your way up a hill if you get tired...you have to be prepared for it. Gear choice and learning how to strategize your way through a course without dying on the climbs are skills you will develop. At least thats my experience with it...the hills around here aren't exactly mountains, but large enough to make riding them with a fixed gear a very challenging workout that will force you to hammer up each hill out of the saddle, only to have you suddenly spinning at warp-speed down the other side.

Dubbayoo

If you're going to ride it at Kissena, yes. If you're planning on sprinting on the road, no.

DocRay

Track bikes are currently cool. Just keep in mind they were designed for closed, looped flat tracks, not downtown traffic and hills.

I see people with brakeless track bikes on the road-that's just dumb.

that pista is awesome.

marqueemoon

A track bike on the street would be most useful geared low for working on your spin. I would personally go for more of a road geometry fixed gear/singlespeed with eyelets for fenders.

merlinextraligh

It's a nice change of pace. Don't think it's of particular value for working on your sprint (other than perhaps working on your cadence sprinting).

I'd definitely add a front brake.

MIN 

Correction - fixed gear bikes are currently cool. Even though fixed gear is meant for the velodrome, there is a reason why so many bike messengers use them for urban areas. When I am in traffic, I prefer fixed gear hands down over a geared bike. The drivetrain response can't be matched by a geared bike.

Just like a Chris King freehub is better than a Shimano Tiagra hub, a fixed gear is even more responsive than a top of the line geared hub.

Thanks for the compliment... it's a great bike but far from stock at this point.

iab

If you have A LOT of disposable income, get this. My guess is around $2500.

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ksid=p3907.m29

mihlbach

Fixed gears are not "meant" for velodrome use. There were originally on every bike, and even used in road racing. For the most part, they've been replaced with freewheels for obvious reasons everywhere except on the track. A fixed gear bike isn't necessarily a track bike, but could be any type of bike, including a road or mountain bike. No you shouldn't ride a brakeless track bike on the road unless you are a dimwitted hipster. However, a track bike set up for road use, including a front brake and road bars can be an effective training bike.

DocRay

Fixed can be on the road, but people are taking real track bikes on the road.

I was a courier in University for two years -strange community, a lot of fashion over function just like everywhere else.

I used a fixed fork MTB with slicks.

mihlbach

This has been said a lot, but I'm not so sure this is the best use of a fixed gear, at least not for me. I have no trouble spinning any of my bikes at a high cadence. The concensus on the SSFG forum seems to be that something in the low to mid 70s (gear inches) is optimal for FG use. I have my fixed gear set rather high for road use (49/16 = 81 inches) and I feel like I get more benefit out of that than spinning like a madman with a lower gear. I'm thinking of trying 49/15.

merlinextraligh

real track bikes work fine on the road, as long as they have a front brake.

And they give a lot better cornering clearence than fixies converted from road bikes.

MIN 

I rode a century this summer on my fixed gear. The worst part was descending and for that reason alone I gear higher than I might otherwise. 48x18t (~70") is actually not bad for climbing and a good compromise gear for downhilling. Note that at 35 mph at my gear ratio, my cadence is something like 170 rpm. I've hit 38 mph on my fixed gear before (~180 rpm.)

Gear inch/ratio calculator.

https://software.bareknucklebrigade.c...it.applet.html

mihlbach

I hit 42.5 mph once with ~75 inches...it wasn't very fun.

EventServices

"Do it. And let the English see you do it." (from Braveheart)

The only trick is gear selection. By the third trip, you should have that dialed in.

Dubbayoo

Cane Creek sell clincher wheelsets with either a fixed gear cog on each side (smaller one for hills) or a freewheel on one side so you can coast.

littledjahn

They're good for leg speed, not necessarily sprinting. They're great for winter because they're so easy to maintain.

mihlbach

I don't normally ride giant steep hills with my FG. If I did, I'd definately gear down to the level that you are suggesting here because creeping up giant hills with a cadence of 10rpms really sucks.

caloso

I love my FG. Mine's a converted road bike (lots of argument on that subject in the SS/FG forum) but that's what I think works best for my situation. I like having a slightly more relaxed geometry, both front and rear brakes (particularly when I flip the wheel and use the freewheel), and bottle cages ('cause, you know, sometimes I get thirsty).

Currently geared with 42x15 (73.6) which is just fine for flat, flat, flat Sacramento. YMMV, of course.

Yoshi

A lot of companies sell hubs like that. Actually having fixed-gear threading on both sides is the absolute best as a freewheel can still be threaded on.

yellowjeep

https://bikesdirect.com/products/moto.../messenger.htm

obstacle

Ummm, I'm having a hard to believing this. I ride a 75.6 gear inch on my fixed gear normally and I know that at about 110rpm, which is about 26mph, my legs are starting to get in the way. At 120rpm, which is closer to 30mph my legs are actually beginning to slow me down whether I want them too or not (i.e. I'm not back peddalling). I can spin at about 130rpm in VERY short burst (somewhat painfully) and at 75.6 gear inches that works out to slightly over 32mph (I don't have my notebook with the figures in it here, I'm doing this from memory, the formula can be found in the track forum as to how to convert gear inches or gain ratio to a ballparkrpm/mph.).

Granted this is all me and my body. Maybe 120rpm or even 130 is comfortable for you, but 42.5mph would be 170rpm+....I can't see how that is humanly possible.

Yoshi

I've hit 198rpm on rollers, but only for a few seconds. Going downhill I could probably hit 170rpm but I'd probably slow down long before that.