Retem

I am looking for some advice for someone that is for the first time taking their track bike from the street and riding it where it belongs, on the track.
If it helps I am 6'4" 220# and have stumps for legs.
My bike is a khs flite 100 with standard drop bars 165mm cranks 47/15 time atacs clipless pedals

Cycle-clops

Wow! Not only do I have your exact bike setup but I'm also the same height and weight as you (however my legs are longer). I've been track riding at the Burnaby Velodrome since January of this year and I love it! You should have no problems with your bike although you may want to invest in a few smaller cogs to get some higher gears.

We big guys may get laughed at and dropped on the hills out on the road but at the track we tend to have the upper hand. We can generate more power, carry more momentum, and when we drop down from the rail to the sprinters lane those skinny guys see nothing but our backside!

Mike T.

That gear - 84" - should be just fine and from it you will know if you need to go higher or lower.

lunacycle

I rode with Time ATACs for a while at the velodrome. I found them to be a bit loose and squishy, but I was running some pretty worn out cleats. They worked fine, but did not inspire confidence when sprinting out of the saddle.

Retem

good to know maybe I will bring my old platforms and slotted cleat road shoes then

Quarters Mostly

Never ever skip on the track. This might seem obvious,
but during warm ups a few weeks back, a newbie skipped
his tire while in the pace line and everyone behind him
(including me) almost crashed. Also, keep your line during
the sprint out of turn 4. When someone says "stay,"
stay your line.

genericbikedude

For a beginner, its not quite that simple. I had to skip the other day at Kissena (though I didn't almost cause a crash), because I closed a gap with the guy ahead of me and jumped into his draft just as he slowed down. Typical bungee cord effect with a bunch of neophyte riders in a paceline.

Anyway, had I not skipped, I would have touched his wheel. I should have stayed a bit right so that I would have an uptrack way out, but I didn't.

Also, sudden backpressure can be just as dangerous as skipping, but without the warning *snick*

goldenskeletons

first of all; damn! i just bought time atacs... oh well, we'll see how they hold up.

second; yeah, the bungee cord effect takes a little time to get used to. quarters and generic, were either of you present when that one guy's sunglasses fell off during warm ups last saturday? everybody got a little spooked and someone almost bailed out onto the grass, but then everybody pulled it together. yes, moving uptrack when stuff gets sketchy is crucial

edit: i'm new to the track as well. i think i learned more in my first real training clinic than i did in my entire first year of college.

lunacycle

Whoah! I didn't mean to discredit the Time ATACs. They're superb pedals for cyclocross and mountain biking.

I've never accidentally pulled out of mine. I was just saying that for me, the large amount of float was a bit disconcerting when I was sprinting hard out of the saddle.

Retem

I have been on mine for a year adnd ride fixed on te street and sprint all the time with no issues it is just a matter of wanting zero float on the track as I get it

thanks for the advice it has always been my personal belief that skids and skips are uneccessary and show a lack of finesse with the bike I actually just back pedal but I also run in the neighborhood of 69gi on the street and don't like buying tires. I am wondering if it helps that I can spin at a high cadence due tot the fact I run a lowish gear on the street dos that give me any sort of advantage.

think too much like always eh

dutret

Yes spinning helps a lot. A lower gear means you can respond faster and with less energy. Your spin allows you to run one without losing top end speed.

There is simply no reason to skip on the track ever. If you find yourself skipping then you are not ready to ride with other people. This is not true on the road. There are many situations that require faster stopping then backpressure allows and usually they do not involve a herd of other brakeless riders behind you. On the track where there are not trucks, parked cars or even bikes with brakes these situations just don't come up and the consequences for the other riders are much worse.

Atacs are fine. The most important thing with pedal choice is that you are comfortable with them, which is sounds like you are.

Retem

thanks dutret I was wondering when you would pop in

ivegotabike

dutret, i see that youre in georgia, is there a velodrome in atlanta? I heard there was, but never got any info confirming it.

bitingduck

+1000

If you're skipping or skidding on the track you're doing something seriously wrong. If you're closing on someone you should already be anticipating getting on his wheel smoothly (he's moving slower than you if you're closing), and if he slows a little more you should be able to match. If you can't, you're not looking far enough ahead and anticipating. I've ridden in practice races with people who were geared *much* smaller than me (junior gear limits for them) and they can slow as if they have brakes and there's still no reason to skip or skid.

The coefficient of static (rolling) friction is always higher than the coefficient of kinetic (sliding) friction. You can always slow more quickly by not skidding. This is the point of anti-lock braking systems.

dutret

THe COF doesn't matter with normal gearing power to wieght is the limiting factor.

genericbikedude

This my be a pit more on-topic for the SSFG forum, but a skip is different than a skid. In a skip, you hope you back wheel, and in the split second that the rear wheel is in the air, move the wheel backwards. When you land, you are using backpressure, having built momentum from the moment you were in the air. Quite different than a skid.

bitingduck

yeah, I know, and there's no reason to do either on a velodrome with other people around.

Dubbayoo

I have yet to meet anyone with the wherewithall to go from 80-110rpm to back pedaling in the time their wheel is airborne. I have only seen that while setting up a trackstand at 20rpm.

Yoshi

I've done it pretty regularly, especially when going down very steep hills.

But this converstation really belongs in the SSFG forum, not the track forum.

Also, while backpedaling may technically be more efficient than skidding/skipping to stop, in practice I (and most people I imagine) stop faster doing the latter. I don't think many people can backpedal at the static friction limit for long periods of time, nor would they want to (especially at high RPMs).

Plus you can hockey stop while skidding/skipping.

Retem

well back on topic now soo whats riding the banks like?

Boss Moniker

I had my first experience at the Velodrome at Bloomer Park, Rochester Hills, Michigan last summer, and I had an absolute blast.. I hadn't ridden a fixed gear for more than an hour total before getting on a track bike, but fixie riding came naturally to me anyway. What I found was that you need to trust yourself on the track.. going around the turns (banked at 44 degrees or so here) you think that you're completely vertical in regard to the ground, not the track, but in reality you're at a good enough angle for traction.

I actually fell my first time because I was turning up the track in the middle of a turn and I didn't keep the bike angled and lean my body the way I should have.. plus I was going slowly, so I had pedal strike or something and my back tire lost traction. The fall was so quick and painless.. although I did rip a 4" square patch of skin off near my elbow.

And I don't know why this was brought up, but Time ATACs would be fine.. they're actually more solid than some SPD setups, not to mention Eggbeaters. I road mine on the track that day. This year I'm looking forward to getting out there on my own bike.

carbonjockey

I am roadie and triathlete but Im new to track riding- what is skipping? I know skidding is where you lock up the rear wheel but Im unclear on skipping

carbonjockey

false alarm- i just read a previous reply- i understand now