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Newbie...Need advice on a track bike.

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Newbie...Need advice on a track bike.

Old 05-15-13, 10:55 AM
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Newbie...Need advice on a track bike.

Hi, I'm 16 years old and have been cycling on the road for 9 months now, after inspiration from the 2012 Olympics. I decided to have a go at track cycling about a month ago, and enjoyed it so much I joined a Junior Track Club in Manchester. I quickly progressed through the groups to my surprise and am now riding in the top group, but still using a rental bike...I've been told I need my own bike to race, and that this will be very soon, I would also like my own bike due to the added benefits of not setting up saddle height every time, having the wrong gearing etc....

Anyway, I've been saving and its my birthday soon so I'm able to get myself a Track Bike. I've had a look around and got advice from other riders, coaches and found that the 'Dolan Pre-Cursa' seems the most popular, and best value for money. (I'm wanting it to last a while and Dolan also seem like a fairly reliable company). This is the bike: https://www.dolan-bikes.com/track-bikes/alloy/Pre Cursa Track Bike?product_id=662

One thing I'm not sure about however, is the sizing/gearing...

I'm 5foot 7inches but have long legs...
There are a lot of different options for size on the Dolan site, but the 3 I'm unsure of are 'Stem Length'- how long should a stem actually be for track?, 'Crank length' and 'Handlebar size'- should the bars be narrower?

Also, the gearing...the rental bikes have '50x16' gearing, I'm guessing the 50 is the chainring size, and 16 the sprocket size? (unsure on the terminology!)
I've found the rental bikes to be slightly high geared, I have a tendency to spin my legs fast, in a smaller gear on the road, (hardly ever coming out of the small chainring) but I can still keep up with men pushing the hard gears and it just seems to work best for me, and I feel I could go faster, and not tire as quickly with a smaller gear on the track,
The options available on the PreCursa are '46T', '48T' and '50T' for chainring size...but nothing mentioned about sprocket size?
I'm unsure of which would be best for me.

Any help would be very much appreciated!
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Old 05-15-13, 11:03 AM
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everyone is going to point you to the fit calculator. it is in a thread that is marked with stars. it is a sticky. do that, it should answer most of your questions. get a friend to help.

also, i have a precursa. i think you'll love it
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Old 05-15-13, 11:05 AM
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First off, you should probably see if this can be moved here instead. (edit: nvm, you beat me to it. good thinking.)

And to quickly answer a few of those questions.

Dolans are nice.
Get a coach to fit you, if possible. He/she will let you know what size stem and bike you need.
Handlebar size, generally you use the narrowest you can comfortably.
Crank length is preference. People generally use 165s, 167.5s, and 170s, sometimes a bit longer.

You're correct regarding the gearing terminology.
You change gears a lot on the track, and rear cogs are generally cheap. The 48t front chainring is pretty commonly used. You could get away with using it, and a handful of cogs to start.

Also, sup?
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Old 05-15-13, 11:40 AM
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bro she's 16.

also +1 for moving to the track racing forum b4 you get a bunch of crappy advice here.
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Old 05-15-13, 11:44 AM
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Originally Posted by TMonk
bro she's 16.
Aw ****. Missed that.

Pretty sure that's the AoC in the UK though...
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Old 05-15-13, 11:46 AM
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sup?
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Old 05-15-13, 11:47 AM
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Doesn't make it ok.

Sup.
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Old 05-15-13, 11:47 AM
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also how has that user name not been taken yet????
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Old 05-15-13, 11:53 AM
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Originally Posted by TMonk
sup?
Originally Posted by GMJ
Sup.
There we go.

Originally Posted by GMJ
Doesn't make it ok.
Actually, that's exactly what it makes it.
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Old 05-15-13, 11:55 AM
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Ok.
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Old 05-15-13, 11:58 AM
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werd.
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Old 05-15-13, 12:00 PM
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... and this is exactly why this should get moved to the track racing forum.

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Old 05-15-13, 12:00 PM
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Originally Posted by TMonk
... and this is exactly why this should get moved to the track racing forum.

haha, she posted it there too.
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Old 05-15-13, 12:07 PM
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Morality (especially personal) does not and should not necessarily coincide with laws (federal/statutory/&c). We're talking about different senses of what is "ok", which in itself is a term riddled with vagueness even in proper context(s) and value-attribtuion. Its ok that I **** myself if I am too lazy to get up just as it is ok for me to run a stop light assuming there is no one around. Its not ok that in both of these cases, its ok.
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Old 05-15-13, 12:09 PM
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Originally Posted by GMJ
Morality (especially personal) does not and should not necessarily coincide with laws (federal/statutory/&c). We're talking about different senses of what is "ok", which in itself is a term riddled with vagueness even in proper context(s) and value-attribtuion. Its ok that I **** myself if I am too lazy to get up just as it is ok for me to run a stop light assuming there is no one around. Its not ok that in both of these cases, its ok.
When the hell did you get so pedantic?
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Old 05-15-13, 12:11 PM
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Its finals week and I have papers I'm working on right now. That's why its particularly bad right now.
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Old 05-15-13, 12:19 PM
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Holy gross-ass derailment, batman
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Old 05-15-13, 12:27 PM
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Originally Posted by GMJ
Its finals week and I have papers I'm working on right now. That's why its particularly bad right now.
are you like a philosophy major or something???

im a working scientist (BS chemistry), and i dont understand half of the words in that post mr smartypants.




.......ok not rly, but damn
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